“She does?” I narrowed my eyes.
With a tight smile, he nodded a half dozen times.
“Huh. I didn’t know that.”
Fisher’s gaze shifted to the front door as Rory and Rose came out in their sweatshirts, jogging pants, and tennis shoes.
“They must be escaping my grandparents for a walk. I bet it’s a long walk.”
They eyed us as they made a big production of stretching on the porch.
“Call me when you get home.” I reached for the door handle.
“No kiss?”
I shot him a sideways glance. “I figured you didn’t want to kiss me in front of them.”
“I’m not the one getting grounded. What do I have to lose?”
Rolling my eyes, I leaned over the console. “I’m twenty-four. I think my grounding days are over.”
He slid one hand behind my neck and grinned just before kissing me with no urgency to stop, with lots of tongue, and a little moan on his part. “Bye, beautiful.”
Fisher lit up my world in the most spectacular fashion.
“Have a good day.” I climbed out of his truck and strutted my stuff to the front door as Rory and Rose gave Fisher a tiny wave.
“Good morning,” Rose said.
“Mor … ning …” I singsonged, wearing a grin that was nearly too big for my face.
“Did you have a fun night?” Rory asked before smirking.
I reached for the door handle. “Fun night. Fun morning. Fun shower. Just so much fun.”
Rose snorted a laugh.
“So help me … if Fisher doesn’t make this all okay in the end, he’s not going to live to see his next birthday.”
“Wow, babes. Prison really toughened you up,” Rose said, grabbing my mom’s hand and dragging her toward the sidewalk.
I didn’t want Fisher to miss his next birthday, but I loved seeing my mom on my team. It meant everything to me.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
For every step we took forward, it felt like we took two backward.
Fisher had to cancel dinner with us because his family （including Angie） were getting together when some of his extended family paid a surprise visit. That visit lasted the rest of the weekend.
Work on Monday and a mom of twins going into labor on Tuesday spilled over into Wednesday. I crashed when I finally got home. And by Thursday morning, Fisher was on his way to the airport with Angie for four days and three nights in Costa Rica.
I kept my chin up and feigned any confidence that tried to slip away when I had time to think about something other than pregnant mamas. On Friday morning, Fisher called me.
“Hey!” I answered my phone on my way to work.
“Good morning. You working?”
“On my way now.”
“Well, I fucking hate that I didn’t get to say goodbye in person.”
“It’s life.” I meant it, but it still didn’t ease my own disappointment. I want to say what a mature adult would’ve or should’ve said in that situation.
“Not the life I want.”
I smiled.
“Yeah, in-person goodbyes should be mandatory. How is Costa Rica?”
“Green.”
I laughed.
“What’s on the agenda for today?”