“Sleep, Boo,” Saylor whispers, and it’s a command my body wants to follow now that it’s warm and safe, nestled between two of the men who have my heart.
TWENTY-FIVE
Navigatingthe supermarket with a five-year-old is a Herculean task.
I have no idea how Hunter has done all of this over the past five years.
He’s a fucking saint.
It’s not that I don’t enjoy spending time with Lio. I really do. I somehow never noticed how big of a personality the little guy has, and I love getting to know him better. But all the stuff that comes with it? Doing laundry, cooking, getting groceries, cleaning…
Ugh.
I give myself another two weeks before I break and pay for a cleaning service. The only reason I haven’t already is because when Hunter once asked if we should arrange a cleaning service once a week, I told him I didn’t want strangers going through our stuff.
Well, I sure as fuck changed my mind. If that means I don’t have to clean Lio’s bathroom after he brushes his teeth and smears the whole bathroom with it, I can come around to the idea.
Lio walks beside the shopping cart, babbling on about the toy section we just came out of. “Daddy, can we go back and get that water gun?” Lio asks, his eyes wide and hopeful.
I glance at the chilly, overcast weather outside. It looks like it’s going to rain soon, and I shiver. “It’s too cold for water guns now. You can play with your car when we get home, okay?”
Lio lets out a disappointed sigh but eventually starts to hum again. This is a completely different child from what he was just weeks ago. He’s louder, happier, and full of energy, with nothing left of the fragile boy I was worried a harsh wind could blow away. It makes me so fucking happy, and it’s all because ofher.
She swept in and changed everything.
Stepping back and walking home last night, knowing Nash was sleeping next to her, holding her. Fuck, I almost went back and climbed into bed with them.
Fuck my reservations. I can endure an unwanted cuddle from my little brother if it means I get to sleep by her side.
Sleeping by her side is something else. When I stayed with her the night after what happened with that scumbag, I don’t think I have ever slept that well in my damn life, at least not for the last seven years, even if it was a short sleep because I couldn’t stop watching her. Her chest rose and fell, and she even frowned a little and scrunched up her nose while asleep. I needed to make sure she was okay, drugged like that. All kinds of shit could have happened. Who knows where he got the shit from.
Good thing I woke up before her. Otherwise, she might have possibly killed me for holding her in my arms.
She’s fiery.
But also fragile.
Precious.
Yes, sharing will be difficult for me since the jealousy of knowing that Nash was the one warming her bed made me sleeppretty poorly last night. But at the same time, I was glad he was there.
She doesn’t want to be alone, she said. And right now, I’m not the one she’s going to allow to be there. But that’s fine. I’m working on it. We all are. We’re going to make sure she doesn’t have to be alone anymore. Even if that means I have to swallow my pride and come to terms with my brothers fucking my woman. Which they already have, unlike me.
Because I fucked up.
I’m such a dickhead.
As Lio and I continue our expedition through the supermarket, and yes, it’s a trek since I still can’t seem to find my way around in this small-as-hell store, we find ourselves in the pasta aisle.
“Daddy, can we make lasagna today?” Lio’s eyes sparkle with excitement as he looks up at me from the lasagna packet that sparked the idea.
Fuck.
I ruffle his unruly hair. “You know Daddy can’t cook. I’ve absolutely no idea how to make lasagna.”
Lio puts on his thinking cap, which mostly involves furrowing his little brow. “But Uncle Hunt can cook lasagna. You should ask him how to do it.”
I can’t help but agree with Lio. Hunter does whip up a mean lasagna. He’s a magician in the kitchen, and I can barely boil water.
