I sat down, next to him. “Everything okay?” I asked.

“I’m just going to miss seeing you every day,” he said.

“Weston, honey, she’s right down the street!” Veronica said, laughing.

“I know,” he said, still unhappy.

“I promise we’ll be considerate of your time with her,” Julianne assured him.

That seemed to cheer Weston up a bit, and he took my hand in his.

Sam and Julianne returned to their seats.

“When?” I asked. “I don’t really have a lot to bring over.”

“Tomorrow?” Julianne asked.

“Tomorrow?” I echoed.

“Or not,” Sam sat, patting Julianne’s knee. “When you’re ready.”

“I guess tomorrow is as good a time as any. If you’re sure . . .”

Julianne didn’t hesitate. “We’re sure.”

“Okay, then,” I said with a small smile.

“Perfect!” Julianne said. “We’ll take care of everything. If there is something you need that we don’t have, you just let us know.”

“So … to tomorrow?” Sam said, holding up his nearly empty wineglass. The other adults in the room held up their glasses, and Weston and I held up our glasses of Cherry Coke.

“To tomorrow,” we all said in unison.

Chapter Twelve

Sam and Julianne returned home, anxious to finish up a few things before I moved in the next day. Peter and Veronica retreated to their bedroom, and Weston asked me to take a drive. We held hands while he drove out to his favorite spot, the overpass, and we lay in the bed of the truck, looking up at the stars.

“I’m a little nervous. I just got you, and I’ve had you all to myself until now,” he said, leaning over to kiss my hair.

I leaned into his kiss, my head resting on his arm. “I’m just around the corner, and I’ll still need a ride to school every morning. I don’t think things will be that different.”

“I don’t know. You have eighteen years of making up to do, and I would be a complete ass if I begrudged you getting to know your parents. I feel like I should step aside, but I don’t want to.”

“I don’t want you to step aside,” I said, thinking over his last words. “My parents. Wow. It’s just . . . crazy. I keep thinking I’m going to wake up, or someone’s going to tell me this was a cruel prank.”

“A cruel prank? You’ve just hit the lottery. Not only are your bullies gone, but you have two of the best people in town as your parents.”

“It feels wrong to celebrate it.”

“You didn’t steal them, Erin. They’re yours. Kind of like me.”

I looked over at him, and I could see his amazing smile in the dim light of the moon. “It’s just too much good luck all at once for someone who hasn’t had any. I feel like it’s all going to be ripped away from me at any moment.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” he said. “I promise.”

I turned onto my side, leaning over him, and touched my lips to his. It was a chilly night, but something deep inside of me felt warm, and the warmth spread throughout my body. Weston felt it, too, because his fingers pressed into my skin, and he made that little sound that I loved. I pulled away, and bit my lip, a little nervous about what I was about to do.