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She blows out a breath and nods. “Yeah, okay. I’m going to finish getting ready.”
As she leaves, the heaviness of the conversation hits me. We’ve been trying to give her time to catch up to what we feel, but if her comments this morning are any indication, she’s more than ready for the next step.
My little girl wants her family.
* * *
“What doesa lemon say when it answers the phone?” Jay asks, sauntering into my office with breakfast in hand.
I quirk a brow. “Huh?”
“Yellow!” he sings, a cheeky smile pulling at his lips.
I snort a laugh. “Are you insane?”
He doesn’t reply. Instead, he sets the box down and rounds my desk. “Morning, beautiful,” he murmurs and presses his lips to mine.
“Morning, baby,” I hum before stealing another kiss.
Like every morning, I follow him to the other side of my desk so we can sit beside one another. We share one waffle now. Two seemed a bit overboard for the frequency with which we eat them, but I can’t seem to get myself to tell him to stop picking them up on his way in. These few minutes we share in the morning have become some of my favorites. Bringing a strawberry slice to my mouth, I study him while he cuts a piece of waffle for me.
“Have you heard about the chocolate record player?” he asks, holding his fork to my lips.
I shake my head and take his proffered bite.
“It sounds pretty sweet.”
I chuckle. “What are you talking about?”
“Testing out my dad jokes,” he says, then he takes a bite of his own. “Do you think Chloe will laugh? She’ll get them, right? She’s smart.” He shakes his head. “Of course she’ll get them.”
Placing my hand on his knee, I lean forward so he’s forced to look at me. “Jay,” I say softly, “Chloe’s crazy about you. She doesn’t need jokes.”
He drops his chin to his chest. His hair falls over his eyes, making him look so much younger than he is as he peeks up at me. “Really?”
I squeeze his knee. “Yes, just like me. We’re both crazy about you.”
He latches on to the armrests of my chair and drags me closer, spreading his legs so I’m tucked between them. With his hands on my cheeks, he looks at me with so much reverence that my breath catches.
“What do you call cheese that isn’t yours?”
The air trapped in my lungs forces its way out, and I push him away. “Jay!”
He grins. “Nacho cheese!”
The man is ridiculous, but I can’t help but laugh.
“She really likes me?” he whispers against my hair.
I nod into his chest. “She’s sad that you’re not coming over tonight.”
He pushes back and peers down at me. “I thought we were having Chinese?”
My shoulders sag as the weight of his disappointment is added to Chloe’s. “I have a date.”
“Fuck,” he growls. “This is the last one, Cat. I’m done with this shit.”
“It was your idea.” I pull back. “And I didn’t put us in this position.”
