She placed her hand against my chest. “Thank you for that.”
“For attacking you?”
One more breathy laugh. “That, I could have lived without. I’m thanking you for making me laugh. The past few weeks with you, I’m pretty sure I’ve laughed more than I have in a couple years.”
“Baby…” I tucked her hair behind her ear and grazed her cheek with my knuckles. “Stick with me. There’s plenty more where that came from.”
“I think I needed this.” Her fingers curled into my T-shirt. “You have a way of coming in at exactly the right time. Are you magic, Benny?”
“No one’s ever accused me of that. I’m just glad I get to hang out with you for the rest of my life.”
She sniffed then laughed. “Whoa. That’s intense.”
“Right? I said it without thinking. Whoa is right.” I chucked under her chin. “’Least you know you’ll have a decade or two without me in the end since I’m a senior citizen.”
“Ben,” she rasped, “don’t even mention that. Do you want to make me cry?”
“Crap.” I gathered her against me, relieved my erection had deflated. “I’m good at spoiling the mood, aren’t I?”
She knocked her head on my shoulder. “The things you say…”
“I have a way with words. Not a good way—but a way, for sure.”
Allowing myself a modicum of creepiness, I stuck my nose in her hair. Silk, sunshine, and flowers. I couldn’t remember if she’d smelled like this when we’d first met or if it was new, my memories hazed with blue drinks and years gone by.
Mazzy was the one to step back. “I hate to say this, but I have some reading I need to do tonight. Would you mind me being a really bad guest and locking myself in my room right now?”
I tried my level best to be cool. “I mean, I’ll probably sit outside your door and whine, but go ahead.”
She snorted. “You’re the best, Ben. And I really do mean that.”
Once she disappeared upstairs, the house felt too big and quiet. The kind of quiet that made my thoughts wander all over the place. I glanced at the counter, where the papers sat beside the dish towel I’d abandoned. The acknowledgment form was already signed, both our names side by side. That looked right. The custody agreement lay underneath, thick with legal jargon.
I picked it up and thumbed through the pages, catching words likecustody,visitation,shared responsibility. My stomach turned.
I didn’t want to mess with what we had, but I wasn’t stupid. Life didn’t freeze just because I wanted it to.
With a sigh, I set the agreement flat on the counter and reached for a pen. I didn’t sign. Not yet. Just tapped the end against the page and stared at where my name would go.
“I’ll read it,” I murmured to the empty room.
Upstairs, a floorboard creaked—the sound of Mazzy moving around, maybe getting ready to study. I pictured her in my guestroom, comfy in the bed I’d bought just for her, focused and determined in her smart little glasses.
A small smile tugged at my mouth before fading.
Yeah, I’d sign it. Eventually. Because it mattered to her and would make her feel safe. And that mattered to me more than anything else.
Chapter Twenty-two
Mazzy
Afteranightofheavy, deep sleep, I woke to the floor creaking and whispers, and kept my eyes shut so I could eavesdrop.
“Mommy’s still sleeping.”
“Shhh, let’s not wake her up.”
“But she might miss me.”
