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“That was a kiss.”
“That was a bite.”
I shrug a shoulder. “Is it a problem?”
“Yes.”
Well, shit. I wasn’t expecting her to say that.
“Okay, well you want to know what you can do? Watch my kid. Take care of Teddy like you’re supposed to. That’s what you can do.”
Turning my attention back to the TV, I wait for Emily to push away from me, which is honestly what I’d like her to do right now. Push away and run away so I don’t have to deal with all of her sweet when all I want to do is tear down anything and everything I can see.
I want to watch the world burn, and Emily shouldn’t get caught up in that.
But she doesn’t push away. Instead, she leans in and places a kiss against my mouth again, just as soft and sweet as it was the first time. But after the sweetness of it, she pulls back, looks me in the eye.
“If you want to pick fights with me,” she tells me, “I’ll sass you right back. You know it because I’ve done it before. So things will be a hell of a lot easier if you’re just honest with me. I might have overheard a few things earlier today, but I don’t know the whole picture. I can tell you one thing for certain, though—if you tell me why you’re angry, I’ll rage with you. It’s a whole lot better to have someone on your team when you’re upset than to waste your time picking a bunch of unnecessary battles. Or, if you don’t want me involved, tell me you need to handle it on your own, and I’ll understand. But don’t think for a second that you’ll get away with talking to me like you just did.”
Licking my lips, I consider her for a moment. A long one. Until I realize she’s right.
I turn and look her in the eyes, and I tell her.
“Verona is trying to take away my son.”
And then Emily holds me as I weep.
chapter twenty
emily
That night, we all sleep in the living room.
Colton doesn’t want to wake Teddy, so he lets his son sleep in his fort, and the two of us hold each other on the couch.
It is…raw and intimate in a way I’m not expecting. In an almost overwhelming way. And yet the way it feels to have him show that part of himself to me…well, it feels like the purest kind of trust.
“How’s your breakfast, Booger Ben?”
Teddy giggles as I adjust the glasses on his face. “I’m not Ben, I’m Teddy!”
“Are you sure? Because I see some boogers.”
He laughs again and shakes his head. “I’m Teddy Palmer.”
I give him a high five then turn when I see movement in the living room. Colton blinks his eyes and stumbles into the kitchen looking sleepy and sexy in the best ways. It makes me want to run at him, wrap my arms around his stomach, and kiss him even though he hasn’t brushed his teeth yet.
“Morning,” I say instead, not wanting to make a fool of myself.
But then Colton surprises me.
He walks up to me, in front of his son, and places a firm kiss on my mouth then wipes something off my cheek. Probably food from prepping breakfast for Ted.
“You know what I was thinking?” Colton says, looking at me and then looking at Teddy. “I was thinking we should go on a vacation. Maybe a little road trip. Somewhere fun.”
I blink a few times, surprised.
On any other day, I would love going on a trip with Colton and Teddy, whether as nanny or as secret sexy time or both. But this seems…not only out of character, but like the wrong time.
