I nodded.
“Where’s Ro?” I asked.
“Napping,” Anson said. “You should go wake her.” He gave me a pointed look before he focused on Trixie. “Trix, how are you?”
“OK,” Trix said, smiling. “Surprised to be in New York. How is Rosalie?”
Anson sighed and raked his fingers through his hair. “She was fine until she saw the news this morning. Now she’s not so fine.”
Trix looked sad and shook her head. “People suck.”
“That they do,” I muttered, continuing to watch Dante and Ellis. He’d put her on her feet, and she was showing him one of the ballet dances she was working on for her upcoming recital.
His green eyes sparkled as he watched her, and she pushed his leg to get him to twirl with her. He did so without hesitation, making me smile.
He looked so out of place doing ballet with her. Shrouded in black with a meaner than hell personality. He was a monster, but to her, he was just Unkie Dunkie.
“I’m going to go see Ro,” I murmured, stepping away from Anson and Trix. I ruffled Ellis’s curls as I passed by, making her laugh, before I entered Ro’s room to find her curled up in a tiny ball in the center of the big bed.
Immediately, I slid in behind her and held her in my arms.
“Mm, Evan,” she murmured after a moment.
I smiled that she recognized me without even opening her pretty eyes.
“How’s my girl?” I murmured, pressing a kiss to her shoulder.
She rolled over and faced me, and I drank in her beauty. Gently, I reached out and brushed a rogue curl away from her face.
“I feel like it’s been forever since I’ve seen you,” she whispered.
I brushed my lips against hers. We spoke several times a day on the phone and did video calls at least once a day, but it was different. “Two months, one week, and four days.”
She smiled against my lips. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“Oh, my Ro, I’ve missed you too, baby.” I kissed her again, this time far deeper. My cock was alive and well in my pants, and I ground against her, making her whimper softly.
“Fuck, baby,” I whispered between kisses. “I’d take you right here and now if we didn’t have a living room full of people.” I slowed the kiss and stared back at her. “Ellis is here.”
Her eyes widened, and she was out of my arms in an instant.
I sat up and watched her scurry around and pull out a long, pretty pink dress. She quickly looked around before she found what she was searching for.
Pink ballet flats.
She shoved her feet into them while I watched her, smiling.
Ellis and Rosalie had a very close relationship despite Rosalie being gone often. If I wasn’t on the phone with Rosalie, Ellis was. Every night before Ellis went to sleep, Rosalie would video chat with her, Anson at her side. I’d read a story some nights, and other nights, Anson or Rosalie would. We did our best at family time.
“I didn’t know she was coming,” Rosalie said, rushing around. “I thought Trix would be with her at home.”
“Baby, relax,” I said, chuckling. “I didn’t want to leave them behind.”
“I-I got her a new outfit for Mr. Rufus.” She dug through a bag and unearthed a cute pink jacket for the bear she’d given Ellis. I knew Cole had given the bear to Rosalie, and Rosalie had passed it to Ellis because it held a lot of sentimental value. Since Cole was Ellis’s real dad, she made it a point to let Ellis know she had another dad out in the world. I liked that she did that. Rosalie was as honest as she could be to our daughter.
I got out of bed and went to Rosalie. Gently, I took her in my arms and stopped all her scurrying.
“I love you,” I whispered.
