Dylan might be more full than I was, though. He’d declined driving for the first time ever.
“I’m first in line to go to the bathroom upstairs,” he said from the back. “For the record, that’s another bonus with the new house. Three bathrooms, if you count the one in the garage.”
“How do you know?” Mikey asked.
Shit.
Dylan met my stare in the rearview, and I took over, having already thought of an excuse since we’d decided to bring the kids over there tomorrow after school.
“Dylan and Hallie have been there,” I replied. “They’ve even started decorating their rooms. The reason we didn’t tell you and Lily was because we wanted to finish renovating your rooms first. They didn’t look great before.”
They bought my excuse. Which wasn’t technically very far from the truth.
“In fact, Dad’s been doing a lot of renovations over there,” Nathan added. “So that it would be perfect for us before we moved in.”
“I will let you know if it’s perfect, Daddy,” Lily said frankly.
I chuckled and put my foot on the gas again. “That’s great, princess. I hope you approve.”
“So do I…” She lifted her brows and looked out the window. “What’s wrong with our old house?”
“Daddy and I miss having our own bedroom, for starters,” I offered. “I’d also like to have a big backyard and a nice patio where we can host barbecues and have friends and family over.”
“And the pool,” Mikey whispered to her. “We can go swimming every day.”
She nodded thoughtfully.
I cleared my throat and rested a hand on Nate’s leg. “By the way, I was thinking of asking James and Jordan to come over tomorrow when we show the kids the house. Just for a few minutes to say hello.”
Knowing Jordan, he was going to be insanely nervous to meet Nathan, and I figured a vanilla setting would take the pressure off. Because once Jordan set foot in the rope dojo at Mclean, that environment could make Nathan look more intimidating than necessary.
“Sure, sounds good.” He inclined his head. Then he glanced back at the kids. “I forgot to mention one thing earlier. Starting this weekend, your father and I are going to have a weekly date night.”
We were?
Oh, fuck yeah, we were. What a brilliant fucking idea. The kids were old enough. We’d earned this, dammit. Hallie was a pro at babysitting too.
“If we’re only gone for a few hours, Hallie will keep an eye on things, for the most part,” Nathan went on. “If it’s for a sleepover, Nana and Pop-Pop will be there. Sometimes, Grandma and Grandpa will drive down too.”
Fucking A. I loved this development. Whether Nate and I spent that time at Mclean or we went off on our own, it was precisely what we needed.
“You had a thing tomorrow too, right?” Hallie asked. “You mentioned something about three hours.”
Nathan inclined his head. “Correct. We’re meeting up with a couple of friends.”
That was one way of putting it.
“Okay, but can I have a baby sister?” Lily asked—out of the fucking blue.
What the shit?
“I, uh, I think we’re set when it comes to children, darling,” Nathan answered carefully. “Where did that come from?”
She shrugged. “Just thought of it.”
Eyes on the road.
I exhaled. Whimsical little shit.
