Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 84114 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84114 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
And then unexpectedly, I start to laugh through the tears, because of course Gray would know exactly what to say.
He always did.
Finally, when I can’t cry or laugh anymore and I’m left with a few tiny hiccups, I sit up and wipe my face. His words echo in my head. Stability isn’t the absence of risk. It’s wisely choosing the things that are good for you, despite the risk.
Choose.
I glance back at the screen. My cursor hovers over the file just below mine.
Atlas_OneLastThing.mp4.
For a long moment, I just stare. Then, with a breath that feels like stepping off a ledge, I click.
The screen fills with Gray’s face one more time and I settle in to listen.
CHAPTER 29
Atlas
By the time the first knock hits the door, the house looks like a party store staged a hostile takeover. Streamers stretch across the beams, balloons bob at ankle level, and a giant gold banner screams ONE over the dining room archway. Glitter has colonized every available surface.
The kitchen counter is a war zone—veggie and fruit trays, too many dip varieties, charcuterie offerings, and a cake so big I had to clear half a shelf in the fridge. Maddie’s been a whirlwind since sunrise, organizing this chaos to create the most perfect first birthday party a little girl could ever have.
Not that Grayce will remember this, but we will. I plan on taking a million photos.
It’s been a strange few days and I’ve hated the cooling between me and Maddie. I don’t regret at all telling her my true feelings, but I feel bad that it’s causing her angst. But I thought about what Kace said night before last in Detroit—I just need to give her time. I’m confident I can show Maddie that taking a chance on love and a life with me is the best thing to happen to her.
Next to Grayce, that is.
A low growl emanates from Maddie, and I turn to find her glaring at a pack of napkins in one hand and paper plates in the other.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, glancing at Grayce in her high chair. She’s mouthing on mashed bananas, forsaking her spoon in favor of her little digits.
“These napkins and paper plates don’t match,” she mutters.
A quick glance at them and all I see is two sets of paper products that are both pink and yellow, which match the flowers on the cake. But I wisely don’t point that out.
“Do you want me to run to the store?” I offer.
Maddie looks at me as if I sprouted antlers from my head. “Of course not.” She scoffs. “We don’t have time for that.”
So, we make do with mismatched pink and yellow paper products.
“Listen, this party is going to be fabulous no matter what color the napkins are.”
I brace, waiting for her to tear into me, but instead, her eyes soften. “I’m sorry I’m being so squirrely about things that don’t matter. I just want this to be perfect.”
My heart squeezes for her. “Grayce won’t know the difference and no one coming today will care.”
“Yeah,” she says with a defeated sigh. “I know. I just want it to be perfect for me and you. This is really about us, after all.”
She offers me a small smile under bashful eyes and it’s the real Maddie I’m seeing again. Things have been so stilted between us that this small connection feels like the sun coming out after a dark storm.
I glance at my watch and realize we are getting down to the wire. I flew in last night, arriving home about two a.m., but I’ve been going hard since six when I heard Maddie down here setting things up. I’m thinking our decision to have a morning birthday party wasn’t the wisest after a late-night flight from Detroit, but we had no choice since we have a team meeting this afternoon and morning is therefore the best time to get everyone together.
“Why don’t you clean Grayce up? I bet you got her an awesome outfit.”
Maddie’s eyes brighten. “You know I did. A pink tulle skirt with a little white T-shirt that says Birthday Princess. And I went back and got those little pink high-tops we were both eyeballing.”
I don’t tell Maddie that Grayce could wear the same outfit every day and still be the best kid ever, but I know these things, like the tiny high-tops, are fun for Maddie, so I’m glad she did it. “Can’t wait to see her.”
Maddie takes the baby upstairs and I set up tables, haul chairs, and blow up balloons until I’m lightheaded.
By the time I’m done with that, Maddie is back downstairs arranging the smash cake on a platter. I’ve never heard of such a thing, but apparently, it’s a small cake just for Grayce to get messy with and I’m hoping for a full-on face-plant into the frosting.