Page 124 of Golden Ruin

She glares. “Know what? Why don’t we ask the one I rescued from the rubble of your creation? Jax, whose fort is better.”

With a laugh in his voice, the kid gives it to me straight. “Mommy wins.”

Lex’s hands go up. “You hear that? Mommy wins.”

I let out a breath, glancing toward the fort where the traitor resides. “You’re killing me, kid.”

Lexi tosses her head back with a laugh, and I grab her, burying my face in her neck. Can’t help myself. She lets me hold her, but we separate quickly when Jax starts rustling around inside the tent before popping his head out.

“Can we watch the movie now?”

I nod, pretending I wasn’t just kissing his mom. “Yep. I think we’re all set.”

Smiling, Lexi grabs the TV remote and makes her way toward the fort, then passes a quick look toward me before disappearing inside. It’s subtle and gone almost as soon as it happens, but I catch the smile she tries to hide. Without a doubt, sharing a blanket fort with the woman I love won’t be easy tonight.

We settle in on the cushions, covering ourselves with blankets as the opening credits begin to roll. And within half an hour, Jax is already snoring between us. I’m about to turn the movie off, but the moment feels kind of perfect as is, so I let it play in the background while Lex and I lie close, only separated by a four-year-old who somehow manages to take up ninety percent of the space.

“Think he’s out for the night?”

Lexi peeks over. “Pretty sure.”

Rain pelts the living room windows as I lower the volume on the TV, and Lexi turns onto her side, facing me as she places a hand on Jax’s stomach. Feeling her move, he breathes deeper and clutches his stuffed dinosaur a little tighter.

“Did you see the text-invite to Blue and West’s baby shower?”

The question has Lexi pressing her hand to her forehead. “Shit. Thanks for reminding me. I meant to RSVP this afternoon.”

“You don’t need to. I did it for both of us.”

She arches a brow, smiling. “Bold move, Golden.”

I laugh a little. “You’ve got a lot going on, and I figured it might slip your mind. So, I took care of it.”

Her smile grows as she stares at me. “And so you did.”

Her eyes close for a few seconds when I push her hair away from her face, and when she opens them, I can’t believe how long it took me to confess that I still love her. Feels like the most obvious thing in the world now that I’ve finally said it.

“Tell me about it.”

She scrunches her face a little. “About what?”

“The apartment.”

She blinks, and I want her to feel comfortable, want her to know I’m in a different place with it. She doesn’t have to tiptoe around my feelings like she might think. Our talk helped me understand why she needs this, and it also helped me realize that her leaving doesn’t mean we’re not still working toward something.

“You really want to hear about it?”

I shoot her an incredulous look. “You kidding? A guy should know where his girl and his son are planning to live.”

The look on her face softens a bit, and my heart pounds harder when she smiles.

“Well, it’s kind of small, but I’m cool with that. What matters is that it’s big enough for me and Jax, and that his room’s close to mine. Right across the hall, actually.”

After those words leave her mouth, I see the way her eyes flit to Jax. With what they went through together, she doesn’t plan to let him out of her sight.

“Is it close to his school?”

Her eyes find mine again. “Just a few blocks away. So, when the weather’s nice enough, and once people stop thinking we’re a headline, I can walk him there.”