“I think so too. I’ve even thought about the selection for each.” She snapped her gaze up, catching my expression. “What?”

“Nothing.”

I didn’t know how to put my whirlwind of thoughts into words, to tell her how much it meant to me that she’d given April and Peyton so much consideration. I couldn’t be the only one who was deeper into this than we’d anticipated. My feelings couldn’t be one-sided. No way, no how.

“We should go outside,” I said. “Or they’re going to suspect we’re up to no good.”

“Oh, they’ve been suspecting since I dragged you into the house. But let’s not give anyone the opportunity to catch us in the act.”

I chuckled, pressing her close one more time before we headed to the others.

I was going to go all out for this woman.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four

Carter

“April, tell me I’m seeing an extra zero.” I was looking at the total price of her cart, aghast. Fifty-six items.

“Nope. I’ve cut down from one hundred and eight, by the way.”

I glared at my niece hopelessly. She’d shown me the list some time ago, but it had grown exponentially ever since.

“How did you even find all these things?”

“Val advised. She also said you could talk to her if you have any complaints,” she said with a self-assured air, as if that was foolproof. She gave me the same excuse the last time she shoved the list under my nose.

“Did she now?”

“Yep. And by the way, you’ll be late for your date.”

“And you conveniently showed me this just as I was about to leave?”

She gave me a sheepish smile.

“Also Val’s tactic?”

“Yep.”

“We’re going to circle back to this another day.”

“But can I at least order a few?”

“No. I know what you’re doing. It’s not working.”

April pouted. Jesus, I’d barely resisted giving in to April before. If she and Val teamed up, I was a dead man. Angela, the girls’ nanny, was playing with Peyton in the living room. Peyton ran straight into my arms when she saw me, giving me one of her heartfelt smooches on the cheek. I hugged her close, kissing her forehead and reminding her to listen to Angela while I was gone, then I headed out for my date with Val.

I had quite the plan for tonight, and I was brave enough to admit I’d needed help putting it together. That help had come in the form of Hailey, who’d been ecstatic when I called her the morning after the dinner.

“I’m taking her out on a date, but I want to make it special. Any tips?”

“Holy shit, where to begin?”