She giggles when I pull out and step away from her. She turns and stands, wiggling her dress back down over her hips. She stands up on her tiptoes and kisses me, then with all the cheek in the world she says, “I always get what I want.”
I can’t help the bubble of laughter that erupts from me as I pull her tight against my body to hold her in my arms.
“Your mischievous little gremlin,” I say against her lips.
“Oh, what happened to pixie?” she grins.
We kiss under the stars in the chilled winter air.
When I pull my head back to look at her again, my heart swells with so many emotions it’s difficult to speak.
She is everything to me. This isn’t an obsession to conquer. This is…this is something so much deeper. So much more realer than that.
“I am always going to take care of you, Izabel. You and our baby. I promise you that you and our little gremlin will never ever be without, and you will always be protected.”
“I don’t want protection, Anton. I want someone to be there as a father for my baby. A family. I want something real,” she whispers.
“I want the same thing. I want that with you.”
***
The flight to Chicago has my nerves on edge. My shoulders are tense, and my jaw is tight. Izabel keeps reaching out to touch me, running her hand over my leg or gently tracing her fingers up the back of my neck.
“Thank you for doing this. I know you don’t want to,” she says with a soft smile on her face.
“I do want to. I just don’t expect it to go well,” I explain.
“It’s going to go well. Josiah wouldn’t have invited you to start a fight in his own family home. He’s not like that.”
“And his brother? His sister?”
“Oh, you’ll love them! They’re amazing,” she says happily.
“Amazing, huh,” I grumble.
She pulls my face towards hers and kisses me. “You’ll find out soon enough.”
Izabel is excited when we arrive at the front steps of Josiah’s family home. It’s a nice-looking place. Even before they open the front door, we can hear music playing loudly from inside, accompanied by laughter.
I take a deep breath as we walk up the stairs.
Izabel takes my hand in hers. She throws me a happy smile. She’s obviously excited to be here.
The door doesn’t open. Itburstsopen, and two tiny twins run out at full speed, followed by an older girl I recognize from photos. Alara, Josiah’s sister.
“Lizard!” one of the little girls shouts, leaping from the top step into Izabel’s arms. She has to move so quickly to let go of my hand and catch the girl.
“Oh, my goodness, you are getting way too heavy to bomb me like that!” Izabel laughs, nuzzling her face into the little girl’s hair.
“Izzie,” the other little girl says, slipping her arm around Izabel’s waist and snuggling close.
“Hello, Kelsey, little muffin, you guys get taller every time I see you. How old are you and Kira now? Nine?” Izabel asks with a cheeky grin.
“We’re six and an almost half! How come you always forget!” Kira says, horrified.
“Goodness me. I thought you were nine already. You’re so tall,” she replies, setting Kira down next to Kelsey.
“Guys, this is my friend, Anton,” she says, gesturing to me.
