Page 60 of Enchant Me

He put the glass down and stood up. “Thank you for letting me talk to you.”

“That’s it?” Ashton said. “I don’t get any big speech about retracting what I said at the renewal? About being a good boy and playing nice?”

“I hope you stop with the text messages—”

“I swear, I’m not sending those. I don’t know who is.”

“All right,” Damien said, not sure if he believed him or not. “As for what you said at the ceremony, of course I don’t expect you to retract it. I am your father, Ashton. As for your statement that I’ve known about you, I’ve already denied that. People can think what they will. And as for you and me? Well, I guess we just have to move forward one step at a time.”

He crossed to the door, opened it, then stepped over the threshold. When he turned back, Ashton was right behind him in the doorway. “I genuinely like and respect you. I’m sorry you don’t feel the same, but I do understand the reason. You were fed a lifetime of lies. Some day, I hope you realize that.”

Ashton said nothing, but Damien thought that maybe, just maybe, he saw a hint of respect in his son’s eyes before Ashton closed the door firmly in his face.

17

I wake up with a cat on my pillow, a toddler’s foot in my face, and two little girls snuggled against me. I move slowly, trying to extract myself without waking them, and realize that Damien’s no longer in the bed.

I smile, remembering last night. It had been the first relatively normal hours we’d had in a while. We’d all climbed into bed with a big bowl of popcorn and another of candy, then we’d watched Frozen for the billionth time, with Lara singing along at the top of her lungs.

The bathroom door opens, and Damien steps out, a towel around his waist. He smiles at me, and I see that the stress that had been building on his face has finally faded, and that simple knowledge makes my heart fill with happiness.

“I think you’re trapped,” he says. “You move, and you’ll rouse the beasts.”

“I know,” I whisper, as Sunshine, the cat, gets up, turns in a circle, and resettles herself, her purr reverberating against my head.

“Shall I serve breakfast in bed?”

I laugh. “No. I know these guys well enough.” I glance at the clock, and see that it’s already past eight. “I’m surprised they’re not up already.”

“Late night movie night.” He comes and sits on the edge of the bed, his hand reaching for mine. “Last night was fun,” he says. But what I hear is, “I love you.”

“It was,” I say, my reply telling him that I love him, too. That I love our family. That as far as I’m concerned, even in the midst of all this drama and confusion, I wouldn’t change a thing about our lives because that might change the good parts, too.

There’s a tap at the door, and Damien moves back towards the bathroom. As soon as he’s slipped inside, I call out, “Come in.”

Bree bursts inside as Damien returns, now in sweats and a tee. She looks between the two of us, then notes the kids, and I see her visibly take her excitement down a notch, as if she’s afraid that whatever joyous thing has happened is going to wake them.

“Jane loved the book,” she says in a stage whisper.

Beside me, Lara stirs. Bree’s eyes widen, and I laugh. “It’s okay. They’re going to wake up soon anyway.”

As if to illustrate the point, I push back and sit up straighter, disturbing the cat, who lifts her tail and jumps off the bed. Lara rolls over, and Bradley’s leg shoots out, making contact with the pillow, right where my face was only moments before. I smile at Bree. “Tell me the rest.”

“Jane’s sending it to her agent.” Bree bounces, practically radioactive with excitement. “She warned me that he mostly does nonfiction stuff, but that he’ll read it, and if he thinks it’s marketable he’ll either send it to someone else in his group or recommend it to a friend. At any rate, at least something’s happening. Thank you,” she says looking from me to Damien. “Thank you both.”

“We didn’t do anything.” Damien says. “The one you should be thanking is Jane.”

“I think if I thank her any more, she’ll issue a temporary restraining order. And you did so do something. You’re the one who recommended it to her. And I really do appreciate it.”

“You’re very welcome,” Damien says. “You have to keep us posted.”

She rolls her eyes. “Are you kidding? You two are going to be sick of me by the time this is either accepted or rejected.” She nods at the kids. “Want me to get them up and ready? I know the magic word to get them out of bed.”

“Good point,” I say. “So do I.” We share a smile, then in unison say, “Choca-pipcakes?”

Better than any alarm clock, the word alone sends Anne sitting bolt upright. “Really?” She claps her hands. “Really, Mama, can we? Can we please?”

I nod at Bree. “If Ms. Bree wants to make them, you can have them.”