“Deal?”
She nodded and held her hand through the bars. “Ookie.”
Grinning, he rushed to the dresser in the room and opened the top drawer, snagged the bag of cookies in there and pulled one out before putting the rest away.
“Your cookie for sharing Daddy.”
“Ookie.” Skya nodded again, taking the cookie from him when he held it out, before resting back in her crib with a happy sigh.
Sometimes the only option in life was to…play hardball with an infant.Seri could never know, he thought. Severo kept the light on when he left, even though he usually turned it off, knowing that if Seri woke during the night and wanted to go to Skya, then he could do so without trouble.
Heading to his room, he opened the door, his jaw dropping when he saw Seri. “What are you doing?!”
Seri narrowed his eyes. “Folding your clothes.”
“I can do that!” He rushed over and pulled the pair of underwear from Seri’s hand, tossing it back into the basket. “Also, you shouldn’t be doing hard labor after what you’ve been through.”
“But you didn’t,” Seri pointed out, before adding,“I’d hardly call folding clothes hard labor.” The Nymph started to frown when Severo picked him up and carried him to the bed.
“I was busy,” he explained, crawling onto the bed with Seri in his arms. “And while it may not be hard labor, you were sitting on the floor, and that can’t be good for your leg.”
Seri sighed. “I thought you liked using those automatic folding machines?”
“Mine broke…” Severo laid Seri down on his side and kissed his nose, running his hand over the man’s soft curls.
“So, you left them in the basket?”
“Yes.” He pecked the Nymph on the lips this time.
“Are you trying to distract me from your unfolded laundry?”
“Yes.” He kissed him again, but this time it was no simple peck. “Is it working?”
Seri giggled. “It is.”
Severo smiled, gazing into the man’s eyes as he let out a happy sigh. “I love you, Seri.”
The Nymph’s cheeks flushed. “I love you, too.”
He caressed the man’s face. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get to you sooner.”
“Oh, none of that,” the Nymph said with a huff. “I don’t want to talk about it. Preston made things difficult by faking a marriage. I knew you would come for me, Severo. And I loved that I knew you would come…” The Nymph’s eyes turned slightly glossy, and the man swallowed hard. “Up until you, there was never anyone in my life who’d show up for me. But even though I knew you were coming, I also knew I couldn’t wait. Nevertheless, I am grateful that you came, regardless of the when.”
Severo's face pinched as he held back his tears. “I just wish…it hadn’t happened.”
Seri smiled, but then he started to frown. “It doesn’t feel real…”
“What?”
“It feelslike I’m in a dream. But it’s not, right? It's real…I’m not going to wake up and be back there…right?” Seri asked hesitantly.
It felt like…like a dream. Preston being in jail had only ever been something he could dream of. And Severo…confessing…
Seri was waiting for the other shoe to drop, or for the floor to be yanked out from under him. Could he actually believe this all…and relax? How should he feel now…?
He’d spent so much time waiting for this moment, at least for the moment that Preston was no longer an immediate threat. Now that it had happened…he wasn't sure how he should feel… The uncertainty was causing his stomach to cramp.
A big fat tear ran down Severo’s face, followed by another, and another. “Oh, Seri,” the Dweller croaked. “It’s r-real. I swear, all of this is real.”
