My parents were starting to make noises that it was time for us to get started on grandchildren, but as ever, I was ignoring them. Though it took a full year of silence, they eventually apologized to both Max and me. Last time I saw them, it was at Uncle Lou’s house. Ma liked him a lot, and once they’d talked about Max’s past, she couldn’t mother her son-in-law enough. He still wasn’t used to her brand of devotion, though. Sometimes I caught him staring at her with quiet terror like she might strangle-hug him to death.
“I hope the house is big enough.”
I grinned. “If not, we’ll have people crashed out on the floor, just like the old days.”
“Hopefully they’ll be wearing pants.”
“You can dream. Nadia said Lauren might be inviting other people, too.” I kissed his cheek as the flight attendant announced cross-check.
“Who?”
“Friends from their hometown, I think. Is Michael coming?”
“Not sure. I invited him. He said he’d try but he just started a new job and he might not be able to get the time off.”
“He’s still dating Maddie?” I was asking about Kia’s friend from home, younger than us, three years older than Michael. Now that was a story.
“As far as I know. He gets grumpy when I bug him about his love life.”
“Understandable. You were pretty snappish when he was pestering you to propose to me already, remember? He was so worried you’d let me get away.”
He smiled at me with his eyes. “No way. Am I crazy?”
Preening a little, I admired the white-gold princess-cut ring on my finger, along with the elegant band beneath it. Max’s ring was pretty scarred up from the work he did. Maybe I’d buy him a new one for our anniversary. Just then, the plane jolted into motion, backing away from the terminal. I’d always hated takeoffs and landings, though I didn’t mind flying once we were in the air. Max tightened his hand around mine because he understood that about me. At this point, I couldn’t think of much he didn’t know.
“You ready for this?” he asked softly.
“Yep.” The rest of our life was waiting, along with our best and dearest friends. “Let the adventure begin.”