Where We Left Off

“Lucas is delivering the last of them. I’ve got things taken care of here if you want to take off a little early.”

“No, Vickie. Let me help you close up shop.” I shut the door to the glass case and pressed my hands to my green apron. “I’m happy to help.”

“Nope. Head home to lover boy. I’ll be fine here.”

I rolled my eyes dramatically but blushed at the phrase she so commonly used when it came to Heath. I’d been working for Vickie long enough now to know that she wouldn’t put up with my protest, so I gathered my purse and keys after giving her a hug goodbye and headed to the lot where my car was parked.

Heath had been at home with Corbin all day. He’d had the day off from school and for the last week, he’d left little hints that he wanted to watch him when I went to work. I’d brushed it off, nonchalantly saying I was happy to bring Corbin to the shop with me, but I could tell Heath was sincere in his ask.

So I let him. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. Of course I was apprehensive. Not that I thought Heath couldn’t handle it—that wasn’t it at all. I was just in the baby routine and it wasn’t something you could easily fall into. I knew when Corbin’s cry rose at the end, it meant he was hungry. And when he would rub his tummy, he wanted his pacifier. A flapping hand meant he needed his blankie and a pouty lip indicated he was ready for a nap. I’d cracked his baby code and didn’t want to give Heath any additional challenges. He’d overcome so many already.

That being said, it did something to my heart to know that he wanted to spend the day with my son, without me around. It didn’t feel like Corbin was the extra part of me anymore. This plus one. This little person that came along when Heath had agreed to be mine. He wasn’t baggage. He was a bonus, a huge and wonderful bonus.

I found my heart feeling so much fuller than it ever had with each mile I drew closer to our home. I couldn’t wait to hear about their day. I knew a zoo trip and frozen yogurt was on the agenda and around noon, Heath had sent me an adorable selfie that documented their day. The giraffe in the background made me laugh and the ice cream cone with more toppings than I would ever allow made my mouth burst into a smile.

It was an image of a father and son. Maybe not officially in title, but definitely in love.

I’d saved it instantly as the new wallpaper for my phone.

The door was unlocked when I reach the house and my keys clanged against the entryway table as I set them down next to my purse.

“Heath?” I called out like I did every day. He was often home from school several hours before Corbin and I were finished at the flower shop. “Heath? You home?”

“In here!”

His voice resonated down the long hall. I tried to place it and it sounded like maybe they were in Corbin’s room. That would make sense. I looked at my wristwatch and realized it was just after Corbin’s nap. The breath in my lungs released. Heath had made it through the entire day, following my son’s schedule like a pro. This was the closest feeling I’d had to family in the past two years, and part of me wanted to burst into tears while the other couldn’t contain the happiness that brought about.

I toed off my shoes and left them in the hall. I couldn’t wait to see both of my boys. I picked up my stride and when I got to Corbin’s room, only to find it darkened and empty, I stopped in my steps.

“Heath?”

His voice was a bit further off when he answered, “In your room.”

I rounded the corner and froze.

“Oh my God, Heath.”

I immediately recognized so many of the arrangements I’d crafted just this week. There was the gerbera daisy bouquet I’d arranged yesterday placed on the nightstand, and the calla lily basket I’d worked on earlier in the morning now sitting on the dresser. At least two dozen more sprays of floral arrangements were decorated around the room, and where flowers were lacking, petals were strewn in their place.

And there, among the colorful display, was Heath, Corbin held firmly against his side.

“Hey, you.” Heath’s smile was soft, just like his voice. “Come on in.”

I couldn’t keep the tears from forming, and they blurred my ability to walk without bumping into the maze of arrangements. “Heath, what is all of this?”

He motioned me forward until his hand fell into mine. “Did you have a good day at work?”

“Yeah.” I warily glanced around the room, at the scene before me. “Did everything go okay with Corbin?”

“It was the best day.” Heath’s eyes hadn’t diverted, even when Corbin arched backward, trying to be free from his grip. “We had the best day.”

I wouldn’t allow my heart to guess where this was going. I couldn’t be let down in that way. Instead, I dragged out our conversation and tried to fill in the quiet gaps. “I’m glad to hear it.”

“How about yours?”

I laughed. “Well, I’d say half of what kept me busy today is in this room. And I wondered why we had so many orders last night.”

Biting his bottom lip, which left the most adorable dimple in his right cheek, Heath winked at me. “Yeah, I might’ve had a little something to do with that.”

“Looks like.”

That was the extent of my procrastinating. I couldn’t draw this out any more than I’d already done. There was a next step here, and the air around us vibrated with anticipation.

“Mallory.” Heath’s neck pulled tight with a swallow. “There’s something the two of us wanted to ask you.”