She automatically knew what he referred to and began to shake her head. “I love them, so not another word.”
Her arm came around him, giving a side hug. “I see you found the cookies.”
“I made those,” Mae said proudly to the ones in his hand. He instantly looked at Abigail.
“I ate yours comin’ down the hall. They’re good. I knew it was yours because they were the same color as your heart,” he teased, trying for a compliment she’d appreciate and stuck his tongue out, knowing the dark dye in the icing left a streak there. It appeased her. She nodded. Her fingertip pressed on a word from the book in her lap, already halfway through the large novel.
“I feel like the Cullen’s need to adopt me,” Abi said in perhaps a teasing way. It was hard to know with her.
He nodded, raising his brows. She gave him a rare smile and began to read again.
“Are the Cullen’s real? It didn’t seem like they were,” Dev asked his mom in a stage whisper meant to be heard by Abi. “She’s not plannin’ on gettin' adopted right? I like her. She’s pretty okay to have around.”
Abi gave a huff, never lifting her head from the book.
Mae’s head went to his shoulder. Her lips turned to press against his T-shirt. She was so sweet.
“Daddy, I’m glad to see you, but we want to stay with Momo this week.”
Mae couldn’t have planned the timing better to draw him in then sucker punch him right in the gut.
“What? I drove all this way to get you. I can bring you back in the mornin’.”
“Thank you for coming, but we’ll just stay tonight. Can I watch TV?” she asked, moving to where her face was inches from his. He edged her down on the sofa where she bounded three jumps back to the remote.
“Girls, I’m going to feed your father. Y’all finish watching the movie,” his mother said.
“That’s code for stay in here,” Abi explained to Mae.
“I know. You don’t know everything,” Mae shot back.
Dev started to intervene, hoping to stop an argument before it got started, but his mom ushered him from the room.
“No fighting,” she said casually over her shoulder and got a“Yes, ma’am”back in unison.
All he could do was stare at her and her magical power, wanting to dissect exactly what she did to make them easily agree. She started down the hall where he was slower to follow. “How did you do that?”
“I’m forty-four years old. If I haven’t learned how to talk to children, that’s on me,” she explained as if that answered anything. The logic was so iffy he slowed his steps even further, analyzing her Confucius says style of teaching. “I made you dinner. The girls helped. The mashed potatoes are a little salty. That’s a Mae thing. She insisted you like a lot.” Mashed potatoes generally meant homemade fried chicken. The rest was forgotten as he took long strides to catch up. “How was Keyes?”
Outside of the cookies, he hadn’t eaten since Cash had brought him a vegan bowl of rice and vegetables last night that turned out to be pretty good.
Cash. The name bounced around his head like a happy little bouncy ball.
The guy hadn’t been far from his thoughts all day.
He didn’t understand it. Cash turned out to be an extreme source of happiness. His pretty boy had an ability to keep all the worries and discord at a distance. His head hadn’t been screaming at him since the moment they met. He hadn’t dialed Tena one time, let alone a thousand times, telling her what a cunt she was. He considered that a win. Life seemed easier to manage with Cash staying at his place at night.
Two mornings ago, when he’d awakened on his own and alone in bed, Dev had whipped off the blankets with force, ready to storm across the hall and demand another five-star fucking.
Then he’d entered the main part of his apartment. How the smell of disinfectant and cleaner hadn’t assaulted his nose from the minute his eyes popped open spoke to how situationally unaware he was when it came to that generous man.
He swore his apartment sparkled like a Mr. Clean commercial.
Cash had washed every single surface in his house. Piles of clothing, towels, sheets, and blankets were folded neatly and left on the kitchen island. Cash had to have been up all night to manage all his mess. A handwritten note was tucked underneath Dev’s wallet and keys. His cell phone was plugged into the charger next to the entry table.
Dev,
I let you sleep.
