Pride flared in his eyes. It was a nice change of pace from the sadness that usually existed within them when we talked about stuff like this. “You’d think I would have learned my lesson by now about underestimating you. But somehow you keep surprising me.”
“I know. I’ve tried to tell you this. And you call me stubborn.”
He laughed and then, holding my gaze, his eyes wide open and locked on mine, he whispered, “I love—”
That was it.
In true Michaels fashion, without so much as a knock, Cassidy came strutting through the door.
“All right, let’s get this show on the road. Preston has—oh sweet Lord!” she shouted. Then, after she’d had a moment to process what she was seeing, which was me sitting on the kitchen counter with Bowen wedged between my legs, our faces so close that we were either kissing or sharing confidential state secrets, she quickly followed it up with, “Boys, close your eyes!”
“Why?” one of the kids asked, but they hadn’t come in the door yet, so I wasn’t sure which one.
“Just do it!” their mother snapped, a huge smile growing on her lips as she did not follow her own order and stared at me instead.
“Hi!” I chirped.
Bowen chuckled and took my hand to help me down. “Surprise. Look who came home.”
“Home?” Cassidy repeated. “Like your house home? Or Atlanta home?”
“Both?” I answered, testing the waters. “And for good this time. If…that’s okay with you.”
“And also if it’s not okay with you,” Bowen interjected, pinning me with a hard glare. “What the fuck, Remi? We’re not asking anyone for permission for anything.”
“Holy hell, of course it’s okay with us.” Cassidy suddenly became unstuck, her long legs gliding her through the room until she had me enveloped in a hug. “We have missed you so much.” Using my shoulders, she set me away and said, “You have no idea how boring Bowen is without you.”
“Wow. Love you too, sis,” Bowen deadpanned.
“Boys, come in! Come in. Look who moved back from Mexico.”
I narrowed my eyes in question.
But she waved me off, whispering, “I didn’t know what else to tell them after the crash.”
“Aunt Remi?” the boys yelled, racing inside to hug me.
I laughed, digging in my brain for the little I’d learned in high school Spanish. “Hola! ¿Como estas?”
While I didn’t remember them specifically, I’d seen pictures. They were older now, more handsome than cute. I’d lucked out in more than one way when it came to Bowen. The Michaels family had some seriously good genes.
The boys were still hugging me when a tall man with jet-black hair that contained enough product to make Aaron wince came lumbering inside, holding a covered casserole dish. “I thought I heard your name.” He extended a hand. “I’m Simon. Big Simon if it gets too confusing for you.”
“She knows your name, Dad,” the tween boy I assumed was little Simon snipped, rolling his eyes.
I shook my head when the boy wasn’t looking and then took his father’s hand. “Good to see you…again.”
“Boys, you need to plug your ears. There’s about to be a lot of cussing happening in here.” With a sharp tug, he dragged me into a hug. “How the hell have you been?”
“I’m better.” I laughed. “So much better. And now, being back, I’m the best I’ve ever been.”
“Good. Really, really good.” He released me and looked at his wife. “You need to hurry up and get Tyson and Jared over here. There needs to be at least one medical professional here when your mom lays eyes on this one.”
As if on cue, Linda walked into the house. A large man who could not be mistaken for anyone other than Bowen’s dad, Paul, came in beside her.
“When I lay eyes on who?” She stopped mid-step, and her gaze lingered on me for only a second before they slid to her son.
I loved Linda, and I’d loved her long before I’d found out she was Bowen’s mom. But in that second, and all the seconds he’d been hurting in the past, I loved the way she loved her son the most. She stared at him, silently checking in, assessing his emotional state before giving any kind of reaction of her own. I hated that she had to do it where I was concerned, but I respected the hell out of it.
“It’s good, Mom.” Bowen took my left hand, pointedly flashing my engagement ring before bringing it to his lips. “A hundred percent.”
The room broke into pure elated chaos.
Cassidy gasped.
Simon belly-laughed.
Paul smiled so big that I thought his mouth might swallow his face.
And Linda? Well, she burst into tears.
She rushed forward, pulling me into her arms. “I knew it. I knew it, I knew it, I knew it. I always told him one day things would work out. Two people do not love each other like you do for it to fail.” She set me away and framed my face with her hands. “Oh, sweet girl, we have missed you so much around here.”
