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“That’s fine.”
“Then, no. I don’t mind.”
He kneeled in front of her and helped her out of her shoes while she steadied herself using his shoulders. Then, he undressed to his underwear and slipped into a pair of shorts. She didn’t bring anything with her, so he helped her out of her dress and unhooked her bra before giving her one of his shirts to sleep in.
They climbed into bed.
She gravitated toward him, and he kept her anchored against him with a hand at the small of her back. Despite the heat he felt being generated by her body, she didn’t reach for him like she’d done in Malibu.
“Good night, Joel.”
“Night, Syd.”
She rested her cheek against his chest.
The ghost of Ayesha’s kiss swept across the base of his neck.
CHAPTER25
Ayesha woke up to the sound of small fists banging on her hotel room door. Yawning, she rolled out of bed, stretched, and the minute she opened the door, Josiah nearly bowled her over. Tayler and Gage walked in behind him, Tayler holding Theo while Gage carried Grey, who looked bright and fresh-faced, like he’d been up and ready to play for hours.
“Good morning, Ma,” Josiah sang.
Theo stretched his arms outward. “Mama!”
She placed a loud kiss on Josiah’s cheek and then took Theo into her arms and did the same.
“Gummaoot-tairs,”Theo informed her.
“Grandma Jemma and Grandpa Archie are upstairs on the roof helping set up for brunch,” Josiah translated. “Me and Theo couldn’t wait that long to see you, though.”
“And I’m glad you couldn’t wait because I couldn’t wait to see my beautiful boys.” Ayesha gave them another round of kisses, then rose onto her toes and stroked Grey’s soft cheek with an index finger. “Hi, cutie.”
Theo tapped her on her shoulder. “Baby, Mama. Mama, douk.Baby.”
“Oh, is that right? This is a baby? Wonder what that makes you.”
Gage looked down at Grey, who was captivated by Theo, the only other person in the room who appeared relatively close to his size. It was the same way Curtis used to look at Josiah—pride, awe, and fear wrapped in a bubble, especially when they were that tiny, light, and seemingly breakable.
“Do you need to shower and stuff, Ma?” Josiah beamed up at her, hopping in place. “Me and Theo can wait with Auntie Tay and Uncle Gage until you’re ready.”
Theo held her tighter. “No.”
“Theo, there’s food upstairs.”
“No.”
Ayesha adjusted him so he could see her face. “Theo-Saurus, can you stay with Titi Tayler and Co-Geish until Mama gets squeaky clean?”
Tayler licked her lips and rubbed her stomach. “We’ll eat grapes, Theo. Yummy, yummy grapes.”
“Gape?”
“And pineapples,” Tayler added. “Want to eat some pineapples with me, Theo?”
Tayler reached for him, and he allowed her to gently coax him from the arm lasso he had around Ayesha’s neck.
“I eat pine-appul whip Titi Tay-Yuh.”
