Page 95 of When the Walls Come Down
Come on. I get that old love-knows-no-bounds thing, but those things were hideous.
Yet three years later, while I sat on the floor in our bedroom, a team of movers shuffled our belongings out of the only home we’d ever shared, they didn’t look so ugly anymore. I slipped them into my ears and used the camera on my phone to admire them.
Nope. Still atrocious.
But I left them in anyway.
Shane and I had debated for six months after he proposed about what kind of wedding we wanted to have. And when I say we debated, I mean we didn’t really talk about it at all.
Shane was happy I was wearing his ring. Period.
I was happy to be coming home to him every night.
Everything else just seemed like a formality.
A formality my sisters and Blake had ganged up on us about and planned behind our backs. I swear to you there was no greater force than when the Light women teamed up with a Warren. Throw Nora and Shane’s mom in on that and forget about it. Luckily, the small outside wedding with only family and friends and then the massive reception with the entire Bay family at the brewery seemed right up our alley.
My only job had been to find a dress. Call it fate, divine intervention, or maybe just my good friend Serendipity making another appearance, but the very first dress I’d tried on was a long, lace, strapless dress that made my chest and shoulders look like a dream. Melanie was pissed when I refused to try on anything else, but the utter awe on Shane’s face as Heath walked me down the aisle was the only approval I’d ever need. Seeing him bite his fist to hold back the emotion in his eyes as I came toward him was a moment I’ll cherish all my life.
Smiling at the memory, I moved our wedding invitation to my other side, the pile from the trunk starting to dwindle. Though I had a sneaking suspicion we were going to have to get a much bigger trunk soon.
“What are you doing on the floor?” Shane asked, walking into our bedroom. He scanned the mountains of our past surrounding me and added, “And holy shit, why are you unpacking?”
“I’m not unpacking. I’m just looking through our stuff.” I lifted our wedding picture in his direction. “Look how skinny I was.”
He laughed. “There’s still a skinny girl inside you, I swear. And as soon as you stop holding my son hostage and give him to me, you’ll find her again.” He extended a hand down to me. “Come on. Let me help you up before your legs fall asleep again and you’re stuck down there forever.”
“It was one time, Shane.” But I took his hand because he was right; there was no way I was getting off that floor without help.
Four months before my thirtieth birthday, I’d gotten fired.
My rat-bastard, meddling brother-in-law, Casey, thought it was oh so funny too. We’d put a copy of the email he’d sent me to let me know I was out of a job in Shane’s trunk, though it was still too fresh in my mind for it to require a reread.Dear Maggie,
Thank you for all your hard work after you were left with just a mess from the dork who’d previously held your position. However, you’re beginning to remind us too much of him and therefore you’re fired. It’s time for you to take a risk and find bigger and better opportunities. I’m sure the creep will console you in ways that gross me out a little, but nevertheless, clean out your desk.
See you at Christmas,
Your ex-bossI’d been so mad as I’d stomped home that night, but as usual, Shane slid in for the win.
Warren and Warren Consulting was born.
It wasn’t a hard transition. We worked well together, and behind the scenes, we’d been sharing concepts and ideas from day one. His business was making far more than I was at Bay, so being able to double the workload more than tripled our income. It made perfect financial sense.
You know what else made perfect sense since I had a job that would allow me to further my career, make my own schedule, and work at home when needed? Shaking up our entire comfortable lives by adding a baby.
It wasn’t just the job though. I’d been thinking about it for a while. As the years had passed, all the things that had seemed so scary when Shane and I had first started dating started to seem like the most natural things in the world. They didn’t feel like decisions or risks anymore. They were just the next milestone, and as each one arrived, I wasn’t just ready, I was eager and excited to be taking those steps with him.
