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Bella is dressed in her Ironman costume, but Summer is donning the mask, and the whole scenario is beyond hilarious, yet somehow all I feel is fulfilled. As though I dreamed a dream, and somehow it came to life.
A sense of utter foreboding fills my body from the top of my head to the tips of my toes, and I rise to stand in one fluid movement, quick to shake off the feeling.
I flick my gaze to the heavens, silently flipping the bird to the universe.
I can have my cake and eat it, too.
Stretching my arms over my head, I arch my back as Summer slides the mask from her face, allowing her eyes to drop down my body. She catches herself and blushes as her eyes shoot back up to my smirking ones.
“Yeah, let’s grab something to eat, Bug. I’m famished.”
As though emphasising my point, my stomach grumbles loudly, making the three of us laugh, and we slowly amble downstairs to the kitchen.
Maggie, having finished up for the day, has left a lasagne big enough to feed a small army alongside a fridge full of an assortment of salads.
I turn to grab some plates, only to feel my phone vibrate in my back pocket. Pulling it out, I’m unsurprised to find it’s none other than my micro-managing manager.
Noah
Glad to hear Bug is okay, Caden. I’ll send her a get-well gift when I get back to the UK.
I smile at his signature generosity as I pocket my phone, only to pull it back out again immediately when it buzzes with another text.
Noah
Don’t forget the Misdirection gig on Friday for Katherine’s House.
I’d forgotten that gig was this week. And Noah is Stateside and otherwise occupied, so tracking down my fellow bandmates will fall to yours truly.
Misdirection performs an annual concert for Olivia DeMarco’s non-profit Katherine’s House, a charity based in London that helps rehabilitate the lives of London’s homeless. This would mark year three, and the proceeds went a long way towards allowing Liv to expand to new premises.
My forehead puckers as I ponder on the time wasted with Summer, when I only have six days left until I make a split-second decision to bring her along.
Bella too.
The Alexandra Palace is a smaller venue than we’d normally perform at, cramming in around ten thousand. I nod to myself in satisfaction as my mouth lifts in a shit-eating grin, proud as punch with my idea.
Glancing up, I find Summer washing Bella’s hands at the sink while the two of them giggle softly over a shared joke.
This is the life I wanted. Peaceful. Simple. Happy.
“Come on, you,” Summer calls over her shoulder, beckoning me closer. “Your hands need a scrubbing too!”
I cross the kitchen, dropping a kiss atop my daughter’s head as she stands on her step stool beside Summer. Sliding my arms around either side of Summer as she washes her own hands, I can feel her body tense at my proximity.
Bella shoots a smile up at me, almost in encouragement, as she rinses her soapy hands, and I’m suddenly filled with a sense of rightness. Like I’ve spent my life striving to get to this moment, and the realisation is a balm to my long-wandering soul.
“I think you missed a spot, Bam.” My lips linger by her ear, and I swear I can almostfeelher relax back against my chest.
I squirt some more handwash into her outstretched hands as Bella hops down and reaches for a hand towel from the island behind us.
Instead of letting Summer wash her own hands, I interlink our fingers and work the liquid into a lather. The action is way more sensual than it should be, and I force myself to step around her, dropping her hands, when I feel my dick begin to awaken in acknowledgement.
“Your skin is softer than I remember.”
The words have left my mouth before I can stop them. She turns towards me, her shoulder against my bicep, as she looks up from underneath her long black lashes. “You got taller.”
I press my lips together in a half-assed attempt at stifling my grin. “You’re even more beautiful than the last day I saw you.”
