Page 135 of Daydream

“Shhhhhh,” I hiss, silencing them both.

“And my beautiful Anastasia: I love you so much, baby. I am so proud of you and everything you’ve accomplished this year. You’ve worked so hard…”

“When can I start the booing?” Joe says, looking over his shoulder at Henry and JJ for guidance.

“Surely it’s soon,” JJ says.

“And I’m going to wrap it up there, folks. Enjoy the drinks, enjoy the music and the food. I’m so happy we get to celebrate here together tonight.”

Everyone claps and cheers; Henry’s arm leaves my shoulders, his hand slips into mine and tightens. “Do you want to go for a walk?” I ask, kissing his cheek.

“Yeah.”

We ignore Jaiden’s interrogation as we walk down the steps to a lower area of the outdoor hotel space. After walking for a couple of minutes hand in hand, we find a bench beneath a floral arch. I rest my head on his shoulder as we listen to the sound of a fountain running somewhere behind us.

“What are you thinking about?” I ask Henry, kissing the back of his hand.

“That we should get Joy a harness so she can come to places with us.”

“I love you,” I say, meaning every single syllable with my entire heart. “And how much you love my cat makes me love you even more.”

“I love you, too, Cap.”

“More than you love Joy?”

He grins wickedly, wrapping his arm around me to pull me in for a kiss. His hand travels down my back until it reaches my waist. He uses his grip on me to maneuver me onto his knee. “I was raised not to tell lies.”

When I try to wrestle him off me so I can run away, he clings to me a bit tighter, laughing hard. “Fighting is for fools, Halle, and you’re not a fool.”

“We need a new rule book,” I declare, wrapping my arms around his neck. “You’re out of control without guidelines. Rule book entry number one: stop using that ridiculous saying against me.”

His lips pull into a straight line as he shakes his head. “Sorry, the board said no.”

“The board is biased, I fear.”

“That might be true. They never punished me for all the times I thought about you naked.”

My jaw drops. “That wasn’t even a rule! It was that you weren’t allowed to bring it up!”

“Oh, my bad.” Henry kisses my shoulder, and in the distance, I can hear the start of a song that is almost definitely fromMamma Mia!

“Thank you for being on my team, Henry.”

“Thank you for giving me the love I could never picture.”

I take his face in my hands, kissing him deeply with every ounce of my love for him. “And how does it make you feel? Now that you can picture it?”

He’s quiet while he thinks. “Like I’m living in my daydreams. So, pretty damn happy.”