“The delivery truck is here. Do I even want to ask what you had to do to get them to deliver these items so fast?” Ariel stood in my open doorway.

“No, you don’t want to ask. Just have them assemble as much as they can outside before they bring it up. Leo and I are finishing Avril’s room now, just need to finish painting the candelabra gold and adding a chip to the teacup.”

“We’re done with Harlow’s!” Piper shouted. “She is going to love what Vivian did, I swear this woman is a fairy godmother. You should see the wall painted to look like a ballroom.”

“We need ten more minutes!” Stella hollered. “Everly and I can’t get this stupid magic carpet to stay on the wall.”

For the last week, Carter and I had lived in his condo. As much as I hated eating my own words, I couldn’t get stuff done as fast as I claimed that I could. It took me all day Thursday just to get my car traded in. I would have thought that trading in a paid-off vehicle and purchasing a vehicle with a bank check would be simple, but noooo, they had to try to supersize every fucking thing until I was ready to walk out. Thank God that Carter calmed me down because I was seriously considering telling Gianna that I was going to leave for a bit and let them deal with her screaming until they hurried up. 

Friday, we met with the funeral home. Without Ivey having any next of kin, Carter let me help. I convinced him to have Ivey buried even though we weren’t doing a service. The girls should have a place where they could go when they got older to talk to their mom.

Saturday, Carter stayed at my house with my cousins and Uncle as they made the house baby proof and worked on his man cave while I spent all day choosing furniture for the three rooms. Sunday was all shopping, too. 

Over the weekend, I also discovered that Vivian was an awesome artist, and when she offered to paint murals on the girls’ walls, I was indebted for life. This enabled me to bring my princess idea to fruition, but she needed time and help, so we all agreed to chip in. It took us the entire week to pull it all together, but I knew it would be worth it. 

“When does Avril come home?” Leo wiped her hands off and started to clean up our area.

“This week. Tristan said that she is healthy and her kidneys looked great. Carter is taking one more week off to help with the transition. Everything seems so surreal. I can’t believe it’s been a little over two weeks.”

“I know, but the girls seem to be adjusting. Do they have any bad moments? How about Carter, does he ever act like this was a big mistake?”

“Yes and no. Yes, to the girls, Harlow will talk to her mom sometimes and then will cry because she can’t see her. Gianna just clings to me. I actually spoke to a counselor at the hospital, and she told me that it is her way of grieving and making sure I don’t leave as well.”

“And Carter?”

“Carter was made for this. It’s as if he’s been doing this since day one. The man is a pro. I mean, except for the other day when we were online making a list of stuff to get. I thought he was going to have a heart attack.”

“Why? Or should I be afraid to ask?”

“Did you know that there are stuffed animals that look like poop? Stinky poo plush toys to teach your child not to be afraid of going to the bathroom. All Carter kept saying was, ‘Yeah, just what I want, teach the girls that it’s okay to play with their shit. We’ll have shit spread on every wall. Hell, let’s turn it into finger paint.’ Umm . . . needless to say we didn’t get that.”

Leo and I were laughing as we finished the room and piled all the tools into a box before we headed out of the room to meet with the others downstairs.

“It is going to be beautiful.” Stella leaned her head against mine as we all stood outside and watched the men unwrap the furniture. “Are those pieces ready?” He gave her a nod, so she led the way up to Gianna’s room.

I had a hard time not following, but that was part of the deal. We had all drawn straws for a room, and no one else was allowed to see any room but theirs until the big reveal. Once Stella was back, Vivian led the men up to Harlow’s room, and when they were finished, Leo and I led the delivery guys back up with Avril’s gold-leaf crib and matching furniture before rejoining everyone back in the living room. I signed the delivery slips and grabbed my phone to check the time.

“It’s three o’clock, and we are done. Do we want to see the rooms or wait until the girls get here and see them together?”

“Wait,” everyone agreed at once. 

Stella opened a bottle of wine and poured glasses then handed them around. She had just gotten to me when Ariel interrupted.

