“Apparently I’m going to be apologizing for the rest of my damn life because of the two of them,” he said before he started gathering ingredients for their waffles.
“I don’t see why you need to apologize,” she began and quickly stopped when he gave her a look that said, “Really?”
“What am I supposed to do, Lexi? I mean, I told them how I felt, and it was like they weren’t even listening. My words meant nothing to them.”
“Well, hopefully, actions will. Especially this morning’s. I don’t see how they could be immune to seeing how much they hurt Annabeth.”
“They hurt you too, and they didn’t care.”
“I’m not family,” she reasoned.
Connor placed a bowl down on the counter and looked at her. “I hope that you still want to be, though. Everything we started planning yesterday, I still want it. You, me, the kids, the house…” Swallowing hard, he reached for her. “I know you asked me to give you space, but…”
“But I willingly came into yours,” she teased lightly. “This is where I want to be, no matter what. Your parents? Well…if it were just me they hurt, I know I’d eventually get over it, but for what they did to Annabeth, I want to be the one to put them in their place this time.”
She sounded fiercely protective.
Like a mother should.
There were so many other things he needed to focus on right now, but he was seriously in awe of this side of her.
Stepping in close, he rested his hands on her hips and gave them a seductive squeeze. “As much of a turn-on as that little admission was, I can’t let you fight this battle for me. They’re my parents, and I need to put the boundaries in place. Again.”
“But…”
Reaching up, he placed his finger against her lips. “I’m not telling you that you can’t put them in their place as well, but just know that I have plans for it too.”
She nodded, grasping his wrist and pulling his hand away. “And you won’t be upset if I have a discussion with them?”
“Not at all. You are your own person, and I know you already have things you need to say to them. I just honestly didn’t want you to feel like you had to get it done since clearly I failed.”
She grinned. “Well, I wasn’t going to put it quite like that, but…”
He couldn’t even be offended because she was right. He had seriously misjudged the power of his own words.
Lexi cupped his cheeks and gave him a loud, smacking kiss. “Now make us waffles because we deserve them after such an emotional roller coaster of a morning.”
“You’re on.” Turning, he got to work on getting their breakfast ready. He would have preferred the kitchen up at the lodge, but as he watched his daughter and Jonah sitting on the floor playing while Lexi talked to them, this felt like the home he’d been envisioning.
So he made the waffles and felt himself relaxing more and more as they sat around the small dining table and ate together. The kids were still talking about the water park and how they were getting to miss yet another day of school. But he couldn’t even be upset about it because his daughter was safe. School could wait one more day.
“I have to ask,” he began during a lull in the conversation. “Why did you pick that spot to go to?”
With syrup dripping from her chin, his daughter shrugged. “After Lexi found that spot, I thought it was just cool. Sometimes I like to go there and read by myself after school, when the resort and everyone is busy and everyone forgets I’m even there.”
Okay, that was a lot to unload.
“Sweetheart, I’m so sorry that you felt like I was too busy or that I forgot about you,” he said, and it pained him because people had been telling him for a long time that he needed to work less. “I can promise you right now that things are going to change. We have to get the resort officially open, but then I’m going to take the summer off for just the two of us.”
“Dad, you can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“Because what about Lexi and Jonah? If we’re a family, then we all need to spend the summer together.”
“Um…” He nervously glanced at Lexi for some help.
“Well, your dad can take the summer off, but I really can’t,” Lexi explained. “I’m helping Slater get the whole activity department up and running, but once we figure out the schedule, I promise that we’ll do things for the four of us.”
