“And you love it.”
I did. God help me, I did.
Dan then pulled out his phone with a mischievous grin on his face, his lips curling up at the edges.
“What now?” I asked.
He smirked. “Operation Woo, phase two.”
“Oh God.”
“It’s not what you think. I made a playlist.”
“A playlist?”
“Romantic classics.”
“Define ‘romantic.’”
He hit play. Careless Whisper started blaring from his phone speaker.
I burst out laughing. “Are you serious?”
He tried to do a slow dance. With socks on. On the laminate floor.
He slipped.
We both ended up on the sofa, crying with laughter.
It wasn’t sexy. But it was us.
He reached for my hand and pulled it up to his lips, planting a soft, sweet kiss on the back. No expectation, no hinting. Just a quiet gesture.
And in that tiny moment, I felt it again.
Not fireworks, not grand romance, just the simple, steady warmth of love trying its best to survive the chaos.
The next morning, the chaos resumed: Sophie forgot her homework, Ruby’s cereal “looked wrong,” and Oscar announced he’d volunteered me to bake cupcakes for the school fair which was 2 days away
“Of course you did,” I muttered, mentally adding find time to bake 30 cupcakes you’ll probably burn to my ever-growing list.
“We could bake together tonight if you want? I can grab the ingredients on the way home and we can all do it together”
I stared, “You? Bake?”
“How hard can it be?”
Famous last words.
That evening we embarked on The Great Cupcake Disaster of Thursday Night. There was flour on the ceiling. Sophie spilled half a bottle of vanilla essence, which she insisted “smelled like unicorn tears.”
But the kids were giggling. Dan was covered in icing sugar. And I was laughing so hard I nearly cried.
We had a playlist on while we baked and every now and then Dan and Sophie would burst into song, using their wooden spoons and microphones. Oscar would scowl in embarrassment but I know he secretly loved it.
Ruby was in her highchair with a mixing bowl and some Angel Delight because let’s face it, she’s going to be eating most of whatever it is she’s mixing and I’m not wasting any of the school fairs precious cake mix!
As I pulled the cupcakes out of the oven, I glanced around at my little family. Sweet little Ruby was covered in a mixture of snot and Angel Delight but was giggling as she watched Sophie and Oscar flick flour at each other.
