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As I pull open the door of Luke and Cece’s shop, Cece smiles big at me from the front desk, where she’s most definitely gossiping with Caroline.
“Hey, Zo.”
“Hey.” I walk over and give her a big hug. “Luke in his office?”
“Yep.”
“Perfect. Hey, girls’ night soon?”
She nods. “I’ll text Trishy.”
I shoot her a wink and walk through the shop, into the back, then through the door to Luke’s office without knocking.
He looks up when the door swings open. His eyes drag slowly up my body as a grin grows on his lips. He stands up and walks over to me, giving me a hot kiss and running a hand over my stomach.
“Mm. To what do I owe such a sexy distraction?”
“Well, I have some… interesting news.”
He cocks an eyebrow, leading me over to the desk. He tries to get me to sit in his chair, but I push him into it and climb on his lap.
“That’s a much better seat,” I purr in his ear.
He lets out a little groan and leans his head against my shoulder. “You’re killing me.” I bite back a laugh, but he looks at me seriously. “What news?”
“Tad called today and it turns out he and Naomi are moving down to Delaware to the beach, everything they’ve both wanted.”
“When?”
“Two weeks.”
“Two weeks?” he growl-yells.
I stifle a laugh and run a hand over his chest. “I know. I was pissed at first too.”
“What changed your mood? Because I want to punch him in the nuts.”
“Youalwayswant to do that.”
He shrugs. “Fair enough.”
“What changed is that I realized I’ll have full custody.Wewill, Luke. We get to raise them the majority of the time. No bullshit. No toxicity. No cleaning up his messes. Andyouget to be the father figure for them. I couldn’t have chosen a better one.”
When I look in his eyes, I see tears welling. Some guys are more emotional than others. Luke has always been the stoic type. Not in a toxic way, like Tad where crying is considered bad, but simply because he’s always been even-tempered. He never flies off the handle like Mikey. He’s calm and reserved. But I know, anything related to family, fatherhood, and our life together—those are the things that bring the deepest emotions to the surface.
“Jesus, babe.” He wipes at his eyes. “You know nothing would ever mean more to me. They might not biologically be mine, but just like you, they’llalways be mine.”
I reach for his arm and pull up the tattoo, revealing the word “mine” written in my handwriting. He also added something else that reduced me to a puddle of tears when he showed me—the boys’ birthdates nestled around the lines of the letterm. I sobbed for ten minutes straight when he showed me, knowing I’d finally found my home, my person, the one I could share my life, my burdens, everything with forever. Knowing he loves me and the boys so deeply awakens something wild and extraordinary inside of me. A love so raw and real, I’m overcome.
“I love you,” I whisper, brushing my lips against his.
He wraps his arms tighter around me. “I love you more.”
“Somehow, I doubt that,” I chuckle, rubbing my hand over my stomach. “I’m carrying the love of two people.”
“You’re trying to make me cry now, aren’t you?” he asks in a gravelly voice, lips pressed against my neck.
“No, I just need you to knowexactlyhow you make me feel.”
