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“Stay here. I can go intercept the kids when they get up,” I said.
“What if they tried to go into my room last night and didn’t find me there?”
“Stop worrying. Like I said, if anything Sydney crawled into bed with Daniel. I’m going to get the kids some breakfast and that’ll distract them long enough for you to get back to your room.”
“Okay,” she said. “Sounds like a plan.”
She flopped back down into bed and I grinned. She really was beautiful, a lovely contrast against the white sheets of my bed. I stood up and drew in one last deep breath before I reached for some pants in the corner. I slid them up my body and buckled them closed, then turned to grab a shirt.
And I found Brooke staring at me.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing,” she said breathlessly.
But that tint in her cheeks told me exactly what was going on.
I slipped out of the room just as the kids came out of theirs. They were padding down the stairs and heading straight for Brooke’s room. I strode down the hallway and wrapped them up in my arms, then picked them up and started carrying them into the kitchen.
“But what about Miss Brooke?” Daniel asked.
“Miss Brooke is tired and she’s still sleeping. Let’s give her some time to rest,” I said.
“But doesn’t she eat breakfast?” Sydney asked.
“Yes. When she wakes up,” I said. “What? You don’t want to eat breakfast with your old man?”
“Don’t you have work?” Daniel asked.
I felt my heart sink at his question.
“No,” I said. “Daddy doesn’t have to work. I’m all yours.”
I sat my children on the edge of the counter and clanged the pots and pans around. I wanted to give Brooke some cover noise in case the kids heard her walking around. They were laughing at me as I stumbled around, faking almost falling down and crashing all the pots and pans to the floor.
Then Sydney threw a pan onto the floor to join in on the fun.
The kids and I cooked up some eggs and ham before we sat down to eat. I wasn’t sure if Brooke was going to join us, and part of me hoped she had gone back to sleep. The time she had spent with my kids was wearing on her, I was sure of it. She had been so great to rearrange her entire schedule to do this for me, for us, and I wanted her to reap the benefits of that very large bed I had in the guest quarters.
But I heard my laptop ringing out in the other room. A video call I was going to be missing.
“Go get it,” Daniel said.
“Whatever it is, it can wait,” I said.
“Daddy, go get it,” Sydney said.
“No. I promised you guys a vacation with me, and that’s what you’re getting,” I said.
But the moment the ringing stopped, the phone on my hip began to vibrate.
I looked up at my kids and their eyes were narrowed at me. Daniel quirked his little eyebrow before he crossed his arms over his chest. Sydney leaned back in her seat and crossed her legs, like she was trying to shake me down or something.
I laughed and shook my head as I pulled my phone out of my pocket. The kids took off into the other room, probably setting us up to watch a movie the minute I was done. I could hear them whirling around the room,
pulling blankets off the couches and gathering all the pillows from the rooms.
“What are you guys doing?” Brooke asked.
