Sated, and deliriously in love, the three of us tangle together in the sheets after Cora licks me clean and I lick Marco clean. I rest my head on Cora’s soft inner thigh, staring at my future, as Marco holds her in his arms against the fabric headboard. I trace along her smooth legs, admiring a few freckles I’ve never noticed before.
“Can I talk about something I’ve been working through in therapy?” Cora asks, and I give her a smiling nod, trying to play it cool.
“Of course, baby.” Marco nuzzles into her hair.
“It’s going well, first of all. It’s hard, but I know it’s the right thing to do.” She plays idly with my hair as she talks. “And I’m trying to think about having children again.” My heart rate picks up, but I try to reign it in and listen intently. “Do you guys think I could meet Viera?”
That piques my interest too much to keep quiet. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah. I think knowing I’m going to see her ahead of time will help with not being so triggered.” She looks up at Marco, and he quirks the corner of his lip. “And I want to see you guys with Leo and Viera, see how you are with them.”
“We’re gonna fuckin’acethat test, dude.” I reach up and high five Marco.
“It’s not a test, you guys.” Cora's adorable chortle makes me laugh.
“Sure,” I nod, then wink multiple times at Marco. “Not. A. Test. Actually, I’d like to submit some homework, Ms. Dalton.” I reach over to the nightstand to grab my phone to scroll until I find the message. “Would it be okay if I showed you a video of Viera and Leo? If you don’t want to see it, that’s okay. I’ll still ace the final.”
She huffs a laugh, “Yes. Thank you for asking.”
I turn my phone around for her to hold and she presses play. It’s a video of a sad Viera crying, “I want Uncle Jay.” She slams her head down on Vinny’s knee, wailing.
“Uncle Jay can’t come over right now, peanut,” Vinny soothes as Leo, who wasn’t even crying before, now waddles over to his sister and lays his head on her to cry.
Viera looks up. “I want him to read my potty book!”
“I know. He’s coming over soon with Uncle Marco, so you can read it then, okay?”
She quickly changes her tune, sniffles, and smiles. “Uncle Marco likes the frog book.”
“Oh, helovesthe frog book. Show me how the frogs hop.” She pushes her brother off, sending his butt to the floor and she leaps across the living room.
The video ends and Cora hands back the phone, a smile a mile wide. “Shut up. That was so cute.”
“Then let’s make it happen,” I add.
“I’ll call my sister in a little bit and see if they’re free tomorrow.”
Cora leans up to kiss him, then me. “I love you guys.”
Chapter 16
Baby Slings & Hockey Players
Cora
Present Day
Thenextafternoon,thethree of us pull up to Vinny and Rebecca’s house in the northwest part of the city. It’s a suburban neighborhood with decent sized homes, all with good-sized yards. Christmas decorations are still up and both new and melting snowmen are built everywhere. But I’m blown away by their home. It’s an old stone farmhouse, and I’d place a wager it was built in the early to mid-1920’s. It fits in with the rest of the neighborhood. If not for Marco’s family, I definitely want to come back here and walk around the neighborhood to gawk and collect inspiration.
Marco turns off the engine and looks at me. “You’re sure you’re ready?”
I grab his hand and squeeze. “Positive.”
“Maybe we should have a safe word—in case you need to get out of there.”
“Oh, now I get a safe word?”
Jay leans forward. “We never said you couldn't have one. But it might be a good idea now.”
