Room for Just a Little Bit More

Page 7

The fair was hopping.
People everywhere. Chocolate everywhere. Games everywhere.
I kept my hat pulled low and sunglasses on so that I could enjoy the day with my family without being mobbed by fans.
The girls had already binged on chocolate-covered strawberries, chocolate-covered potato chips, chocolate-covered Rice Krispies Treats, and frozen chocolate-covered bananas, but they were still asking for more.
“Can we go over there?” Lucy pointed to a stand that sold chocolate-covered nuts and raisins.
“How can you guys possibly have any more room in those little bellies of yours?” my mom teased.
I looked out over the crowd and leaned into my mom. “Hey, would you do me a favor?”
“Sure.”
I whispered in her ear and handed her some money.
“Lucy, Piper, come on. Let’s go get something off that cart.” My mom held out her hand and her and dad walked away with the girls.
Kacie started to follow them, but I reached out and caught her hand, pulling her in the other direction. “This way.” She narrowed her eyes and frowned slightly in confusion, but didn’t argue.
The air smelled like chocolate and cinnamon as we walked hand in hand through the hoards of people stuffing their faces with food. The closer we got to our destination, the tighter Kacie squeezed my hand.
“Brody…” She tugged back hard, forcing me to stop and turn around. Her hands started to shake as she stared at the Ferris wheel behind me. “Don’t make me do this.”
“Come on. You can do it.”
“No. I can’t.” She looked so tiny and terrified standing in front of me, hugging herself.
“Come on.” I reached out and took her hands again. “You trusted me once. Trust me again.”
She covered her face with her hands as a heavy sigh crept out of her. “Fine,” she snapped, dropping her hands, “but I’m closing my eyes, and you can’t bitch at me about it.”
I laughed at her adorable tantrum and nodded. “You got it.”
We got in line and I stood behind Kacie, wrapping my arms around her waist just in case she got the idea to make a run for it. The Ferris wheel stopped, people started filing out of the exit, and we started inching forward. Kacie dug her heels into the ground and fought me, so I smacked her on the ass and she jumped ahead. “There we go. Now you’re moving,” I teased.
We got up to the ride attendant and I handed him our tickets.
“You want inside or outside?” I asked.
“What does it matter? If our basket breaks free and we tumble to the ground, we’re both gonna die anyway,” she barked.
“Way to be positive, babe,” I joked, pushing her gently into the seat.
She sat and I slid in next to her, lowering the bar over our laps. Once the attendant started the wheel to advance to the basket behind us, Kacie’s hands flew up over her face again. I put my arm around her shoulder and pulled her into me, feeling a little guilty that she was so terrified while I was completely relaxed with her head on my shoulder.
A few more stops and our ride started spinning round and round. Kacie burrowed further into the nook of my arm and hid her face like a squirrel does when it doesn’t want to be seen. We were past the dock when the ride came to a stop, so I knew we’d have a few minutes before we got off.
“Hey,” I whispered. “Where do you want to go on our honeymoon?”
Kacie loosened her grip on me a bit. “I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it. Have you?”
“Not until we got on here.”
She lifted her head a little and looked up at me, crinkling her brow and blinking in confusion. “Huh?”
“Your hair. It smells delicious—like coconuts—and makes me want to kidnap you to an island for a couple weeks.”
Sitting up, she looked at me with wide eyes. “A couple weeks? Brody, the longest I’ve been away from the girls was two nights when we went for that quick weekend in Chicago. I don’t know if I can do a couple weeks.”
“That was a great weekend, wasn’t it?” I growled softly as I stuck my nose in her hair again, taking a deep breath. “I think we set a new record for number of times people can have sex in a two-day time span.”
She giggled and leaned back into me. “That was fun. I think it took a week before I could walk right.”
“Then let’s do that again, but on some wonderful island with fruity drinks and white sand beaches,” I suggested.
The ride jolted to a start again, and Kacie nearly jumped out of her skin, squeezing my hand so hard I thought she might break it. Once we stopped, she relaxed a bit. “Okay, let’s do it. But… I can’t do two weeks, Brody. It would be too much. I think a week is perfect.”
“Deal.”
“Are you mad?” I couldn’t see her face, but her voice sounded concerned.
“No way.” I shook my head. “As much as I want you all to myself, I get it. I’m gonna miss them too.”
She squeezed me tight and leaned up, planting a kiss on my neck. “Thank you.”
Wedding planning was in full swing and I was on a roll.
- Invitations picked out? Check.
- Flowers picked out? Absolutely, mostly by Alexa, but she had fantastic taste.
- Band picked out? Done.
The day I’d been most excited about was finally upon me. Wedding dress shopping! We had an afternoon appointment in the city at one of the most sought after shops in all of the Midwest, but first my mom, Alexa, Lauren, and I were having lunch at the cutest little tea shop right down the street. Tea, scones, and chicken salad sandwiches were just what I needed to calm my nerves about finding a dress.
“I’m sorry again, guys,” Lauren apologized for the twentieth time that morning as Max’s hand barely missed the water glass he’d swung for.
“Lauren, stop it.” I laughed. “It’s really fine.”
“I just had no idea that Tommy had agreed to work. I thought he’d be able to keep Max.” She wiped the drool from his chin.
Reaching across the table, I scooped Max out of her arms and set him in my lap. “Are you kidding? I’m glad my godson gets to be here on wedding dress day. Let’s just hope I can make a decision before he’s walking, huh?”
“You’ll be fine,” Alexa said confidently. “Trust me, when you put it on, you’ll just know.”
“That’s good, because right now I truly have no idea what I’m looking for.” I sighed.
“And that’s okay,” my mom reassured me. “Like Alexa said, when you see it or try it on, you’ll just know.”
Alexa huffed and raised her water glass at me. “See? Alexa’s always right.”
“So, wait. Who’s with the girls today?” Lauren reached over and handed Max his favorite plastic key ring.
Mom and I looked at each other and laughed, most likely thinking the same thing.
“Brody and Viper are babysitting,” I answered nonchalantly, planting a bunch of kisses on Max’s chubby cheek.
I looked up and Alexa’s and Lauren’s mouths both hung open as they stared at me blankly.
“What? Stop looking at me like that.”
Alexa started to giggle while Lauren shook her head quickly. “Sorry, I’m just trying to picture Viper watching the girls, and the things that are popping into my head are scaring me.”