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“Get to work,” I toss over my shoulder with no heat in my words. Lachlan, Forrest, and Maddox leave us alone.
“So they know?”
“Yeah, they know. Not that they were surprised. Sometimes, I think they know me better than I know myself. Forrest called me out on my extra-smiley demeanor.”
“Em and I had a very similar conversation at breakfast.”
I kiss her temple. “I need to get to work.” With her hand in mine, I lead her to the front desk where Lyra is sitting. My next client stands when he sees me. I watch as he roams his eyes over Monroe. She’s wearing a pair of short khaki shorts, which make her tanned legs look like they're ten miles long, and a tight white tank top. He takes a second pass, and I feel my blood start to boil.
“When you’re done eye fucking my wife, we can get started.” I cross my arms over my chest and glare at him.
“Legend!” Monroe gasps.
Snagging my arm around her waist, I move her to stand in front of me. I slide my hand behind her neck and kiss her. Not just some generic peck on the lips. I trace her lips with my tongue, demanding she open for me. She does instantly. When I pull away, we’re both breathing heavily.
“I love you.”
Her eyes soften. “I love you, too, caveman,” she teases.
“Only for my wife.” One more quick peck and she’s turning and walking out the door. My client doesn’t turn to watch her go. Smart man. “Ready?” I ask him. I can be reasonable. I’m not about to throw hands because he looked at her. At least not today. I’m in a hella good mood, and I got to see my wife when I wasn’t expecting to, so he’s lucky.
“Meant no disrespect,” he says once he’s in my chair.
I nod. “Let me get your stencil and place it, and you can tell me what you think.” I should tell him it’s not a big deal, but he was eye fucking her, and as her husband, that’s a very big deal to me. I accepted his no disrespect, and he’ll know in the future that she’s mine, and he needs to treat her as such.
“Take a look,” I tell him once I have the stencil placed.
He stands and heads toward the mirror. “Perfect.” He sits back in the chair, and I get to work.
It’s Friday night, and I’m sitting on Roman’s couch, with baby Lilly. I’m holding her hands while she’s standing on my thighs and bouncing up and down on her little legs. “She’s getting stronger,” I tell Roman.
“Yeah, she is. That’s her new favorite thing. She could do it for hours.”
“Well, Lilly bug, you’re in luck. Your mommy and Aunt Monroe are downstairs, scrapbooking, so I have a feeling I’ll be here for a while.”
She coos and laughs as her little legs bounce away.
“Man, you made a cute kid,” I tell him.
He laughs. “She looks just like her momma.”
“I can see a little of you in her too.”
“Yeah, Em says she has my moodiness.”
“No,” I say dramatically, making faces at her, and she grins. “You’re not moody like Daddy, are you?” I ask her. “Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you. Do you have the number for the realtor that sold you this place?”
“Yeah, I think I still have it in my phone. You looking to move?”
“We’re going to have to when we start a family. My place is a one-bedroom now. I thought about adding on, but the lot’s not big enough for that, and I want to have room for the kids to play in the backyard.”
“You guys trying?”
“Nah, not yet, but I want to be ready.”
“You know, I was talking to the guy across the street the other night when I was taking the trash cans to the curb. They’re getting ready to put their place on the market. If you can get to him before he signs, you could avoid the realtor fees and save some money.”
I let that sink in. I can imagine the smile on my wife’s face when she realizes that she’s going to be living across the street from her best friend. This is a great neighborhood. Forrest made sure of that. He wanted Emerson to have a safe place to call home. Everything that was the opposite of what they grew up in.
