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It had been two weeks since Maxim's birthday dinner. I'd spoken withBabushkaand Viktor several times, and had plans to have dinner soon. Sergei had already come over several times with Maxim and Sofia. Lottie had loved showing Sofia her collection of purses and backpacks, not to mention Grogu figures.
Which she had slowly been bringing over, one by one.
"Stop thinking so hard," Lottie murmured as she snuggled further into my side. "You're so tense and it makes your muscles all hard. Which isn't a bad thing, but it does make you super uncomfy to lean on."
My lips twitched, and I fought back a smile. "I'm greatly sorry for that, my love." I kissed her head and slouched into thecushions, forcing myself to go limp. "Is this better? I'm afraid I can't make all the muscles go away immediately."
She wiggled her head around, moving my arm into her desired position. When she finally found a comfortable position, she leaned back into me with a contented sigh. "Much better."
"I shall endeavor not to move."
Kaleb and Colby snickered from their positions on the opposite end of the couch.
"This is where it's nice to have a dad bod." Colby patted his not-quite-flat stomach. "Nice and comfortable for a Little to lay on."
Lottie's eyes snapped open, and she pursed her lips. "Better not be just any Little laying on it."
I coughed to disguise my laughter as our girl stared daggers at Colby.
His eyes grew comically wide, and he held his hands up in surrender. "My Little. Our Little. Meaning only you, little one."
She nodded, accepting the response and laying her head back on my chest.
"Kroshka?"I brushed away the strands of hair from her face, my touch lingering on her soft skin. I loved how she was wearing her hair down for us more. She hated dealing with it, so she'd just throw it up in a ponytail. But now that we are here, we help her brush and wash it whenever she likes.
"Hmm?" She replied, her hand absently gliding back and forth over my abdomen.
"What would you say if we moved the rest of your stuff here?" My gaze collided with Kaleb's, and he gave me a wide grin. We briefly discussed it last week after we brought more and more things over from our respective places. Colby and I weren't attached to our condos in the slightest. They were a place to lay our heads and crash, but there were no emotional attachments.
We'd much rather make our home here, with all four of us together.
Lottie moved to sit up straight, her head tilting to the side. "Like to make me more comfortable? Or like move in? Then I'd expect you and Colby to move in, too. But only if Kaleb is okay with it. Kaleb, are you okay with it?"
"Slow down and take a breath, little one." I placed a finger on her lips.
"Andrei wouldn't have brought up the question if I wasn't okay with it." Kaleb reached out to place his hand on her knee. "We want you here. All of us."
"And, of course, we'd move in too," Colby added. "We pretty much already have."
"But if you want to take some more time, you can." I hoped that wasn't what she wanted, but we'd respect her decision either way. We wanted her to be here forever and always. No escaping to her own place. If she needed space, we'd build her a room or even a whole She-Shed outside if that's what she wanted. But she belonged with us. Living here with us.
She nibbled on her bottom lip, contemplating and processing what we were saying. "Can I have my own office with all of my squishmallows and collectibles?"
"Of course," Kaleb answered first. "I already cleared out room in my closet since it's the biggest for your clothes and things. But if you want your own room and space, we'll do whatever you want."
"I need an office when we work from home. I love you guys, but I don't want you breathing down my neck when I'm always working." She'd been sharing Kaleb's office with him for the last few weeks. It wasn't ideal, especially when Kaleb liked to distract her with kisses. "Because I take my work very seriously and don't want my reputation to be tarnished by the fact I'm sleeping with the CEO."
"And CFO," I added under my breath. "And their best friend, too."
Lottie tilted her head back toward me and stuck the tip of her tongue out. "Yes, all three of you. That would just make them go even crazier. The rumor mill would be epic. I can imagine the things they say."
Kaleb and I glanced at each other, our eyes communicating that we were on the same page.
I took Lottie's hand in mine and squeezed. "We would never put your job or reputation at risk. We have a lot of employees who are married or dating. As long as they aren't direct supervisors and it's not interfering with their work, we let people have their personal lives. Honestly, I don't think anyone would bat an eye."
"Gloria would probably be ecstatic." Kaleb grinned. "She's been on me to settle down for ages. Bryanna too. They'd all be thrilled more than scandalized."
"I know that." Lottie let out a heavy sigh. "I just don't want anyone to ever think I'm being given special treatment or anything like that. I've worked really hard to get where I'm at."
