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Beatrice’s eyes go wide. “Oh, I—”
I want to protect my kids, but I won’t lie to them, and I won’t belittle my relationship with Brody and Hayden either. I’m proud to be with them, to be loved by them, and I won’t hide that from my children.
“They are my boyfriends,” I admit before Beatrice can finish her sentence.
“You said you didn’t have one,” Miles says, his eyes narrowing.
“No, I said no man will ever replace your dad.” I walk over and kneel in front of my children so I’m at their level. “And I meant that. Your dad will always be your dad. But do you remember the part of his letter when he said he wants me to find love again?”
The kids nod. I’ve read their letters from him enough that they probably have them memorized, even if they don’t understand all that they say.
“I found love with Brody and Hayden.”
“You still love Daddy, though, right?” Evie asks.
“Of course. I will always love your dad.”
“And you love us too, right?” she adds.
“I love you more than brownies, cupcakes, and blueberry muffins combined.”
A happy smile spreads across her face. “I love you more than brownies, cupcakes, blueberry muffins, and chocolate chip cookies!” She throws her arms around me, and I hug her tightly.
When we break apart, Miles still stands there with a blank expression.
“Miles, is there anything you want to say or ask me?”
He glances over at Brody and Hayden who stand nearby, watching our interaction, and then looks at me.
“I think it would be best if you guys go,” I tell Brody and Hayden. Miles never has trouble speaking his thoughts, so if he’s not saying anything, it’s because he’s uncomfortable. Regardless of how I feel about them, my children will always come first.
Brody and Hayden both smile in understanding.
“It was nice meeting all of you,” Brody says as they walk toward the front door.
“Wait,” Miles says, shocking everyone. “Dad said I have to make sure they treat you good.” Oh, my heart… It seems he understands more of what his dad wrote than I thought he did.
“He did write that,” I agree, my words laced with raw emotion.
“How will I know if they’re treating you good if they leave?”
I glance at Beatrice, who has tears in her eyes. She’s read Peter’s letters as well.
“I think in order to know, we’ll have to spend time together,” I tell Miles. “Are you okay with that?”
He thinks for a moment before he says, “Yeah,” then steps closer to me. “How do I know if they treat you good, though?” he asks, back to sounding like the almost nine-year-old he is.
“Well,” I say, kneeling in front of him. “If I smile and laugh a lot, that means I’m happy. And if I’m happy, that means they’re treating me good.”
Miles nods in understanding. “You laugh and smile a lot with Evie and me. That means we treat you good, right?”
“You definitely treat me good,” I choke out, trying to fight the tears about to fall whether I like it or not.
“Okay,” Miles says after a moment. “I’m hungry. Can we go eat dinner?”
I stifle my chuckle at the change of subject. “Sure, sweetie.”
I stand and am about to tell Brody and Hayden that I’ll see them soon when Miles speaks first. “We’re going to dinner. I’m going to watch and make sure my mom laughs and smiles. If she does, then you can be her boyfriends.”
“Where would you like to go to dinner?” Brody asks Miles, his voice rough.
“Evie and I like pizza. You want pizza, Evie?”
“Yes!” She jumps up and down. “And I’ll make sure Mom laughs and smiles too,” she tells Miles as she walks to the front door. Then she turns around and glances at the guys. “Do you have a puppy?”
They shake their heads.
“Where you live, can you have one?” she asks.
Oh, geez.
Before I can stop them from answering, Hayden says, “Sure,” with a shrug.
Shit!
Evie perks up, then quickly schools her features. “You should probably get a puppy. When we saw the puppies at the park who need homes, they jumped all over Mommy and made her smile and laugh.”
I snort at my conniving daughter, who should be too young to manipulate grown-ass men. She begged for a puppy that day, and when I told her we couldn’t have one where we lived, she asked if we could move to where we could have one. Of course, I told her that wasn’t going to happen.
Hayden grins wide. “We’ll take that under consideration.”
“Consideration?” she asks, her nose scrunching up. “Is that closer to a yes or a no or a maybe?”
“Umm, a maybe?” Hayden says, though it comes out like a question.
Evie’s face falls. “Everyone knows maybe means no.”
Brody chuckles. “Then it’s closer to a yes,” he says, glancing at me and winking.
