I don’t hesitate. “Yes, I already have.”
Her breath catches.
“But we need to move forward,” I add. “No more letting people interfere or define us.”
She nods again. “We move forward.”
“And I think we should start with you two coming to my place tonight.”
Alie looks at Sera, then me. “I think we can do that.”
“Good. Now kiss me.”
I slide my hands into her hair and drop my mouth to hers. Giving her the kind of kiss I had planned on before Aaron ruined the reunion.
We lose ourselves in each other until I feel a tug on my T-shirt.
“Daddy, go home?”
I lift her in my arms, but keep the other around Alie.
“Yeah, sweetheart. We can go home.”
We make a stop at Alie’s place first so she can get some things for herself and Sera to spend the night.
Once we get to my place, Sera insists on exploring every room like she’s inspecting a castle. A small castle.
“Big couch,” she announces.
Alie laughs. “I’d say she’s excited for her first sleepover here.”
“It won’t be her last,” I reply.
I ordered pizza on the way here so we didn’t have to think about cooking. It’s not exactly on my meal plan, but I think we’re all too tired to think about it.
We eat. Sera spills juice. We clean it together. It all feels so normal.
After her bath, we’re lying in the guest room, reading her nighttime story, and I’m mentally calculating how to get this room ready for her. To make it hers.
She falls asleep, clutching her Stallion and football.
Alie and I stand in the doorway, my arm around her waist, watching her sleep for a minute.
“She’s perfect,” I whisper.
“She is,” Alie agrees.
“You ready for bed too?”
She nods and looks up at me. “I bet you’re pretty tired. It’s been a long day for you with traveling, and now this, having us here.”
“I am tired, but I need you.”
She lifts up on her toes and kisses me. “Then let’s go.”
I pick her up, my hands gripping her ass, and her legs wrap around me. We kiss as we walk toward my room.
“I don’t want to lose this again,” she says against my lips.
