AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“If you do marry her, will she be my mom?”
Jay said a quick prayer for wisdom as he turned his attention fully on his son. “She’d be your stepmom. Just like I’d be Ciara’s stepdad.”
“Is Ciara’s dad around here?”
“No. Her dad died before she was born.” He wasn’t going to try to explain all the details about that to someone so young.
“So she never knew him?”
“No, she didn’t.”
“She likes you,” Peyton said.
“She likes you too.” Jay wasn’t entirely sure whichshePeyton was referring to, but his answer applied to both Misha and Ciara.
“She likes Layla better, I think.”
For that observation, he was going to reply with Ciara in mind. “That’s only because Layla has known her longer than you have. Misha and her mom lived with Charli and Janessa when they first moved here. So that meant that Ciara and Layla lived in the same house.”
“Are they going to live with us?”
“Nope. The only time we’ll live together is if Misha and I get married,” Jay said. “But like I said, we haven’t talked about that yet.”
When Peyton fell silent, Jay picked up the bag from the counter. “Are you ready to go?”
“Can I bring a ball to play with?” Peyton asked.
“Definitely. Do you have any other outdoor toys?”
“I’ll check.”
Peyton headed off to his bedroom, while Jay set the bag of food by the door. When he and the others had talked about the food, he’d offered to bring veggies and dip, as well as the apple juice boxes Peyton loved.
When he’d asked Charli if she and Layla wanted to join them—and Misha, Ciara, and Denise—at a park for a picnic, she’d jumped on board, and soon most of the family that was currently in town planned to join them. Cole and Skylar—and Aiden, of course—had volunteered to snag a spot at the park after church while the rest went to get the food.
“Ready to go, buddy?” Jay called out.
Peyton appeared with a few things in his arms.
“What you got there?”
“A ball, a Frisbee, and a kite.”
“Sounds good.” Jay got a plastic bag and held it for Peyton to put his things into.
They left the apartment and took the elevator down to the ground floor. As they stepped out of the building, gloriously warm air greeted them. It was sunny, with hardly any clouds in the sky. A perfect day, and he was going to enjoy it with his favorite people. All of them.
To be back together with Misha felt like a miracle. He wouldn’t have blamed her if she’d told him to leave her alone. It was nothing less than he deserved, given how he’d treated her and considering everything else going on in his life.
But when she’d let him comfort her, Jay knew he had to try again. He’d missed her so much, and his life had felt empty without her and Ciara in it. Yes, he’d seen her at work and at church, but it wasn’t the same.
The moments he’d missed the most were the times at the gym, eating dinner together, and even hanging out at the townhouse with Misha, Ciara, and Denise.
But he’d also missed hearing her talk with the others in the breakroom at lunch. It was during those conversations that her intelligence shone as she talked about medical stuff with Gareth, Janessa, and Aria. He might not have understood a lot of what they discussed, but Misha’s passion for her work and her care for her patients was very evident.
All of that was so attractive to him. It was no surprise that he’d fallen hard for her.
His life was better with Misha in it, and he was sure that he wasn’t the only one who felt that way. It was his hope that, one day in the future, Peyton would also feel that way about her.
