The front door opens, and the man we’ve been waiting for finally walks through. “Oh, no! We need to hide, little flower!There’s a big bad wolf in the house. We can’t let him find us. Fast, fast!” I say loud enough for Greyson to hear me.
Gracie laughs as I tickle her sides, setting her off and crawling away. I’m not sure if Greyson will join in on our fun or not, but it’s worth a try. Suddenly, loud stomps echo loudly as they get closer and stop right behind the couch, and an evil growl sounds through the room. I crouch down between the coffee table and front of the couch, knowing without a doubt that Grey can see me, but it’s still fun to pretend.
Greyson starts to stomp again, coming around behind me. “Do I smell delicious flowers and bunny rabbits around here?”
Little Tulip crawls away from us, most likely going to her toys, while Greyson and I continue our little game. “Save yourself, little flower!” I shout before standing swiftly and hopping away as quickly as I can.Which is not really fast.
Grey still gives me a head start before he starts thumping his feet once more and catches up to me. His arms come around my waist, grabbing me from behind, and lifts me in the air as I shriek and laugh, kicking my feet.
He sets me back down but doesn’t let go. Leaning over my back, he whispers in a sensual deep voice against my ear, “You know what big bad wolves really like to eat? Cute little bunnies that smell like flowers.” I shiver at the double meaning of his words.
He chuckles diabolically before licking and biting my neck and shoulder. “Okay, okay! I surrender! Have me, Wolf. Just do it quickly, I can’t suffer any longer,” I say, giggling as he turns me in his arms.
My hands come to rest on his chest, and all I can do is smile up at him. My heart feels whole now that he’s home. He lowers his head and presses his lips to mine. The kiss touches every cell in my body, all the way down to my soul.
I’m crazy about this man.
Gracie finally notices her dad’s presence and crawls quickly over, pulling on his pant leg when she reaches him. He smirks against my lips and pulls away, letting go of me to pick her up and place her on his hip.
He puts his other arm back around my waist, holding us both against him, then kisses her head before kissing my lips once more and resting his forehead against mine.
“Welcome home, Daddy.”
Chapter twenty-four
Emma
Catch me, Johnny!
~ Three Days Later / March ~
It’s my birthday!The best day of the year has finally arrived.Okay, maybe not the best day, but you get what I mean.
Who doesn’t like celebrating their birthday when you have an amazing man in your life, an adorable little girl who lightens up your day, and the best group of friends anyone could ask for? What is there not to be excited about?
So I won’t be having a family dinner with a whole bunch of my mother’s rich snob friends like every other year.Boohoo, what a tragedy.But at least I still get to see my dad next weekend. He couldn’t be here today to celebrate with us, but he promised me dinner, just us two.And that I’m really excited about.
My dad has made such an effort to be more involved in my life since the whole fiasco, and I couldn’t be happier. The little girl in me screams with joy every time she gets to spend time with her dad.
My exhilaration for this day was so potent, it woke me up at the ass crack of dawn. So instead of waking everyone up at a ridiculous hour. I snuck out of bed and made a mountain load for breakfast. Then I had fun blowing up balloons and hanging streamers, even though we aren’t celebrating my birthday here.
Greyson is having the front yard fenced in so that it can be ready for the summertime, meaning the place is a little chaotic at the moment. It sucks that it’s happening on my birthday week, but I also can’t wait for it to be done; like that, Gracie and I will be able to go outside when the weather permits it.
It’s not that we don’t have a backyard, we do, but it’s relatively small and has no lawn, only stone slates, a fireplace, and chairs. It’s beautiful, but not child-friendly at all. Then there’s the front yard that’s actually really large and perfect for kids to play in. But since it’s all open, Greyson didn’t feel secure having Gracie play there.
So instead, we will be doing the birthday celebrations with our friends at Morgan’s place. Cecilia had offered her home at first, but it seems Dante is in his‘touch everything’phase, which meant putting up decorations was impossible.
We are quickly learning what she meant by that with our little one. Just yesterday, we constantly had to move things out of reach because Gracie now touchesEVERYTHINGin her vicinity.
It’s now a quarter to 7:00, and I know Gracie will be up any minute, so I sneak my way back up the stairs and into the room I share with Greyson. I also had time to curl my hair and put on my most extravagant forest green boudoir robe made of satin, with fluffy feathers on the end that touch the floor. It’s kind of silly that I got all made up since I’ll have to change everything for my themed outfit later on, but I always start my birthday looking fabulous.
I creep up to the bed and climb on top as silently as possible, then jump onto Greyson’s sleeping form, waking him with a start. “Wake up, baby! Guess what day it is! Guess what day it is! It’s my birthday!!” I say in a sing-song voice.
“Emma,” he growls and tries to pull the cover over his head.
“Oh, don’t be a grouchy wolf. It’s my birthday! It’s time to celebrate! Wake up. Come on, wake up!” I climb on top of him, pulling the cover away.
He reaches up quickly and wraps his arms around my shoulders, then rolls us over and puts me beneath him. “I’m dating a crazy chick,” he says with his face buried against my neck, voice coming out muffled.
