Page 155 of The Troublemaker
Around me, the gate is filling up.An airline ticket agent takes her position at the desk.
“Now boarding Group A, Flight 847, service to Quito, Ecuador.”
I stand, slinging my backpack over my shoulder and wheeling my carry-on to the boarding area.
The attendant scans my boarding pass.“Enjoy your flight.”
“Thank you.”
Right before I walk down the jetway to the plane, I look at the envelope with the letter one more time, then slip it into the trash can and head toward the plane.
Time to start my new chapter.
ChapterFifty-Eight
Easton
“Good luck,” Decker says, stopping at his door.
A grueling seven-day away stint sucks.I’ve never been so happy to be home.
“She already said yes,” Foster says, climbing the rest of the stairs.
“Not for real.”The ring box in my pocket burns a hole in my pants.I want that other ring off her finger and this one on.
“Well, if she needs proof you love her, I can tell her about the three hours we spent looking at rings.”Foster groans like he did every five minutes when we were in the jewelry store.
He and Hayes kept leaving the store, coming back with a pretzel, then a sub, then cookies that they wouldn’t share even when Decker said his blood sugar was low.
We just all told him he was a grandma.
But it was worth it because I have the perfect ring now.I just need to make sure Hadley says yes.
I mean, I’m almost one hundred percent sure she’s all in.We’re in the process of her adopting Tanner after all.
But there have been many men in my shoes who were certain the woman they love was going to say yes, only for them to try to figure out how they can return the ring.So I’m going to be on guard until I hear her say yes.
I open the door to the condo, expecting to see Tanner waddling toward me.He’s almost one now, and my mom says he’s just like me, can’t stop moving.He’s about ready to climb over the hexagon thing, I swear.
But there’s no Tanner.The entire condo is clean, his high chair sitting empty in the corner.
It’s early enough that he should still be up, and naptime is long gone.
I walk across the condo to the guest room that is pretty much our room now and peek inside.
Our bed is gone.
And someone painted the walls a denim blue.
Tanner’s crib sits against the blue wall, and now there’s a reading chair in the corner.
I step inside to what is now a true nursery.Tanner’s name is on the wall, and he has his own bookcase filled with books.
“Am I in the wrong condo?”
I pull out my phone and drop my bag on the floor.
Where are u?
