“Yeah.” Opening a bag of chopped potatoes, he nodded. “You’re still welcome to come.”
Oh.
“Um, I’m going home with Teddy.” I found myself trying not to squirm as Gary looked at me and gave me a knowing grin. “Stop that. You look ridiculous.”
“Teddy and Levi sitting in a tree…K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love then comes collars then comes Teddy in a baby carriage.”
“I think that order is slightly mixed up and I haven’t seen little-sized strollers.” Making sure the house was big enough for a playroom or nursery depending on what he wanted would be important, though. “Do you think having a playroom and nursery would be too much?”
His giggles said it might be a bit much.
“How big of a house were you looking for?” Barely holding back more laughter and probably the urge to tell me that I wasridiculous, he rolled his eyes. “I’ve seen your parents’ place, remember?”
He was being the ridiculous one now.
“Nothing that size.” My goal was not to have staff…at least not at this point in my life. “We were just playing around and talking about those houses a few blocks over. The ones near that pink monstrosity.”
And the eyes went round and round again.
“Those are million-dollar homes, not starter properties.” Mumbling something that sounded like he thought I had more money than common sense, he sighed. “They’re pretty, though.”
Ha.
“And a good long-term investment because the college isn’t going anywhere.” I’d done a bit of research on the area in general. “They’re also not the most expensive homes around here, so they’re more reasonable than you think.”
His snort said we’d have to agree to disagree on that part.
“You should wait until you’re out of college to even think about something like that.” His logic would’ve been good for most other students.
“I’m in a PhD program, dork. I’m going to be here for years.” How long the fucking programs were was the only downside of wanting my doctorate. “So thewait until I’m steadything doesn’t really apply.”
“Part of me likes how well planned out this chaos actually seems to be and another part wants to freak out at all your crazy plans.” Shaking his head, he huffed. “So we’re going to change the subject. Christmas shopping. Do you have stuff for Teddy’sparents? Is there anyone else in that household you should buy stuff for?”
Oh, good point.
“Yeah, I need to make a list but there are a few other things I need to get and I need to get something for Ruslan too.” Dante wanted him to feel welcome and comfortable with us, so the Christmas dinner thing needed to go smoothly. “You still good doing most of the cooking for that dinner? I can help.”
Gary pretended to get offended and huffed. “You want to take over my kitchen? No.”
Drama queen.
“Fine, but don’t say I didn’t offer.”
Oh.
“Um, at some point later this week please ask me if I’ve talked to Teddy about the Christmas dinner thing?” His laughter made me groan. “Hey, I’m sorry if he’s slightly distracting and I’ve had a lot to think about.”
Like house buying and ways to keep my adorable little entertained that didn’t involve bubbles in the bathtub.
Chapter 14
Teddy
“I don’t know how it happened.” I threw myself at Levi as he came in the front door, making him laugh as he wrapped his arms around me. “She texted me at six this morning and was over here at seven.”
Because I hadn’t seen the text.
“Well, she was frustrated that I always get you first.” Levi kissed my head, looking very pleased about that. “Daddy always wins, but he’s a good winner, so how about we make sure you have time to hang out with her later this week? When does she head home?”
