Lifting her up, I spin her in a circle and enjoy the feeling of her in my arms.
“I hope you know I’m never letting you go now,” I whisper in her ear.
“I hope you know I’m never going to let you.” She lays her cheek against mine and sighs. “I missed you, Dane.”
“I missed you, babe.” I put her back on her feet as the crowd cheers. Resting my forehead against hers, I laugh. “I didn’t embarrass you, did I?”
“Hardly.”
Looking up at Mr. Heart Attack, I nod. “I’m sorry if I made a spectacle out of your lobby.”
His large belly bounces up and down as he chuckles. “Son, that was the best thing to happen in this building in the twenty-five years I’ve worked here. I think you’ve given us all something to think about.”
“Yeah, like how I need a guy with a southern accent like that.” The receptionist shrugs. “I can’t help it. I’d be putty in his hands.”
I lace our fingers together and pull Neely against me. The contact is something I need. We went without it for too long.
“Frank,” Neely says, “thank you for understanding.”
“I’m glad it all worked out.” Frank takes a step toward me. “I think the best man probably won this round.”
He extends a hand, and I shake it with my free one, which happens to be my left and a little awkward. Still, I’m not letting her go.
Looking down at Neely, I shrug. “Do you need to file something that shows you quit?”
She exchanges a look with Frank and they laugh.
“What’s so funny?” I ask.
“She quit before she knew you were here,” he says. “You already had her before your speech, but it was nice to get to witness.”
My jaw drops. “You quit? Before you came out here?”
She nods. “I didn’t come here to quit. I just sat in his office and everything kind of made sense. Or it didn’t make sense, I mean.” She leans her head on my shoulder. “I kept thinking about you and Mia and Mom, and I realized . . .” She looks at Frank. “I can do what I want to do from other places. It doesn’t have to be here. And I don’t have to sacrifice my happiness to do it. There’s no need to be a martyr. I can have a life and friends . . .”
“And a husband.” The receptionist shrugs. “Sorry. It felt like it fit, and I’m totally shipping you two together right now.”
“I can have a husband.” Neely blushes. “And maybe a daughter that’s not my blood, maybe, but is mine in every other sense of the word.”
I lower my lips to her ear. “And babies. Tell me you’ll have my babies.”
The receptionist moans, throwing her head back in her chair. “I gotta get a cold drink,” she says, getting to her feet. “Good luck to both of you, although I don’t think you’re going to need it.”
“Bye, Georgia,” Neely says, laughing.
She just tosses a wave over her shoulder as she disappears into a back room.
The room thins out, everyone going back to doing whatever it is they’re supposed to do. Frank and Neely say a quick goodbye that would’ve gone easier if I would let go of her hand.
Finally, it’s just me and her.
“What do we do now?” I ask. “Do you have stuff to get? Or do we go to the airport? Or do you want to stay in the city for a day or two? Haley will stay with Mia until I can convince you to come home with me.”
“I’d love to show you the city, and I do have things I need to get from my apartment. I probably need to cancel my lease too.” She bites her lip. “But there’s one thing I need to do before I do any of that.”
“What’s that?”
“I need to apologize to a little girl.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
NEELY
You’re going to have to let go of me at some point.” I giggle as Dane tries to shut the door behind us without releasing my hand. “I swear I’m not going anywhere.”
“Oh, I know that. Trust me. I just spent more time than necessary in a cab in New York. I’m pretty sure that has you owing me for the rest of our lives.”
I’m glowing. I know it. If the light were on or if it weren’t already dark outside, I’d look at my reflection and laugh, I’m sure. I can feel the joy oozing from my pores. It’s weird, but it’s so wonderful.
Dane sweeps me into his arms and kisses my neck. “Welcome home.”
“Don’t say that yet,” I warn. “I need to talk to Mia.”
“Yeah. Like she’s gonna kick you out. She’s the one who made me come get you. And her too,” he says, nodding toward someone approaching us from the kitchen. “Hey, Haley.”
“Hi.” She gets closer and I can see her giant smile. “Hi, Neely. Welcome home.”
“Thanks. And thank you for insisting Dane come to New York. I was on my way back, but he made quite the scene in my office. I’m pretty sure we’re legends there now.”
“I wish I could’ve seen that,” Haley gushes.
“It was epic.”
“Now that you’re back and, I’m guessing, moving in here,” she says, “I want you to know I can give you my key.”
I look at Dane before glancing back at her. “Why would you do that?”
“Yeah, crazy lady,” Dane says. “Why are you giving us your key?”
“I said I would. I don’t know how Neely feels about some woman she doesn’t really know having a key to her house, and with all the energy we’ve put into getting you two back together, I’ll be damned if I cause any ripples.”
“Keep your key.” I laugh. “If for no other reason than so Dane can call you and you can come over and talk sense to him. I hear he listens to you.”
“Not enough or you wouldn’t have been in New York to start with.” She heads to the couch and picks up what looks like a giant pink bag. “I’m going back to my house now so you two can have some time alone. Well, with a child upstairs. On second thought, want me to take her with me?”
Dane finally releases my hand. I shake it to get some blood back in my fingers. “That’s really sweet of you,” I say, flexing my hand, “but I need to talk to her.”
She nods. “I think that’s an awesome idea.” She heads to the door. “I’ll just play the next few days by ear. If you guys need me, call. If not, enjoy your time together.”
“Thanks, Haley,” Dane says. He walks over to her and they share a few quiet words before he closes the door behind her. “You ready to go upstairs?”
“Can I ask you a favor?”
“Sure.”
“Can I talk to Mia alone? I know you might not trust me yet, but—”
“Really?” He laughs.
“Well, the last time we talked about it, you said you’d filter through what you wanted her to know, and I get that. She’s your child.”
He takes my hand again and leads me up the stairs. “The last time we talked about this, I was pretty pissed at you. You were basically breaking my heart, and I was in Daddy Mode.”
“I get that.”
We stop outside Mia’s door. Dane takes my hands and turns me to face him. There’s a serenity in his eyes that I’ve never seen before, but it’s a look I never want him to lose.
“I want us to go forward together,” he says. “As a family. The three of us—that is, until you let me knock you up.”
I swat his shoulder. “Don’t say that out here,” I whisper. “I need to go in there, and my ovaries are now screaming, ‘Open for business,’ and that’s going to be distracting.”
He growls, pressing a kiss to my neck. “Go talk to her. Say what you need to say . . . but hurry the hell up, okay? I need you.”
I kiss him lightly, not giving him much of an opening to work with. He narrows his eyes.
I open the door. Dane pokes his head inside, checking on Mia, and smiles. “She’s all yours,” he whispers to me, retreating across the hall.
Taking a long, deep breath, I go inside.
A night-light shines next to her pink-and-white desk. She’s lying on her side, her little lips puckered like an angel’s. She’s so precious, and my heart aches thinking I hurt her feelings.
I kneel at the side of her bed and brush her hair off her forehead. “Hey, Mia. Can you wake up for a minute?”
“No,” she mumbles, tucking her hands under her pillow.
“Mia.” I shake her gently on the shoulder. “It’s Neely. Can you wake up and talk to me for a minute?”
I barely get the words out before her eyes shoot open. “Neely!” she exclaims, sitting up. “Are you really here?”
“I am.”
She throws her arms around my neck. I hold her close, feeling her little back shake as she cries. “I’m so glad you’re here,” she says.
“Oh, girl. I’m so glad to be here too.”
She pulls away, knocking the hair that’s stuck to her tears out of her face. Her eyes shine with a mixture of happiness and more tears, as if she can’t figure out which way to go with it.