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I take a deep breath to say what’s on my mind. “Pretty sure she still hates me a little.”
He laughs. “She might. But she’s doing a good job of reining that in, don’t you think?”
“Definitely. I just…I’m surprised she’s been cool about me being with the kids. I thought for sure she’d have a harder time about it.”
“It took her a few weeks—
“Yeah, but still. I thought it might be a fewyears.”
“I think it helped to know that you aren’t going anywhere. That this isn’t just some fling. For her, I think it was one thing if you were some flighty chef on her way back to Manhattan—the kids would have gotten over it eventually and moved on. But—
“Just the kids?” I smirk at him.
“Well, yes. You think I’d ever get over you?” He gives a playful smile and kisses me. It’s novel to do that now with other people around, and I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to it. I don’t want to. It makes me happy every time.
“Go on.”
“Since she knows you’re going to stay in Somerset Harbor and that we’re building a business together, she knows this isn’t temporary. That you’re going to be a fixture in my life. So, eventually, she had to get past her own issues.” He sits with that for a beat and his eyes flicker with a thought. “Also, even though she knows she had to go to France, I think she had some mommy guilt about the whole thing, which likely contributed to her overreaction.”
I give his hand a squeeze. “I’m just glad she came over for lunch, and that it went as well as it did. Abigail is a smart, fun woman, and I’d love it if we could be friends one day. I think that would be good for the kids, too. Seeing us get along.”
“I’d really like that, Lily. Don’t do it for my sake or theirs, though. If you want to be friends with her, it should be for you.”
“Can’t it be for everyone?”
He smiles. “I guess so.”
“Okay. Time for me to tackle those dishes—
“Don’t you dare. You cooked. I’ll clean.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want you to feel you have to.”
He huffs a laugh. “You made a three-course lunch for me, my kids, and my ex-wife. You deserve to relax.” Then he heads to the kitchen.
“Oh, okay. If you insist.” As he sidles up to the sink, I fit myself behind him and kiss his shoulder. “Thank you for being such a wonderful boyfriend.”
He chuckles. “Aren’t I too old to be a boyfriend?”
“Hardly. I plan to have boyfriends until I’m dead. Of course, when I’m eighty and they’re twenty-five—
He flings soapy dishwater at me. “Hey!”
I giggle and splash some back at him. “You monster! How dare you!”
He laughs, then takes me in his arms, getting his wet hands all over my back and ass right before he kisses me.
“Ooo,” Aiden taunts us from the dining room. Franny joins in.
We turn, still giggling. Cormac says, “When you’re old and have a girlfriend, you can kiss her in the kitchen, too.”
“No, I want to play splash fight!” Aiden says.
I glance at Cormac. It’s been a while since Franny has been in the pool, and since she got the boot off, I hope he says yes.
He relents. “Go get your swimsuits on and wait—
“Okay!” They run to their rooms to change.
