First Kiss Last by Sara Miller (read e book .TXT) 📗

Robert cut her off. “Especially not now that we know she pressured you to marry Eric.”

Leah shot her sister a glare.

“Yes, I told him,” Lily’s chin went up. “We’re your family.”

Robert gave Leah an awkward side hug before retreating. But she wasn’t mad, just surprised.

“He caught me crying last night. He’s my husband, I had to tell him.”

“It’s okay, Lily. Really. I just hadn’t thought.”

“He’s mad by the way. Not at you at all. But just how everything went down and well, where you are now—” she waved a hand vaguely, “with things with Eric.”

“Emmie wouldn’t have been looking for Eric, would she?” Leah asked, then laughed. Lily shook her head agreeing to the absurdity of the question.

“It was snowing during the parade. Did you notice? She’s been obsessed with snow right now ’cause of that darn Frozen movie,” Lily snapped her fingers and pointed upward. “I bet that’s it!”

Leah nodded but she wasn’t completely convinced. It was a good explanation though, so she went along with it.

Dinner was delicious and dessert was fantastic. She was always proud of the meal they could put on together. It was like having a piece of their childhood back: Thanksgiving at their grandmother’s house. Now making and eating the meal together felt like having Gigi with them.

Leah wiped at her eyes, glad the movie they had been watching was over and she had the living room to herself. Being so emotional was not like her but if it was going to happen, the holidays seemed an appropriate time.

Robert and Lily caught her grabbing a tissue. They had just put the girls to bed and returned just in time to catch the end of Leah’s waterworks. Robert cleared his throat and looked awkward. Lily sat beside her and took her hand.

“Oh my goodness, please tell me this is not an intervention!” Leah looked back and forth between the couple. She tried to laugh at her joke but it fell flat.

“It’s not—” Robert started and stopped. Leah looked to Lily and saw her nod to Robert encouraging him to continue. “But we do have something we want to say. To tell you.”

“You’re pregnant!” Leah guessed.

“Oh heck no!” Lily laughed. “Robert, stop dragging it out. You’re even freaking me out and I know what you’re gonna say!” She laughed again and squeezed her sister’s hand.

“About Eric. We’ve decided however this plays out, we’ll support you. One hundred percent.”

“I know,” Leah nodded, a bit confused. They had always been there for her.

“We mean that if you decide to stay with him, we’ll do better, be better, try to really connect with him. I’m afraid I never really tried very hard,” Robert shook his head. “It also means that if you don’t decide to stay with him . . . we got you.”

Leah tilted her head to the side and looked to her sister for an explanation.

“We got you,” Lily repeated. “As in, that room up stairs is yours. No. Matter. What.”

“For as long as you need it,” Robert added.

Leah could barely process all they were offering. They would befriend Eric on her behalf? Or let her live here if she left him? It was too much. Leah didn’t even realize she was crying again until she felt the tears splash on her hands. She looked down and saw Lily’s fingers were still intertwined with hers.

This was family. This was what real love was.

“Come on,” Lily pulled her up off the couch. “Let’s get you to bed. It’s been a long day.”

Leah nodded and let her sister guide her upstairs. Robert followed behind them turning off lights. At the guest room door, Leah finally found the most basic of words.

“Thank you,” she hugged Lily for several long moments.

After saying goodnight, Leah was left on her own. She readied for bed on autopilot. Snuggled under the safety of the covers, her tears returned. She was exhausted.

Leah closed her teary eyes and drifted off to sleep. She dreamed she was in Cade’s bed and he held her as she cried. Nothing more. Just held her. It was beautiful. When she woke, she felt puffy and tired but also oddly ready to face whatever was next.

Chapter 23

The next two weeks passed in a blur of excitement which would best be described as “shop ‘til you drop!” Leah felt that if she wasn’t working, she was shopping.

Leah did her own Christmas shopping first. She picked out perfect gifts for everyone on her list. Even Eric, although it was more of a goodbye gift than a true Christmas present. She had thought and prayed and felt sure in her heart that it was time to release him. They both should be allowed to have the life they wanted. Leah just wasn’t sure how to bring it up. So she waited.

Waited and shopped. Next was shopping with Lily. They did a massive trip and got everything Lily needed for the girls and Robert. She bought the big wow items, the more modest Santa gifts, stocking stuffers, and all the presents in between.

Meanwhile, she made mental notes of what Lily liked as they shopped. It came in handy when Robert called begging for her help. It wasn’t really a surprise because they did this every year. Leah loved it. She had known him since childhood and loved him like a brother.

Shopping with Robert made Leah feel special. It felt good to be helpful and involved. Plus, she always got a yummy meal out of it. She was also pretty sure Robert used his intel to report back to Lily on ideas for her. They had a great system.

Leah also shopped in her dreams. Shopping with Cade was like nothing she had never experienced before, especially with Liam and Sky along. It was chaotic and crazy and she loved it.

The dream started out simply enough. Leah had found herself at Cade’s kitchen table. She assumed it was morning because the air still smelled of bacon and syrup. Leah had a pen in her