The kiss is a little rough and a lot needy on both of our parts, because I’m still irritated and clearly neither of us has slept enough to use patience. His hands find my hips and pull me closer. And for just a moment, everything is quiet, and then…
“DADDY!”
We both break at the exact same time.
Lucy’s voice echoes down the staircase as she slides down the steps on her bottom like a tiny hurricane
Lenzin laughs against my lips before he even turns, the sound warms the parts of me that the kiss didn’t.
I barely step back before she launches herself at him.
He catches her easily, scooping her up before she can crash into his legs.
“Easy there.” He laughs, lifting her high before settling her against his hip.
“You’re home!” she squeals, grabbing his cheeks with both hands.
“I am home.”
“You gots to see my new room!”
“Oh yeah?”
“It’s upstairs, and it’s big, and Erin says I’m promoted, and there’s gonna be a reading corner and I can put my books there, and we gotta go see it.”
He looks at me with brown eyes, light, and so happy. “Right now, then.”
“Yes!”
From down the hall, Erin appears, hair a complete mess, one hand pushing it out of her face as she walks toward the kitchen.
She stops to take in the scene.
Lenzin is carrying Lucy toward the stairs, her laughter and excitement about showing him, and his obvious because of her.Our Lucy.
Erin looks between all of us and smiles slowly. “Well, this seems like a good morning.”
“They all are.” I sigh as I watch them head up.
“Come on, my mommy and my Erin,” Lucy yells to us.
We’ve eaten breakfast, Erin has left for her conference, and Hank has returned. Lucy is giving him a tour now.
Lenzin walks over and turns me from the sink to face him, and kneels in front of me, framing my belly with his hands. “Papa skuchal po vam, moi malen'kie serdechki.”Daddy missed you, my little hearts.
He looks up at me, brown eyes warm and soft. “I want us, you and me, Schatz, to adopt Lucy, our first herzchen. I want her to share our name, whatever it will be.” He presses a kiss to my shirt and stands fully, brown eyes warm and soft. “I should apologize for overstepping, but I won’t lie and say it won’t continue to happen. I want you and me… us to have everything we deserve. To give Lucy and those to come, everything they deserve. Love, Hildy. Loving you has made me the man I didn’t know I could become or wanted to be.”
Damn it, how can I even be mad now?
“I will overstep in effort to give you peace, and happiness, and whatever else it is you want.”
“I—”
“You do the same. The room? Lucy’s and ours?” He holds his hand to his chest. “Didn’t expect that to happen so soon, but that’s us.” He holds his hand over my belly. “Unexpected perfection.”
“Stop,” I say, eyes burning as I grab the scruff of his beard and pull him down and kiss him.
“Shit,” Hank whispers from behind us.
