“Yeah, I was born and raised in Russia, and back there hockey is more like a religion rather than sport. Almost all boys start playing it at some point.”
“Oh, wow! That’s so cool! I wish my dad could take me, but I don’t have one. Well, I do but he left us. His name is Joey, do you know him?”
“No, little man, thankfully, for him, I don’t know him. Yet.”
I don’t miss that addition at the end.
“Nana says it’s a good thing he left and never came back. She said he wasn’t a good guy.” I can hear sadness in his little voice. “Jake and Sam, they’re my friends, they told me I will look like my dad because they look like their dads. I told them to eat dirt.”
Severin chokes, and so do I. I’ll kill Stella when I see her.
“Y-you did, huh?” Sava is still coughing.
“Mm-hmm,” Emett mumbles mid-chew. “I told them I won’t look like him because he’s not my real dad. I’ll look like you!”
My mouth drops along with the panties I was clutching, and I slam my hand over my mouth to silence the gasp that left me.
Severin seizes coughing right that second and a heavy silence fills the apartment.
“Y-you think I’m your real dad?” Sava’s voice trembles, so at odds with the intimidating man that he is. But I can’t blame him when my own knees feel weak.
Since when did Emett think like that? He’s never once told me about his feelings. I mean, I knew he adored Severin but not at this level.
“Yeah!” Emett proclaims. “Nana always says we choose our family, and I choose you!”
“Little man…” His voice cracks.
“What?” Emett sounds worried. “Do you not like that? I’m sorry! I’m sorry, I just thought… You love my mom and you love me. I always see you sneaking around, fixing stuff at our house, and you buy me my favorite ice cream when Mom doesn’t see. And you love hockey like I do! But…but…if you don’t want to be my dad, that’s okay—” There are now tears in his eyes, and I will my legs to move, to go to my son when Sava beats me to it.
“Hey, hey, Em, look at me. I love you with my whole heart, and there is absolutely nothing I’d love more than to be your dad. I was going to have this whole big man-to-man talk with you today about it, but you beat me to it.”
“Yeah?” Emett’s voice lifts, and I swallow a ball of tears. “So, I can finally call you Dad?”
“I would be honored if you called me your dad, little man.”
“I love you too, Dad.”
My boys…
I barely manage a teary breath before I run back into the room and spend the next half hour covering the tear streaks from my face.
When I finally emerge in the hallway, Emett immediately jumps off his bar stool, wearing the biggest smile I’ve ever seen. “Mommy! You’re up!” He runs at me and that’s when I realize in all of those emotional roller coasters, I didn’t grab those pants I was looking for.
Damn it. I lower myself to my knees so that nothing is accidentally exposed.
“Heyyy, honey. Did you sleep well?” I give him a big hug, tilting forward so that, once again, nothing shows.
“I slept the bestest.” Emett grins. “How did you sleep?”
“Yeah, how did you sleep, Lychik?” That half naked hockey model I call mine, leans against the counter, wearing those filthy gray sweatpants that just barely hold onto his hips—just the slightest of moves and he’ll be bared to me as he sips his coffee with a sexy smirk. His eyes firmly on my ass, and that’s when I realize in my hopes of hiding all my parts from Emett, I exposed them to Severin.
I feel my cheeks grow warmer. “I slept great, honey,” I tell Emett. “Give me just a minute and I’ll make you breakfast.”
“Oh, I already ate.”
“You did?” My brows shoot up.
“Yeah, Dad made me eggs and toast with jam!”
