Bunny pops her hip with a hand to it. “I know, right?” she says jokingly with a beaming smile.Typical Emma.
I drop my head and chuckle under my breath, which earns me a glare from Bunny. She embraces Cecilia, then steps to the side, giving me access to her friend.
“Well, would you look at that. You’re in a suit and a tie. What’s the special occasion?” Cece lifts a brow, eyeing me curiously.
I smirk and take her into my arms. “How are you, Rose?”
“Perfectly content now that my whole family is here,” she says against my chest.
Cece is a full foot shorter than me, which means I have to bend slightly to wrap my arms around her. Not like Emma, who’s the perfect height at five-foot-eight.
With Bunny in mind, I look behind Cecilia and find her staring at us. But the minute our eyes meet, she looks away, and I’m instantly filled with guilt. I’ve never felt guilty about showing affection to Cece, but with how things seem to be progressing with Emma, I can’t help it. Just thinking about her hugging another man fills me with jealousy.
I quickly let go of Rose and take a good step back, looking over at Em as I do so. Cecilia looks confused at first but then follows my line of sight and smiles warmly, reaching out to squeeze my forearm before walking away.
I take the few steps to Bunny and take her hand in mine, then head to the entertainment room where everyone is gathered. I expect her to pull it away or to remind me that there’s nothing going on between us and that we’re not exploring whatever this is. But to my surprise, her fingers tighten around mine, and she follows me as the smallest hint of a smile graces her lips.
As predicted, I find Gracie sitting in a closed-up section with a tuxedo-wearing Dante. I enter the enclosed area with a whole bunch of kid toys and kneel down beside my daughter. Kissing the top of her head, I then look over at Dante, who’s making his toy cars roll from one end to the other.
“Hey, little man. You look quite dashing in your little suit. If I’m being honest, you wear it much better than your dad, but don’t tell him.”
“I heard you, butthole!” Silas shouts from somewhere behind me.
I shake my head at the insult he used. Not swearing in front of kids is a lot harder than it seems. We’re always coming up with creative new words that just sound more ridiculous than insulting.
I look back at the two kids. Dante will be one next week, and Gracie will be eight months a day later. Observing the four months’ difference between both is crazy. Dante now walks,wobbly, but he’s doing it, and he says “mama” and “dada” constantly. It’s adorable. I can’t wait for Gracie to say those, too.
An hour later, we’re all seated in the large dining room, feasting on any breakfast item you can imagine. Morgan always goes all out for these things, and most of the food is made by her. She’s an excellent cook.
“Em, you heading over to your parents tonight or tomorrow?” Cecilia asks her from across the table while she cuts up more pieces of waffles for her son.
“She’s not. Emma’s spending Christmas with my family,” I answer before she has time to.
Cece looks up from what she’s doing with a smirk. “Oh. Meeting the parents, huh?”
Bunny snorts beside me. “It’s not like that. Greyson told off my parents and said I wasn’t going to be going over anymore. And well, he didn’t want me to be alone for Christmas, so he invited me to tag along.”
“Good! About time someone put that bi—” Silas stops himself, looking at the kids. “Butch in her place,” he finally says, frowning at his choice of word.
“Oh, honey. That was not a good one.” Cecilia giggles at his side.
“I know, but it’s all I could think of on the spot. Anyway. Sorry, Em, but your mom’s something else. I've thought about telling her off so many times,” Sy tells Emma.
“Well, you don’t have to worry about her anymore. I have a feeling she won’t be around for a while. I've never seen my mother so angry in my life. It was pretty funny. I wish I had filmed the whole thing.” Bunny laughs wholeheartedly.
I watch the beautiful sound falling from her lips and notice a smear of red lipstick below her bottom lip. Without thinking, I pick up a napkin and grab her chin, turning her face toward me.Her eyes widen, and she stops laughing as I swipe the napkin just below her lip.
“You have a little smudge right here. Almost got it.”
Her pupils dilate as I purposely pass my thumb over her now parted bottom lip, leaving a light-red tint on my finger. “There, all gone,” I whisper, but I don’t let go of her chin until someone clears their throat.Shit, I forgot we weren’t alone.
I drop my hand and turn to our friends, who all stare at us with a mixture of emotions. Some looking giddy, others confused.
“So, are you guys fu—” Gabe starts but stops short, it being his turn to look at the kids. “Are you guys doing the bang-bang on the regular now?” he asks with a knowing smirk.What the fuck? How does he know we slept together?
“Wait, what? You guys are hooking up?” Silas questions next with furrowed brows, then looks at Clay, who observes us. “Did you know about this?”
“No, but I had my suspicions. My wife is a horrible liar,” he replies.
