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“Here is good. Thank you, Eli, for all of this. You didn’t have to do this for us.” She doesn’t get it. I walk over to her and place my hand on her just under her jaw, tipping her head up to look at me.
“Whether you want to believe it or not, you and Maddie are now my world. I will protect you from Jake and anything else that might come our way.”
“What about my heart, Eli? Will you protect that, too?” My gut twists with her unspoken words.
“I will show you, Quinn, that I won’t let you go so easily this time.”
She nods her head and steps away, rummaging through her bag.
“Goodnight, Quinn.”
“Goodnight, Eli.”
She barely looks at me; the bond is pulsing, telling me to comfort her, but she’s not ready yet. I head to my room and get ready for bed. My mind is whirling with the day's events, but eventually, I fall into a dreamless sleep.
Chapter 6 - Quinn
The sun pours through the window, shining right into my eyes. Ugh, I should have closed the blinds. My body is hot and a little amped up from the highly inappropriate dream I had of Eli last night. Took me a year to stop dreaming about him the last time but now all his gorgeousness is in my face and tempting me through the door I permanently closed three years ago. Immediately, I bolt upright, because I haven't heard Maddie. I scramble to get my phone to see the time and am shocked to see it’s eight o’clock! I haven’t slept-in like this in years! I fling the covers off of me and race to the door. Maddie doesn’t sleep in, like at all. She is normally trying to get up at 5:30! I get to her room, and the door is wide open with no Maddie sleeping peacefully in her bed. My heart is pumping, adrenaline coursing through my body. I hear noise downstairs, so I race down the stairs to see where Maddie is. Finally reaching the bottom, I come around the stairs to a sight I had never expected.
Standing in the kitchen are Maddie and Eli, covered in flour. Maddie stands on a chair by the counter while Eli stands beside her, wearing grey sweatpants and…no…top. Now, my heart is pumping for an entirely different reason. He is unbelievably sexy. The muscles in his back ripple as he moves the mixing bowl closer to the stove. My face heats up, and I am suddenly very warm. I didn’t really get to see all of him that first time because it was dark, but I felt him, and the memories come flooding back to me. The hard muscles and hot skin. A shiver rolls through my body as I am momentarily stuck in place. Eli goes to turn back to Maddie but catches sight of me. He turns to look at me, head on, and his chest comes into full view. The light dusting of blonde hair outlines his very, very hard chest. The moment our eyes meet, I can see the flare of attraction between us. My breathing is shallow as Eli takes me in, head to toe; that’s when I remember I am wearing a pair of panties and a slightly larger-than-normal t-shirt. Eli is eating me up with his eyes, reminding me to get moving and put some clothes on! I turn and head back upstairs to do just that. How embarrassing. I should have slept in proper pajamas last night, but I wasn’t thinking! Eli gets me so flustered, and I was friggin' exhausted when I fell into bed last night. Finally in a decent outfit, I head back downstairs. Maddie sits at the table with a pancake in front of her, and Eli stands in front of the stove, flipping another pancake. I walk over to Maddie and kiss her head, trying to avoid her syrupy hands.
“Mommy! Look! I made dis!”
“Did you help make pancakes, baby?”
“Ya!”
“It looks delicious. Maybe I can have some.”
“You sit here.” She pats the seat beside her, and I try to remember to bring a cloth back to clean up the obvious sticky mess she just made. I head over to Eli, who is not so slyly checking me out again.
“Good morning,” I say, coming to stand a few steps away from him.
“Good morning. You didn’t have to change on my account; I rather liked the view of those gorgeous legs.” I’m starting to get warm again, but I shake it off.
“Sorry about that; I freaked out a bit when Maddie didn’t wake me up and then couldn’t find her in her room.”
“Shit, sorry, Quinn. I didn’t think. I heard her get up, so I just figured I could spend time with her. I figured you don’t normally get to sleep in, so I would play and entertain Maddie while you slept.”
He is so kind and thoughtful. Why can’t he be a jerk right now so I can keep hating him for rejecting me? He is so good with Maddie; even in my aroused stupor, I could see Maddie smiling and laughing. He took every precaution while cooking with her; he loves her, and he has only just met her. I guess that makes sense; I had never felt so much love for a person until I saw Maddie for the first time. In just an instant, she became my whole world! A child can really upend your life, but they bring so much to it as well. He is going to be a fantastic dad…I need to tell Maddie.
“No, no, it’s OK! Thank you for doing that. It’s been a long time since I was able to sleep in. I appreciate it.”
“Good.”
“You’re really good with her…I was thinking of telling her right now that you are her dad…if you want.”
“Yes Quinn! I really want that.”
“OK.” I take a deep breath and walk back over to Maddie, taking the seat beside her. I try to peel her hair off her face, which is stuck there by syrup. Eli sits just on the other side of her.
“Baby, I wanna tell you something.” She turns to me with innocent eyes, and I hope beyond hope I am doing the right thing.
“OK.”
“You know how your friend Casey has a mommy and a daddy?”
“Ya.”
