My heart melts in my chest.
“Hi, handsome,” I murmur.
Jackson’s gaze softens immediately. “Hey, sweetheart.”
That word still makes me warm all over.
My daughter darts forward and wraps her arms around Jackson’s leg. “Daddy! Mommy says people kiss a lot when they love each other!”
Jackson lifts one eyebrow slowly. “Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah.”
He glances at me, a spark of amusement dancing in his eyes. “Well,” he says thoughtfully, “your mom’s the expert on that.”
Heat rushes into my cheeks. “Jackson.”
He grins and holds out the plate toward me. “Eat.”
I sigh dramatically. “You’re very bossy.”
“You forgot lunch,” he says calmly. “You were busy making sure everyone else had a perfect day.”
“That’s my job.”
“And making sure you eat is mine.”
I roll my eyes, but I take the plate because he’s right. He’s always right about things like this.
Jackson watches until I take a bite before he relaxes. Five years together, and he still does that. Still makes sure I’m taken care of, still brings me food when I forget to eat, still looks at me like he did the day we met in that hotel lobby.
Sometimes I still can’t believe it.
My daughter tugs on his arm. “Daddy, can we dance now?”
Jackson glances at the reception tent where music has started playing. “You wanna dance?”
“Yes!”
He looks down at our son. “What about you, buddy?”
Our baby babbles happily.
“Good enough.”
Jackson scoops our daughter up under one arm while still holding our son in the other, like they weigh nothing. To him, they probably don’t. The man carried me up a flight of hotel stairs once, like it was nothing. Two kids are clearly no problem.
He glances back at me. “You coming?”
I take another bite of food and shake my head. “I’ll be there in a minute.”
Jackson studies me for a second like he knows I’m lying, but he nods anyway. “Don’t disappear.”
“I won’t.”
He heads toward the dance floor with both kids. My daughter’s laughter rings across the lawn. I watch them go, my chest swelling so full it almost hurts.
Five years ago, I thought I’d always be the woman behind the scenes. The one making beautiful moments for everyone else. The one people overlooked. The one whose family treated her like she was nothing more than hired help.
