“Only a little.” I smiled, holding my thumb and index finger up to squint through.
“But what are you doing here? Is there a story to be heard?” my sweet friend worried, her light brown springy hair sticking out in every direction in a lovely way I’d always envied.
“Oh, it’s a story all right.”
Her eyes rested behind me, and I turned to see Kai wearing his sexy crooked smile as he took in my adopted family.
“Is this the daddy?” she whispered in awe. He was totally swoonworthy, especially with the beard he’d let grow in over that month. It was too bad he would have to shave it off when he was back on duty.
“Mmmhmm.” I nodded, sucking on my bottom lip.
“This tall drink is your baby daddy,” Del’s mama spoke up behind us, making Del and me giggle and Kai smirk.
“This is Kai,” I told them. He came forward to shake their hands, but they both tsked before engulfing him in a hug. “My fiancé,” I added.
Del’s gaze snapped to meet mine, then my ring finger I held up. “All right, Chlo. Come in and tell us a story. Mama just made sweet tea.”
She headed for the house while Rose lingered by Kai, patting his cheek. “So handsome. Good job, Chloe girl,” she murmured. Kai’s eyes were huge, but he was still smiling. When she followed Del and passed me, she muttered, “Much better than that spoiled pig.”
I belted out a laugh as I reached for Kai’s hand, holding his gaze. “Sorry, they’re a little intense.”
“They’re perfect. They love you,” he said before pulling me toward the house. He was so perceptive, realizing all the things that truly mattered to me, that shaped the real me.
We followed behind them, the jasmine even stronger inside. The house itself was so ordinary, like any other home with wood floors and light-colored walls, but the knickknacks and colorful wall hangings and bright furniture made it warm and welcoming, not a cold, professionally decorated mansion.
We sat in the tiny kitchen around their dining table drinking sweet tea. Rose excused herself to tend to Gran, who I got to say hi to and hug, though she barely remembered me. Del told me they still weren’t sure how much longer she had, but now I could be there for her.
Kai sat next to me with a firm hand on my leg. Delia watched us with some color in her round cheeks. Her dark chocolate eyes sparkled with delight and curiosity. “So they found you?” she prompted.
“Well, no. Rita found me at the supermarket,” I told her.
She snorted, choking on her drink.
I dove into the story, and like always, she was my fun audience, asking questions and gasping in horror. Kai added some of his end, how my horrible car kept breaking down, how Ava had called, pissed as hell that we hadn’t told her what had been going on with us. I was going to have to make that up to her somehow when I got home.
Del awwed all mushy-like when I told her how Kai rescued me. Her gaze caught Kai’s free hand resting on the table, appraising his scabbed knuckles. “You get him good for us?” she asked him.
“Not good enough.” He grimaced, squeezing my leg.
I leaned over to kiss his rough cheek. “You did just fine. You saved me.”
Del grinned from ear to ear. “This just warms my heart. And now you two are gettin’ hitched?”
Biting my lip, I shot Kai a sideways glance. He dipped his chin. “Well, we actually wanted to today and were wondering if you’d go with us?”
Her eyes turned to saucers, her mouth hanging open. “Right now?” We nodded, smiling. “But you need a celebration.”
“No, no. I only need him.” I patted his hand.
Lips pursed, she shook her head. “I’ll go, but you’re gettin’ a proper celebration.” She hollered over her shoulder, “Mama! Chloe’s gettin’ hitched at the courthouse. You start cookin’, get the family together to celebrate. We’ll be back.”
She surged to her feet, giving us an expectant look, when Rose yelled, “I’m on it!”
“Right now?” Eyebrow raised, my stomach fluttered with nerves.
“Well, yeah! Let’s go,” she urged.
My heart was on fire, my hands coated in sweat.
Kai chuckled. “I like her,” he told me, standing so he could help me up.
“Holy hell, I’m getting married,” I muttered.
With another chuckle, he stood in front of me, gray eyes shifting back and forth. “You getting cold feet already?”
“Hell no! Let’s get married.”
He crushed his mouth to mine, finally kissing me the way I needed, the way I hungered for, before Del cleared her throat. Kai laughed against my mouth, glancing at Del, who stood by the door with her arms crossed, a foot tapping. “There will be time for that later.”
She hurried us out the door. We got in my car that squealed to life after a few tries.
“Sorry, Chlo, but this car really is shitty,” Delia told me from the back seat, making Kai cough out a laugh. I glared at them both.
“Don’t worry, Delia. I told her I’ll only marry her if she’ll let me get her a new car.”
“I like this guy!” Del exclaimed.
She insisted we needed better attire for such an occasion. I couldn’t disagree, since I was in the previous day’s clothes, so we stopped at a clothing store. Kai went off on his own while Del dragged me along, picking through the few maternity dresses they had and grabbing a couple regular ones for herself to try on.
In the dressing room, we tried on our dresses in separate stalls. I loved getting to see her again, but I wasn’t ready for anyone to see how icky my belly had become with stretch marks and welts from the Zofran pump.
While I was sliding on a dress that was the same style as the one I’d worn on our first date but was leaf green—his favorite color on me —Del called through the wall, “You love him,” stating fact, not a question.
But I still answered, “I do. He gets me,” while pulling on tan gladiator sandals that weren’t too uncomfortable.
“It’s more than that,” she said.
“This is the one,” I called out, opening the door.
She appraised me and I her. The sheer bright orange dress she wore that stopped just above her knees popped with her darker complexion.
“I love it!” we said at the same time, then giggled.
“Sit,” she commanded, pointing at the bench in my changing stall. When I did, she began braiding my hair.
“What’s more?” I asked.
Her gaze met mine in the mirror.
“You’re Chloe with him.” She tilted her head, examining her work. “Not snobby Chloe, not pageant Chloe, not insecure Chloe. You’re the you I’ve always loved. You’re free with him. No fake smiles.”
Her grin lit up her chocolate eyes, and I couldn’t help returning it. Just me, no fake smiles.
When she was done with the intricate partial fishtail side braid, we went out to meet Kai. He’d settled on a black button-up shirt and dark jeans and had even combed his hair. He held big bright sunflowers at his side. He’d gotten me flowers—my heart melted a little more. His eyes popped as they trailed from my hair to my sandal-adorned feet.
Coming closer, he handed me the flowers before gripping my hips and growling, “You look fucking hot,” in a guttural tone that made me tingle.