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Not wanting to eavesdrop more than I already have, I head to my office. Once I’m done placing our order, I open my laptop to check some emails while I wait for Bree to finish. I’m responding to my CFO regarding some budget questions when Bree knocks on the doorjamb, leaning against it. I hit send, then close my laptop.
“Sorry about that,” she says. “Once they start talking, it’s hard to get them to stop.”
“C’mere,” I tell her, rolling back in my chair slightly.
She pads across the room, barefoot, and I note how adorable her bright pink toes are—the same color as her coffeehouse. When she stops next to me, I pull her in front of me, pushing my laptop out of the way so I can lift her onto my desk. She spreads her legs, setting her feet on the arms of my chair. I roll between her thighs and wrap my arms around her waist.
“You never have to apologize for talking to your kids,” I tell her. “Hayden and I meant it when we told you that we understand they’re a package deal. I know firsthand how important the relationship between a child and parent is, and I also know what it feels like to be loved by someone who isn’t biologically related to you. I met Savy when I was fourteen and mad at the world, and it was her acceptance, her motherly love—when she wasn’t even dating my dad yet—that helped me get through some rough shit.
“One day, when you’re ready, I look forward to meeting and getting to know them. And the fact that they’re your kids is enough to already have me caring about them.”
Her eyes turn glassy, and she wraps her arms around my neck. “Thank you. You have no idea how much that means to me. My kids are my entire world, and I think a part of why I never dated was because I was afraid of how it would affect them as well as whoever I’m dating, especially after the one date I went on went so badly the moment I mentioned I was a single mom.
“When I was younger, no matter how quiet and behaved I was, my mom always yelled at me. And her boyfriends hated me. I spent years living in fear of being a bad kid until she took off, leaving me with my grandma.”
My heart breaks at her words, and I find myself holding her tighter while she talks, loving that she’s letting me in.
“When Pete said he wanted to have kids, I was scared he wouldn’t want them once they were born. And when I found out we were having twins, I freaked out. He kept telling me to calm down, but I was so scared the house would be too messy, the babies would cry and wake him up and he’d be upset. Babies are loud and messy, and as they grow up, that doesn’t change.”
She smiles a watery smile and I wipe the tear that leaks out and trails down her cheek.
“And did he prove otherwise?”
“He did,” she says, her smile widening, those sexy as fuck twin dimples popping out. “One day, he had enough of me walking on eggshells. He followed me around all day and wouldn’t let me do a single dish or clean the house. When the twins would cry, he’d get them. By the end of the day, the house was trashed, the worst I’d ever seen it. I was exhausted and started to pick up, but he stopped me and said this was what a lived-in home looked like and that he loved everything about it. He made me go to bed with the house the way it was, and while I was sleeping, he cleaned it.”
Another tear slides down her face. This time, I can’t help myself when I lean in and kiss her cheek, where the liquid sits, darting my tongue out and tasting the saltiness. “I hate to see you cry,” I murmur, “but I love that you’re sharing with me. Pete sounds like he was a great man, and he was right. This place…” I jut my chin out, referring to Hayden’s and my home. “It’s clean, almost sterile, because it’s barely lived in. That’s how my dad’s places always were too until he and Savy moved in together. They created a family together, and the home they live in looks lived in. And neither of them would have it any other way.”
I kiss her lips, licking the salty liquid that’s landed there. “Any man who deserves you will accept your children, noise, crying, screaming, lived-in home, and all. Even if you decide tomorrow that you don’t want Hayden or me to be those men, don’t ever settle for anything less.”
The food arrives while we’re talking, so we separate long enough to eat, but once we’re done, I pull her against my side so we can pick a movie to watch. She selects the one she wants—a chick flick about a nerdy girl who ends up falling for the popular guy—and then, after giving her a shirt and boxers of mine so she’ll be more comfortable, we settle on the couch with her snuggling into my side.
