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Her teeny eyebrows furrow before she shoots a look over her shoulder at Ry. "They won't hurt me, Bug. It's okay. Jude just wanted to give you flowers to be nice." Rylee's cheeks are moist with fresh tears, even as she attempts a smile for her little one.
Pride and awe make my chest puff out. I want to be as inspiring as these two girls in front of me. Not only is a five-year-old fierce enough to stand between her mom and perceived danger; but the woman who raised her fights her demons every moment of every day and still manages to offer her child love and light.
"You are okay?" Layla's voice quivers with nerves even while she stands tall in defiance.
Rylee doesn't hesitate to scoop her daughter up and tuck her head under her chin. "I am wonderful. Do you want to smell your flowers now? Then the guys will leave so we can decorate with them. How does that sound?"
I'm not offended that she is going to kick us out. This seems like it might be a big deal in the process of getting our little one to trust us.
Our?
With an unwavering stare at us, Layla nods her head against her mom’s chest. Hesitantly, Jude grabs a bouquet and nudges me to hand them over. Turning to grab them from him, I lock eyes with Leo, seeing the fear and concern pouring out of his deep eyes.
Marcus holds his emotions a bit better, but when I catch his eye, I see horror and shock staring back at me. Jude has yet to look away from the cuddly duo, seemingly afraid if he takes his eyes off them, they might disappear into whatever hell they are running from.
"Here you go," I murmur, keeping my voice low so as not to startle them. Their sniffles are so damn loud in the space between us, making me fucking itch to fix all their aches and pains.
"Thank you, guys. Um, I'll text you, okay?"
"Okay," Jude whispers, each of us standing at her gentle dismissal.
"Jude." Layla's little voice has him turning around in astonishment. I admit that my eyes water when she drops out of Rylee's lap and approaches us slowly. Keeping her mom in eyesight, she shuffles closer and peeks up at me, then Jude, before saying, "Thank you. I-I really love them." My heart about fucking shatters when her chin quivers.
Nudging me out of the way, Jude kneels a few feet away from her. "Of course, Nugget. May I have a hug?" Looking to Rylee again, Layla waits for her mother’s nod of approval before stepping into Jude's wide chest.
My heart warms. Jude is going to be such a wonderful dad someday. As his arms wrap around the teeny blonde, I get even more attached.What would it be like to have a future with Ry and Layla?
"Go decorate with your momma, okay? Keep her smiling while I'm not here. Can you do that for me?" He drops a kiss on Layla's head before pulling back and wiping her tears.
"I can make Mommy happy while you're gone, I promise!" With a task to look forward to, Layla smiles widely at the surfer boy holding her close. "I miss you?" I think she meant to say those words as a statement, but they come out as a question. Almost like the concept of missing someone is foreign, or she just doesn't quite understand why she would miss Jude.
"I'll miss you too, Nugget." Standing to his full height, Jude picks Layla up and swings her around in a circle before depositing her on Rylee's lap. "See you soon. Remember what to do?"
"Yes!"
"Good job!" An intake of breath behind me punctuates the kiss Jude plops on Ry's cheek. A blush pinkens her neck, making me want to find all the ways I can turn her my new favorite color.
Fuck. I want to stay forever.
I want them to stay forever.
* * *
Marcus is first to break the tense silence. "Are we going to talk about the absolute fuckery that we just caused?"
I smirk when Leo sighs in tune with me. We took an enormous leap in our relationship last night, but Marcus and Jude still drive me ass over tits. Is that the saying? Either way, they poke every last nerve. And not just the good ones.
"I didn't know..." Jude tails off, guilt and shame hushing his words. From his spot beside Marc in the back, I catch his eyes in the rearview mirror. "I brought Layla flowers when I took Rylee on that date last week, and I just brushed off Rylee’s weird behavior, I guess. It was weird. She seemed mad, so of course I didn't question it."
In the passenger seat, Leo rolls his eyes, smothering a scoff behind a lip bite. I wonder what he's thinking. I can only imagine what that woman would look like sprawled out on the counter. I bet her red hair would frame her glowing cheeks like a fucking goddess. A sly look would twist her plump lips, and her eyes wouldn't look at me as she chased her own pleasure. Because if I know anything about her, Rylee doesn't do anything for anyone else. No. Everything she does is either for herself or her little girl. And that's not to say she's selfish; Jude told us her conditions. I think that amazing woman is finally taking what she deserves from the world.
I wouldn't be mad to be the opportunity she grasps and uses for her own ministrations. The problem, though? I think as soon as I kiss her creamy skin I won't be able to let her go. And she has mentioned far too many times for my liking that she has to leave.
I'm just as far gone as the guys, yet I haven't touched her once. What does that mean for me if I do? Will I ever be able to let her go?
Pulling the car into the driveway, I allow myself a moment to remember the delighted surprise when we showed up at her doorstep. I may have been fucking around with Jude, but as soon as she opened that door, every atom in my body was hyper-focused on the way her lips parted in laughter.
From the outside, I bet it looked like I was pushing him around because he annoyed me, but what she didn’t see was that Jude was panicking worse than I have ever seen. Between commitment and fixing a fuck-up with the woman he really likes and the little girl who has his heart, Jude was struggling.Hard.
