Amber giggles and tries to slide down off my lap, but I hold her in place.
“Is there something else?” she asks.
“Yeah,” I say with a nod of my head. “How do you feel about all this?”
She gives me a smile that’s straight out of her mother’s playbook before she throws her arms around my neck.
I hug her back, imagining her as a little girl again, toddling around in nothing but her diaper and lifting her arms because she wants up from the floor.
My goodness, how time flies.
My throat tightens a little as I hold her back.
“Good,” I murmur into her hair. “Just want to make sure you’re okay with something like that.”
She pulls back just enough to look at me again. “Does that mean Lia’s staying with us forever?”
There it is.
The real question.
My gaze flits over to Lia before coming back to my daughter. “Yeah, that means she’s staying forever. They’re all staying forever. Lia, Walker, and Knox.”
Her smile is so bright it could outshine the sun. “Good. But I don’t know where they’re all going to sleep. Lia can have my room, though!”
I can’t help but look over at Walker. His proposal about all of us living in his villa from days ago rings around in my head.
“We’ll figure that out, princess,” I say as I lean in and kiss my daughter’s forehead. “You leave those details to us.”
“Okay, but can I ask Lia a question?”
“Of course, you can,” Lia says from across the table. “What’s up?”
My daughter slides off my lap and I rub her back. She pads over to Lia, pulling the hoodie that has the little stuffed unicornhorn on it back up onto her head. Her hair is a mess, sticking out from beneath the hood as she stands next to Lia.
I watch her fidget for a moment, and I wonder what she’s so nervous about asking.
“I just… I wanna ask you something, but I don’t wanna hurt Daddy’s feelings.”
That gets my attention. “You could never hurt my feelings, kiddo.”
She nibbles on her lip and looks over at me. “Are you sure?”
Now, I’m worried. “Of course I’m sure.”
Lia guides Amber’s attention back to her. “What’s on your mind? Maybe I can help put it at ease.”
Amber fiddles with her fingers. “I just… I was wondering. I mean, if you’re going to be staying and all…”
Lia smiles, but my heart stops in my chest.
I know what she’s asking. Lia doesn’t realize it yet, though.
Walker’s head snaps to me, and when Knox looks over at me as well, I know they realize what’s about to happen.
I practically hold my breath.
“So, if one day, I wanted to call you ‘Mama,’ that wouldn’t be weird or anything?”
