She got a hopeful gleam in her eyes and said, "Cake?"
"No," Mitch told her and gave her a kiss. "I'll make some eggs."
She wasn't thrilled about that and went to sit with the kittens while they munched on their food. "Daddy, Natalie and Veronica don't have their mommy and daddy. And DJ and Ry don't have their mommy and daddy. That makes me sad," Sammy said. She was petting the kittens, and Mitch stopped what he was doing and got down on one knee to be closer to her.
"That is a sad thing," he told her. He was thinking about Ellie and wondering if Sammy missed the mom she never knew.
Sammy turned her clear, blue eyes up to him and Mitch felt his heart break like it did a million times since the day she was born. "But Natalie and Veronica have us. And DJ and Ry have Wyatt and Sam and their house is happy."
"It is?"
"Yes. Dj and Ry told me about that. Ry asked me, 'Is the house happy when Rico is here?' And I told him yes. And DJ went like this." She put on a serious face and nodded doing an impression of DJ. "And he said, 'That means Rico is supposed to come over all the time.'"
Mitch couldn't actually disagree with that, but he wasn't sure what he could promise her and not be proved a liar.
For now Sammy had more to tell him. "Then I talked to Gloria about it. And after that I told everyone Rico was your boyfriend, but he didn't know."
Stunned, Mitch just stared at her for a minute. How did she know about him and Enrico. "Ah OK. I'll... Yeah OK. Thanks for letting me know," Mitch told her. As she went off to chase one of the kittens, he realized that this must have happened last night, but Enrico didn't say a word about it to him.
Maybe that was just as well. He needed time to consider this. From what Sammy said, she made their relationship public when he didn't know she even knew about it. Now everyone knew.
Not only that, she said Enrico was his boyfriend. Mitch didn't know what to think. Sammy was sure that it was all settled, but Mitch just didn't know where things stood.
But maybe it didn't matter what Mitch thought. Enrico didn't mention anything about this. Did that mean he didn't want to be his boyfriend, that he wasn't ready and felt pressured?
It wasn't long before Enrico was there, coming in with a loud "Good morning." Whatever misgivings Mitch had, there was no denying that his heart skipped a beat as soon as he saw him.
"I smell coffee," Enrico called out as he came into the kitchen.
Sammy greeted him with bad news. "Rico, we didn't have cake for breakfast."
"There are other good things to eat, like eggs," Enrico said as he saw that Mitch was dumping eggshells in the trash.
Sammy still wasn't thrilled about eggs instead of cake. After she ran outside with the kittens, Mitch turned to Enrico. He had poured himself some coffee. Now he was leaning against the counter, the biggest coffee cup they had in one hand, his phone in the other as he checked some texts.
"That look fits you," Mitch told him.
Misunderstanding him, Enrico looked down at what he was wearing then back at him.
"I mean the phone and cup of coffee look," Mitch explained.
"I was born with one of each clutched in my hands, and also naked," Enrico said and gave Mitch a seductive look over the rim of his coffee cup.
Mitch groaned, but now he couldn't help picturing Enrico naked with only his phone and a cup of coffee. Why did everything always lead to Mitch picturing him naked?
That didn't mean he could forget what Sammy told him. "Is there a reason you didn't say a word to me about Sammy announcing to everyone that you're my boyfriend?" Mitch asked.
"Oh," Enrico said and his whole demeanor changed. He exhaled through clenched teeth. It seemed like this was a conversation he really didn't want to have. Mitch couldn't help wondering if it was because Enrico didn't want this?
Then Enrico told him his reason. "I didn't want too hear you say that Sammy got it wrong."
Now there was no question in his mind any more. If Enrico wanted to be his boyfriend, it was impossible for Mitch to say anything but yes. "Sammy isn't wrong," Mitch said leaving him stunned.
While Enrico stared at him wordlessly, Sammy came bouncing back into the kitchen and snapped him out of it.
"Natalie found a red cup," she reported. "We have to clean it up."
"That's why I'm here," Enrico said, setting aside what they were talking about, but Mitch wasn't ready to do that.