“Soph, do you have more flour? I was going to fry all this chicken”—she pointed to the several packs in the fridge—“as a homecoming meal for the girls.”

“Crap, let me text Carter and have him pick up some.”

“I need it before then. I just got this big ol’ Fry Daddy going, I need it soon.”

I looked to see if any of the girls were offering, but they all had their feet up and were already drinking their glasses of wine. “Okay, I’ll just run up to the 7-11 real quick. Girls, keep drinking.” I blew them kisses, grabbed my wallet out of my purse, and jumped into Carter’s Jeep since he had the Land Rover with the girls’ car seats. At 7-11, I grabbed five bags of flour since they only had the small one-pound bags. Then I added some salt and pepper, bottles of oil, and some M&M’s for good measure. 

On the way back, I was singing “Scars to Your Beautiful” at the top of my lungs, and I didn’t notice the sheriff’s car that pulled up behind me until his lights started flashing. 

Shit. 

I had probably been speeding. I flipped my turn signal and turned onto a side street that led back to my house before pulling over on the far shoulder of the road. I looked in my rearview mirror, but the officer didn’t get out of the car right away. After another second, I reached for my wallet to grab my driver’s license and then stopped.

“Please put your hands on the steering wheel so I can see them.” The voice rang out from the PA.

I gripped the wheel and didn’t move. Shit, this was Carter’s Jeep. Since he was a deputy, didn’t his license plate come back as a deputy? Wasn’t there like a bro code or something about not pulling over other officers? 

“Miss, please step out of the car and keep your hands where I can see them,” the deputy ordered from his car’s PA.

Okay, this was déjà vu, too similar to when I was eighteen and Carter pulled me over. Only, it couldn’t be him. He was driving my car and had the girls with him. 

I got out and faced the sheriff’s car as its door opened and a man got out, an older man, whom I didn’t recognize.

“Ma’am, is this your vehicle?”

“No, sir, it’s my boyfriend’s.”

“Well, I happen to know whose Jeep this is, and I know for a fact that he doesn’t have a girlfriend.”

“Sir, please just call Carter Lang. My name is Sophie—”

“Stop right there. Ma’am, you’ll need to calm down.”

“Sir . . .”

“Ma’am, I’m not going to ask you again. Now, turn around and put your hands behind your back.”

“Sir, please,” I pleaded but turned and put my hands behind my back as he had asked. “Sir, please, listen to me. This is Carter Lang’s Jeep, I have permission to drive it; he has my car. You can call Deputy Piper Beaumont, she’s at my house right now, or Sergeant Kayson Christakos, he’s my cousin. But please just call Carter, he will tell you that I’m his girlfriend.”

“That’s the problem.” I stilled as familiar callused fingers wrapped around my wrists and my lips turned into a smile. “He doesn’t have a girlfriend, he has a fiancée, at least according to what she told the woman at the DMV.” I spun around just as Carter reached into his pocket and pulled out a black velvet box before dropping to one knee. “Ten years ago, you sped into my life and, Sophie, you’ve never left. I know that we’ve only been back together a month, but it’s been ten years to me. I’m never letting you go. Will you marry me?”

Throwing my hands over my face, I fought to find the words to express what I was feeling. I had everything and didn’t have to sacrifice anything. 

“Yes! Yes, I will marry you. Yes.”

Carter cupped my face and pulled me in tight for a kiss. Leaning me back against the Jeep, he swept his tongue inside my mouth. When he stepped back, he slid the ring, a beautiful solitaire surrounded by five colored stones, onto my finger. 

“Why all the colors?”

“All of our birthstones—mine, yours, and the girls.”

“It’s perfect.” I tilted my head back and gave Carter my lips again.

At the sound of a cough, I turned to see the older deputy still standing there.

“Thanks, Captain,” Carter said before shaking the man’s hand. After one last nod to me, the man was off. 

“How’d you get here and where are the girls?”

“I was in the cruiser with him, and the girls were with your mom today. They are probably home by now.”

Home. It was the world’s greatest four-letter word. No, home was almost the best word. Love was definitely the greatest.