“I love you too. You have no idea how much I love you and Ana.”
“Oh yay, this means I have two mommies!”
I turn around sharply at Ana’s voice, afraid that she’s escaped Abbie, but breathe a sigh of relief when I spot the police officers swarming into the house. Abbie is behind them, holding a squirming Ana.
The police take over from Cody and drag Todd off the ground and into the waiting police van. I reach out to Ana and scoop her into my arms. Rachel wraps her arms around us both and kisses Ana softly on the head.
“We’re going to need you all to stick around to be interviewed,” once of the officers announces to the bookstore crew, who all nod seriously.
“Sit down. I’ll call somebody to fix that window,” Jess orders, nudging me and Rachel to the couch.
Abbie has already located the broom and starts sweeping up the broken glass and crockery. I try to object and tell her she doesn’t need to, but she just grins at me and carries on tidying.
After Cody gives her interview, she finds our takeout menu drawer and asks Ana what she wants. Cody orders food for all of us from two different places and sees the officers out when they finish.
I huddle on the sofa with my girls as the others bustle around us. Ana has finally calmed down and sits quietly in the middle. Rachel grips my hand so tight it seems like she’ll never let me go.
I sigh deeply, and hope she never does.
Nineteen
Rachel
After everyone is gone and everything is cleaned up, Tiffany and I plop down on the couch. We’ve put Ana to bed and, for now, don’t have anything that requires our urgent attention.
I lean against her before I remember that we don’t quite know what this is. I pull away, embarrassed.
Tiffany smiles at me. “It’s okay. You can lean on me.”
I sigh and go back to leaning against her. It feels nice after the night that we’ve had.
It’s funny. I should feel so much more stress, but it all just melts away when I’m touching her.
Here goes nothing. I decide to take the plunge and ask what I’ve been wondering.
“What is this?” I ask while I’m still feeling brave.
She hesitates. “What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean,” I say.
“What do you want it to mean?” she asks. She sounds a little scared.
I almost have to laugh at that. Tiffany Wake is afraid of my thoughts on something. I would have never expected this to happen when we first met.
I reflect back on the events that have unfolded since we met. We’ve had our trials and tribulations. If this happened with anyone else, I would for sure think they came with too much drama and baggage.
But there’s something different about Tiffany. She’s just different than anyone else I’ve met before. She’s genuine and tough. She’s soft when she needs to be.
And I have to admit, I can see myself in her family. Ana and I get along and I just love her.
I can’t go on without her. I’m in too deep. There’s no turning back now.
So I need to tell her. I need to tell her all the things that are going on in my head and in my heart.
“I don’t want to ever be without you,” I say. I look up at her. “That’s how I feel. I want to date you seriously. I can’t go back to how things were before knowing now how incredible you are.”
She looks frozen. I don’t think she breathes the entire time I’m talking. Then, she lets out the breath she’s been holding, and she smiles.