“Pretty much,” Havoc said, ducking the slap to the back of his head that he knew was coming.
Chapter 14
When they stepped inside, they found Giada on her hands and knees carefully placing the stuffed animals she’d brought with each boy. She kissed them each on their forehead and whispered to them. “Momma loves you.” She backed out of the tent, then got to her knees, then stood. She noticed Havoc and Ronan watching her. She smiled at them. “They’re my heart.”
“It’s obvious. And they love you, too.”
“They know how hard you fight to make sure they have what they need,” Havoc said.
Giada nodded, then quietly stepped away from the living room to join Ronan near the front door. “What time do your kids usually wake up?”
“About seven. If yours wake up first, it won’t take mine long to figure it out and they’ll be up, too. Me and Analise already set alarms to make sure we’ll be up before them.”
“Thank you so much for allowing them to stay tonight. They’ve never had a sleep over before.”
“They had a blast. And they’re welcome any time,” Havoc said.
“We’ll be back early in the morning to pick them up,” Ronan said.
“Sounds like a plan. Or not. Whatever. Just keep me updated if it changes,” Havoc said.
Giada looked back at the kids, hesitating when Ronan moved toward the door.
“You can stay here. It ain’t a problem at all,” Havoc said.
She thought about it, actually chewing on her lip a little. “No. No, I’m going to let them have their sleep over.”
“My house is right down the street, Giada. It’s close, and we’ll be here as soon as they get up. Before even if you want to,” Ronan said.
“Yeah, but you’ll have to come all the way over to my place to get me, and it’s just not very convenient for you.”
“Sleep here. Or sleep at my place,” Ronan said. “We’re going to have a late night anyway, staying up and watching T.V.,”
“And eating my steak,” Havoc said.
“It’s our steak, and yes, that, too,” Ronan said.
“If there’s any problem at all, I’ll call,” Havoc promised. “Even if they just wake up and want you, I’ll call and Ronan can bring you back.”
That relieved her. “Yeah, okay. Please do.”
“Promise,” Havoc said.
She moved to the door and waited while Ronan opened it, looked outside, then led the way.
“See y’all tomorrow,” Havoc said.
Ronan led the way to his truck, with Giada following as she took a minute to look around the street. “It’s really, really nice here. Quiet, nice homes. Even a pool down there.”
“Oh, yeah. And that house right there,” he said, pointing at Emmalyn’s and Barron’s home, “that is Analise’s sister’s house. Her and her mate Barron live there with their kids.”
“It’s a lot of space for just two houses.”
“Havoc bought a lot of space around his house to keep anybody from building too close. So, when Emmalyn tried to build next door, she couldn’t. So, she bought across the street, and bought even more than Havoc did on his side of the street.”
Giada chuckled. “She outdid him.”
“Yep. But here, let me show you something…” he said, as he opened his truck door for her, but stopped her from getting in.
