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“It’s a good thing you woke me,” he smirked. “You did the right thing. If she wakes up before me, she attempts to make us both breakfast. Last time it was cereal and bananas covered in syrup with dried oatmeal mixed in. It’s a sweet gesture but doesn’t taste so great.”
He swung his legs over the side of the mattress, grunting as he stretched and stood up. “I have a spare robe and some boxers you can borrow,” he added.
After grabbing them out of his dresser, he leaned down to hand them to me and kissed my forehead. “I like waking up with you here,” he smiled.
My cheeks blushed, and my heart swelled with palpitations. “I like it too.”
With that, he walked off into the house and started calling out for Em. I hung back just long enough to splash some water on my face and put on the things Derek loaned to me.
I shuffled into the kitchen in his oversized navy blue robe, slippers, boxer shorts, and t-shirts. It was all surprisingly comfortable, and Em barely seemed to notice I was wearing her father’s things. Or if she did, it didn’t strike her as being odd.
“I’m so glad you’re here!” she exclaimed, running over to give me a big hug. I wasn’t sure if she remembered anything from the night before or not. She seemed happy and peaceful as could be now.
“Are you staying for breakfast?” she asked.
I looked to Derek for permission, and he nodded.
“I sure am. If that’s okay with you,” I told her.
“It’s more than okay with me! I was just making a breakfast soup, but Dad said bacon, eggs, and toast might be better.”
“I have to admit, your dad’s idea does sound pretty good, but what exactly is in a breakfast soup?” I was almost afraid to ask.
“Marshmallows, cereal, oats, milk, and eggs! But not the scrambled kind. It has to be the runny kind because that’s what makes it soup-like.”
Derek laughed and cringed at the same time, and I couldn’t help but do the same.
“You are quite the little chef, aren’t you? Maybe you and I can cook something together some time. I found a tasty-looking pie recipe in my mom’s things. Would you want to try it with me?”
She nodded eagerly, but I realized I was forgetting myself. I looked up to Derek, still feeling uncertain if I was allowed to make suggestions or extend invitations like that.
He glanced over his shoulder to Em with a grin. “I think that sounds like a great plan. I’d love to eat a delicious pie made by you two lovely ladies.”
Em beamed from the compliment, and I imagined my face didn’t look too different from hers. Any time he said something nice to me, my stomach turned flips. But coupling that with his sweet little girl bouncing around us, somehow made the effect on me even stronger.
“Should I make us some coffee?” I asked Derek.
“You and your coffee,” he teased. “I’m afraid I’m not as on top of these things as you are, but I’ll brew something up for us.”
“I got it. I’m sure I can find my way around.” Secretly I was hoping I had a reason to get used to where everything was in his kitchen. I wanted to be hanging around more often…if he’d have me.
I drew pictures with Em at the kitchen table while Derek cooked breakfast, and then we all ate together. I was all so domestic and unlike anything I had ever imagined for myself. When I pictured Evan and I having kids together, we lived in the city and had a full-time nanny and busy schedules.
This was slow and easy, out in the beautiful countryside, with lots of laughing and happiness. I thought back on what Katie said. She was right. Even before Evan and I broke up, I hadn’t been happy in my old life. It was so bad that I didn’t even realize how unhappy and unfulfilling the life ahead of me seemed too. I had been charging head first into a nightmare of my own making and didn’t even know myself well enough to realize it was so far from what I really wanted.
I couldn’t have known what I really wanted and needed until I found myself sitting at that kitchen table with Derek and Em, seeing it all with my own eyes for the first time. It all felt so right. I could really see myself there, and each time that thought rolled through my head, it was more frightening than the time before.
Wanting things that badly was scary. It left you vulnerable to disappointment and heartbreak. I didn’t need any more of that in my life. But was I crazy to think I was safe with Derek? That maybe, just maybe, he wasn’t going to let me down.
After breakfast, Em ran off to get dressed, and I reluctantly did the same. I didn’t want to disrupt their morning routine by hanging around too long, and I knew Derek had to take Em to school.
“I’ll see you later at the house?” I asked Derek as he walked me out to my bike.
“I might be a little late. This incredibly sexy, beautiful woman kept me up all night,” he chuckled, pulling me in for a kiss.
“There’s a fine for being late, you know.”
“Oh? I hope it’s what I’m thinking it is,” he winked.
