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TWENTY-ONE
I worriedthings would be awkward between us the next morning, but they weren’t. Evan’s yells woke us up, and we exchanged sleepy, exhausted grins. Then Elliot kissed me, and rolled out from underneath me, leaving me buried beneath a blanket I didn’t remember falling asleep with.
“Go back to sleep,” he murmured to me, as he slipped out of the room.
I glanced at the clock. There were still two more hours until my first Zumba class, and with Elliot home, I wouldn’t need to take Evan with me.
So, for the first time in what felt like a lifetime, I slept in for no other reason than that I was tired, and I could.
“Okay,you’ve got to make sure you get her real good,” Elliot whispered, his voice tugging me from sleep. “She deserves the biggest kisses possible.”
I forced my expression to remain slack, hiding a smile as Evan giggled.
“Ready?” Elliot whispered again.
He babbled something that probably translated to a word that may or may not have been in the English language.
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
Elliot’s footsteps padded across the carpeted floor, and a moment later, chubby hands were on my face. A wet, open mouth dragged across my cheek and then eye as Evan gave me his messy kisses, and I mumbled, “Is there a baby in my bed?”
Evan shrieked with laughter as I scooped him up and dragged him to my chest, planting kisses all over his head and face. He shoved at my nose, still giggling when he decided he was done, and took unsteady footsteps across the mattress before throwing himself over to the other one.
We’d remove that, soon.
Elliot dropped onto the bed next to me, his arm draping over my waist before he dragged me to his chest, planting a few kisses of his own on my cheek, neck, and bare shoulder.
“We’ll have to get used to sleeping with clothes on when Ev’s a little older,” I murmured, my eyes closing as I just relished the comfortable moment.
I’d never expected a morning like that—to have a man who’d take care of my son so I could sleep in, and then wake me up with kisses and cuddles.
“He doesn’t even understand what’s happening when he pees yet,” Elliot murmured back. “We’ve got time.”
I laughed softly, and he kissed my shoulder again. “Good morning. You’ve got to get ready for your first class—I figured you hadn’t set an alarm.”
My hand searched for my phone on the mattress, but couldn’t find it.
“It’s plugged in downstairs. You’ve got to leave in twenty.”
Hope welled in my chest.
Hope, and gratitude.
“Thank you.”
“Thank you.” Elliot’s lips found mine, and I turned a bit, so we could deepen the kiss.
A shriek of laughter interrupted us—and then a chubby body crashed into us, making us both laugh as Evan draped over us, on top of the blanket.
He babbled something to me enthusiastically, and the only word I recognized was, “ball”.
“You were playing with a ball downstairs?” I asked him.
He gave me a toothy grin that was the closest I’d ever gotten to a “yes” from him.
“Did Elliot let you win?” I teased him.
He continued grinning.
