46. Van

46

Van

J osie started to untie me, but never actually finished, so I'm still mostly tied to a wooden chair. But my left hand is free, so that's a plus. And there's a part of my brain that is actively making plans for exactly what to do with this chair and these ties once her family leaves.

Assuming, of course, that Josie doesn't boot me out of her life permanently for being such a dumbass.

And even if she does, no one in her family shows any sign of leaving.

In fact, I'm pretty sure I'm about to be put on trial by a trio of elementary school kids.

When I asked for a lawyer, Iris gave the nod, and Milo presented me with Baby Lala, a headless doll.

Iris cracks her gavel and court is in session. I've never been to actual court, but I bet it's not this crazy. The kids are firing off questions and I'm answering them as best I can.

"Are you the boy who broke Josie's heart?" Tillie wants to know.

Before I can admit my mistakes, Milo's volleying accusations my way. "Are you or are you not working with Mr. Bilson to hide dead bodies in his garage and sell them for parts?"

"Uh, definitely not," I answer.

Levi's laughing his ass off and Zane's sitting in the corner, watching. I have no idea where he got a giant plate of nachos, but now I'm hungry.

"If Josie forgives you, will you marry her?" Tillie's playing hardball and I like her style.

Josie doesn't even let me field that one. "Okay, you three, you've had your fun, but Van didn't come here to play Court TV." She turns to me, her cheeks flushed. "Let me finish untying you. Did you want help studying before your finals? Is that why you came? Unless you're not taking them? I know you weren't sure?—"

"No," I say quickly. "I mean, yes, I am staying at Bainbridge. And yeah, I could definitely use some help studying, but no, Jos, that isn't why I came here."

The room goes silent except for a chorus of "Oooooh". I'm pretty sure it's led by Levi.

It's time to lay it all out. "I came here for you, Jos. To apologize, yes. To beg for forgiveness I probably don't deserve."

Josie's shaking her head. "Van, you were hurt and I?—"

"No, Jos," I say, lifting my one free hand and placing a finger on her lips. "Don't make excuses for me. I was an ass. And I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for pushing you away and for the things I said."

"Um, can we get back to the trial?" Milo asks.

"No," Josie says, just as I say, "Yes."

Josie raises a brow. "You want to go through cross-ex with Tillie? She looks sweet, but the girl has a brutal line of questioning, trust me."

"I'm ready for it. Do your worst, Tillie."

"Are you really, really, really sorry and do you promise never to make Josie cry again?"

"I am really, really, really sorry. I hate to admit it, but if you give me another chance, Jos, I'll probably bring tears to those pretty brown eyes at some point. But I promise to wipe them away and be careful with your heart."

"Hmmm…" Tillie says, tapping her chin. "Not bad. Ok, how do you feel about cats?"

This is a tough one. It could go either way, but I trust my gut. "Love ‘em." It's clearly the right answer because Iris smiles and gives me a thumbs-up.

Tillie's not done. "Do you think we should get a pool?"

"Uh…honestly, I think if you've got that kind of space in your backyard, you should set up an ice rink. My buddy's friends did it for his birthday and I heard it was awesome."

Zane looks up from his snack and I swear I get a smile.

"Your Honor," Tillie says, looking at Iris, "We are finished with the witness."

Iris smacks the gavel against an end table because it seems to be her new favorite thing to do. "Do you have any last statements?" she asks.

"First, I want to say that I'm sorry, Jos, for breaking your heart and mine. In my fu—messed up brain, I thought I was protecting both of us from heartache down the road. But that was my insecurity talking. You have all the faith in the world in me, so maybe I should have some more in myself. But most importantly, I promise to do better. If you trust me with your heart again, I will treat it like the gift it is."

She walks over to me and finishes untying me then points to the crutches that are less than a foot away, leaning against the wall. My keys, phone, and wallet have all magically reappeared, too.

I don't want any of that stuff right now, though. Reaching up, I pull Josie into my lap, careful to shift her onto my right leg. Cupping her face, I trace her jaw and press my lips to hers.

"I love you, Josie Reynolds. I have for a really long time. Three years, three months, nine days, and sixteen hours, if you want to be precise."

She starts to kiss me back, but Milo interrupts. "Do you agree to be responsible for the prisoner if the court releases him into your custody?"

"Absolutely," she says, kissing me soundly.

Milo whines about how gross it is, Zane tells us to cool it because there are children present, and Levi just laughs before starting to herd the kids out into the snow. I'm grateful for the time alone, but I don't think we'll have much of it.

Levi pulls me in for a bro-hug. "Welcome to Crazytown, Van. And just so you know, Iris's longest record for playing in the snow is 14 minutes."

"Yeah," Milo agrees. "So finish up with the kissy face business and then make some hot cocoa." A second later, his face is back. "Please."

The kids get bundled up and troop out the door and finally I'm in a place I thought I'd never be again—alone with Josie.

Our kisses are frantic and though I don't have a ton of mobility in my leg, my arms are working just fine. I run my hands over Josie's body before slipping one under her sweater. Thank god for no-bra days. Things are just getting good when Josie pulls back.

"Levi wasn't kidding. Iris is tough as nails in a living room court of law, but she's a total wimp when it comes to cold temps. We should make some hot cocoa for when they come back in."

I stand and take my crutches before following Josie into the kitchen.

"I'm afraid to ask, but is there any update about your knee?" She asks, pouring milk into a pan and turning on the burner.

"I want to talk to you about all of it—my knee, my future, our future...Jos, I meant what I said out there. I love you. I probably shouldn't have stopped by unannounced, but...I was half afraid you'd refuse to see me, and with good reason."

"Bet you didn't plan on getting roped into a court appearance, literally."

"It was worth it."

Josie smiles as the door opens and the herd comes back in, tracking snow everywhere. "Whoa, you know better. Leave your stuff in the mudroom, then come back to wash up and set the table," she tells the little ones. "Set an extra spot. And make it actually at the table, got it? I know the way you three work, and I want to be clear. Van is my boyfriend and he's welcome here. He's also injured, so no booby traps. And don't think about setting his plate down next to the cat's bowl, ok?"

Milo rolls his eyes, and Tillie nods. "I'm watching you," Iris warns and Van smiles.

"I'm staying for dinner?"

"Look at the driveway," she says. "If this snow keeps up, you might be staying the weekend."

He pulls her close. "As your boyfriend , I have no complaints."

"Caught that, did you?" she says, rolling out biscuit dough.

"I hear every word you say, Josie Reynolds. And even some you don't. You like to point out how opposite we are, and yeah, I get that. But we're in sync, too." I wrap her up in my arms, sticky hands and all. "We fit, you and me."

She leans up for a kiss and I give it to her. Our tongues tangle and I could do this until my lips are sore.

But then an airhorn nearly blows my eardrum out.

Milo grins up at me. "There's a three second kissing rule. If you get to four, you get the horn."

I guess that means I have to save all the really good kisses for when it's just the two of us.