“Good morning, love,” I murmur as I slip my arms around her from behind, brushing my nose along her neck and inhaling her scent. Just breathing her in is enough to settle me. “Didn’t feel you come to bed last night. Did you stay up working?”
She tells the Echo to pause the audiobook and turns in my arms.
“No. Maybe an hour at most. It wasn’t coming out the way Iwanted, so I decided to sleep. You must’ve been exhausted. You didn’t even move when I pulled up the covers.”
I kiss her forehead before heading to the coffeemaker and pouring two mugs.
“Yeah. Yesterday was a long day.”
She watches me a little too closely, like she’s trying to read something in the spaces I’m not filling, then says, “You’re not going into the office today.”
I shake my head, take a sip, and hand her the other mug, exactly how I like it. Everything my Ceci touches turns out perfect. She doesn’t even have to try.
“I can’t even remember the last time you stayed home on a Saturday.”
Her brow furrows, like she’s genuinely trying to pinpoint it, and that irritates me, because it shouldn’t be that hard to remember. But when I actually try to recall the last time, I come up empty. It probably is the first Saturday I’ve been home all year.
“Doesn’t it matter more that I’m here now? I can’t change the past.”
The second it leaves my mouth, I hear how it sounds. Defensive, careless.
“I’m sorry, Ceci. I just… thought we could have a nice day. You, me, the kids. Go somewhere.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you apologize this many times in a row since I met you nineteen years ago.” She lifts her hand before I can speak. “And I can’t go out with you, sorry. I’m on atight deadline. I need to double-check some facts, and I’ve got a Zoom call with a professor at eleven who’s helping me with some sources.”
Alicia shuffles into the kitchen, her hair sticking up in every direction. The same shade of red as her mother’s, but wild in a way that’s entirely her own. When we found out we were having a girl, I hoped she’d look like Ceci.
But she’s a younger, softer version of me.
Ethan, on the other hand, is a mirror of my past, except for those blue eyes he stole straight from his mother.
Alicia wraps her arms around my waist. She’s nearly as tall as my chest now. My little princess is growing up faster than I’m ready for. Soon she’ll be Ethan’s age, talking about colleges and futures I’m not prepared to imagine yet.
“You’re home, Daddy.”
Her voice is pure surprise.
I kiss the top of her head, just in time to catch Ceci’s raised eyebrow. That I told you so look is clear as day.
I grind my teeth and focus on Alicia. “What do you think about spending the day out? Anything you want. We can see if your brother wants to come too.”
“Count me out.”
That’s how Ethan announces himself, not even looking at me, heading straight to Ceci to kiss her cheek and mumble a “morning” like I’m an afterthought.
“Why not? It’s been a while since we all did something together.”
The smirk he throws over his shoulder tells me exactly how this is going to go.
“And whose fault is that? We’re always here. And when we go out, it’s with Mom.”
The look Ceci shoots me—half warning, half fear of what I’ll say next—freezes the words I was about to spit out. She must see it on my face, the way the anger spikes before I can catch it.
“Your choice,” I say, keeping my voice tight. “If you change your mind, let me know.”
“No thanks.”
He still won’t look at me, turning to his mother like I don’t even take up space in the room. “I’m going to Conrad’s. A bunch of the guys are coming over. We’re spending the day gaming.”
