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Miles isn’t thrilled because he takes his role as big brother seriously, which drives Evie crazy since he’s only four minutes older.
“We told them that if we don’t go, we can meet you for dinner afterward,” Hayden says. He doesn’t mention spending the night because I told them we have to go back to sleeping at our place now that school is starting since all the kids’ stuff is there.
Both the kids and Hayden and Brody weren’t thrilled. And truth be told, I’m not either, but it’s too much work going back and forth between the two places, especially when the bus goes to my place to pick the kids up and drop them off every day. It was justifiable when the guys were taking them to camp, but now that camp’s over, we have no reason to continue staying there.
And it’s too soon to consider moving in together. I mean, it’s only been a few months. That’s not enough time to make such a serious decision… right?
Yet the past month we’ve been staying with them has gone smoother than I ever could’ve imagined. The kids adore Brody and Hayden, and the guys clearly feel the same way. In the past month, we’ve created this routine that feels comfortable and right. Every day I think it can’t be this easy to bring all these pieces together, yet it is that easy. The kids have taken over the two guest rooms, each wanting their own bed, and I sleep with Evie in her room. Jesus, her room, like it's actually hers. A huge ball of emotion fills my throat at the thought of going home tonight and not sleeping under the same roof as the guys.
“Hey,” Brody says, pulling me from my thoughts. “If you don’t want—”
“Of course, you guys can come to the open house,” I choke out, trying and failing to get my emotions in check.
Brody eyes me. “Then what’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I whisper, not wanting to do this with everyone here.
Brody opens his mouth to argue, but before he can get the words out, Evie calls his name.
“Brody, come and play Marco Polo with us!”
“Yeah!” Penelope agrees. “You can be Marco!”
“Hayden, they have a basketball hoop. Come play!” Miles adds.
Since the guys can’t say no to my kids, they both get up, throw their shirts onto the chair, and jump into the water.
The kids squeal in delight as Brody chases after Evie and Penelope, and Hayden lifts Miles onto his shoulders to dunk the ball into the hoop. And as I watch them laugh and play, I can’t help but wish that tonight we would be under the same roof. It might have only been a short time since we’ve been together, but Brody and Hayden have had no trouble burrowing themselves into my kids’ and my heart in that amount of time.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
AUBREE
Knock. Knock. Knock.
“Mommy, someone’s here,” Evie yells from somewhere in our apartment. It’s the kids’ first day of school, and we’re running behind because… well, it’s the first day of school, and that’s how it sometimes goes when you have two kids.
Thanks to Viviana, my new baker, I no longer have to get up early or stay late baking. With the schedule we’ve put together, she’ll be handling it all since her entire job is to bake. It’s going to cost me a pretty penny, but with the kids getting older and not wanting to wake up at the crack of dawn or hang out in the bakery all afternoon, it’s worth it.
As I step out of the bathroom, Evie says, “Who is it?” I’m too far away to hear who answers, but she says, “It’s Hayden and Brody,” letting me know. “Can I open the door?”
“Go ahead.”
She unlocks the door, then swings it open, and my gorgeous boyfriends are standing on the other side, dressed to the nines in their corporate suits.
“What are you doing here?” Evie asks, giving each of them a hug.
“Hey, guys!” Miles says, coming out and giving both of them a fist bump. “What are you doing here? We have school.”
I can’t help but smile at how they’ve won over both of my kids—not unlike how they won over my heart in the same way and just as quickly.
“We know,” Hayden says as they step inside. “We brought breakfast.” He pulls a bag out from behind his back.
“And good luck gifts,” Brody adds, showing his own bag.
“You brought me a gift?” Evie gasps.
“Yep,” Brody says, opening the bag and pulling out the backpack Evie wanted but they were out of at the store when we went school shopping. She decided to keep the backpack she had because she couldn’t find one that she loved, and I told her we would check back again later.
The second she sees it, she squeals and hugs both of the guys again. “Thank you! Thank you! I love it. I need to switch all my stuff out.”
