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“Well, if she hadn’t, he never would’ve gotten you. I’d say he got the better end of the deal,” he says with a shrug before heading to his room.
Bellamy’s words touch a special place in my heart and warm me more than anything anyone has ever said to me. I just stare at his door, wondering how his ex could’ve left him either.
It’s not until Coop calls for me that I snap out of it and plaster a big smile back on my face.
“How about lasagna? I hear that’s another of your dad’s favorites. No way he can say no to you with that in front of him,” I suggest to Coop.
“I love lasagna. Let’s do it!” He pumps his fist in the air excitedly. Seriously, this kid is the best.
We spend the next hour getting dinner together and in the oven. While it’s cooking, I help Coop do his homework. Milo and Clay arrive home just as the timer goes off for dinner.
“Something smells amazing,” Clay asserts, immediately heading to the oven to see what’s inside.
“You cleaned too?” Milo questions, looking around the house.
“Yep. Thought the lot of you would appreciate a clean home and a good dinner. Lasagna was Coop’s idea, though,” I say, winking at the boy as I pull the dinner out. Coop grins, knowing I’m giving him all the credit.
“Really? Well, thank you both, then. This is great.” He inhales the smell deeply, and I swear I heard him stifle a moan that tried to escape. He truly is a man that is wooed through his stomach.
We all fix our plates and sit down at the table. It’s quiet for a minute as everyone digs in. Various sounds of satisfaction can be heard as they eat, and I try not to laugh. Coop is chowing down while also staring at his dad, obviously scared to bring up the sleepover.
So I decide to help him out some. “Hey Coop, anything good happen at school today?” Bellamy gives me a knowing smirk but says nothing. He knows exactly what I’m doing.
He swallows thickly and looks at me. I nudge him gently with my foot under the table and motion with my eyes to go ahead, smiling as reassuringly as possible.
He looks back at his dad and sighs. “My friend Mikey at school asked if I could have a sleepover tomorrow. Can I go?”
Milo looks a bit surprised at first but then nods. “I don’t see why not. Just make sure you tell Mikey we need his parents’ number in case of an emergency.”
“Really?!” Coop exclaims excitedly.
“Yeah, sure. Just make sure your room is clean before then.”
I raise my hand. “Actually, it was mostly clean already, and I finished it earlier. He should be good to go. I can drop him off myself.” Coop gives me a grateful grin.
“Oh. Well then yeah. We all have things to do tomorrow night anyway, and True has the night off. You sure you’re good with dropping him off?” he asks me.
“I’d be thrilled to!”
“Yay!” Coop shouts and begins shoveling food more vehemently in his mouth.
Milo mouths thank you to me across the table, and I nod. He doesn’t know it, but I’d fly Coop to the moon if he asked it of me. Hell, I’d do anything for all of them without blinking. It’s in my nature, but it feels different this time.
I’m just not entirely sure if that is a good thing or not.
8
True
“True, I’m scared,” Coop confesses as we pull up to his friend’s house. He’s going to a sleepover with one of his friends from school.
It worked out since Milo has a date with a woman he conveniently bumped into at a coffee shop. And by conveniently, I mean I may have nudged them both into this date. She seemed like a good match for him. She’s a big-time editor for a major publishing company and has a daughter of her own. Accomplished and good with kids was a step in the right direction.
I have the night off, so this works out perfectly while also allowing Coop to get some much-deserved fun with his friend.
“I thought you were excited about this sleepover,” I tell him as I park in front of the townhouse and turn in my seat to look at him, confused as to why he suddenly got so anxious.
“I’ve never had a sleepover,” he admits shyly, glancing at the home with a worried expression.
