Nadia has been by a few times over the past months, most of which I wasn’t present for. But Emma tells me they get along great, and Gracie always seems happy to see her. For her grandparents, Simon and Claudia, this will be the first time Gracie meets them as well as us.
When I reached out to ask if they would like to come to her birthday, they said it was time they met their grandchild and would be happy to come. I’m not sure what to make of them yet, but I guess we’ll see how things go.
The doorbell rings as Emma cleans Gracie’s mouth from eating her lunch. Emma looks up at me with a questioning gaze, to which I simply smile before heading for the door.
“Lance, come in.” I move aside, letting Em’s father into our home. “Thank you for doing this.”
“Please, there’s no need to thank me. I enjoy spending time with my little flower.”
I look down at the gift bags he holds and shake my head with a smile. My daughter is way too spoiled.I guess that’s what happens when you’re surrounded by people with money.“Emma’s going to have something to say about that.”
He stands proudly. “I know.”
We head for the kitchen where Em is just taking Gracie out of her highchair. “Daddy? What are you doing here?” She looks from me to her dad, waiting for an answer.
“I’m here to babysit my granddaughter.” He sets the two gift bags on the table and plucks Gracie out of Em’s arms.
She opens her mouth to say something or protest, but no words come out, not until she looks down at the bags. “Dad,” she scolds him. “You need to stop buying her things. We already have a toy room full and the living room. Plus, it’s her birthday in a few days. You can’t keep buying out the whole store every time you see her.” She folds her arms over her chest.
“I can, and I will buy out the whole store if I want to. Heck, I’ll buy the store altogether if it makes my grandchildren happy,” he tells her.I don’t doubt he would.
Em huffs out, knowing she won’t win this fight. Her eyes turn to me next. “And why exactly do we need to have Little Tulip babysat?”
“Well, my beautiful Bunny, we still have a few gifts to get and some decorations for the party. And I thought we could go buy a cabinet at the same time.”
She looks at me confused. “Why do we need a cabinet?”
I walk up behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist. I spin us around so we face the kitchen counter. “See all those mugs on the counter? They can’t stay there forever. I think it’s time we get something to store our growing collection.”
We now have a total of fifty mugs, fifty-one if we count the one Emma will undoubtedly be getting me by the end of the week. And that excludes her sunflower mug and the ten I already had. There are twenty-eight from her birthday trip and twenty-two as gifts for me.
Who the hell actually needs sixty-two and counting coffee mugs? But I love every single one of them.I mostly love our little morning routine where she picks my mug of the day,and I pick hers. Except for Fridays, which is dedicated to her sunflower mug.
She giggles. “You’re right, they really are starting to take up space.”
“Good. So go get your things so we can leave.” I kiss the curve between her neck and shoulder before letting her go.
Twenty minutes later, Bunny skips down the steps wearing white and black gingham capris with an off-the-shoulder black half-sleeved top that’s tucked into her waist. A pair of blackJimmy Chooflats are on her feet.
The whole outfit looks like it was sewn on with how well it molds to her body, hugging her curves in the most delicious and glorious way. Her hair is down in waves from having it braided all morning.She’s a fucking goddess.
“You have a bit of drool there, son,” Lance snickers from beside me, pointing at the side of his mouth.
“Ha-ha, very funny.” I wipe my mouth just in case he’s right.
“Hey, just saying it like it is. There’s no denying she’s a beautiful woman.” He shrugs. “Her mother always looked for ways to be perfect; what she never realized was that she had created it.”
I look back at Emma, who beams at me as she walks over. “That she did,” I whisper before taking a few steps toward my girl, meeting her halfway.
I bend slightly, my arms wrapping around her thighs, and pick her off the floor, twirling us around. Bunny throws her head back and laughs, then lowers her face when I stop spinning, pressing her lips to mine with a contented sigh.
I bring her down to the ground and let her say goodbye to Gracie. “Bye, my Little Tulip. We won’t be long, I promise. Be a good girl with Pops.” She kisses the top of her head, then turns to her father. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay? We can bring her with us if it’s too much.” She chews on her lip while herhands play with her fingernails, a worried look in her eyes.She hates leaving Gracie.
“Of course, Sunflower. I promise we’ll be just fine. We have new toys to play with, don’t we, Little Flower?” he says, trying to reassure Em.
Emma observes them for a while, then finally nods. “Okay, but if there’s anything, anything at all, you call us and we’ll come right back. And don’t forget to put her down for her nap soon. She can have a small snack when she wakes up. There’s a drawer in the fridge with her name on it and a shelf in the pantry, but not too much, or else she won’t eat her dinner. And her sippy cup is on the counter. Water only. She already had a little juice earlier. She doesn’t need more,” Emma rambles on with orders, like this is her dad’s first time with a child.
“I’m serious, Dad. Don’t make her hyper,” she scolds her father when he chuckles, pointing at him with her finger and a hand on her hip.
