“Milk,” Griffin says quickly, beating me to the answer. I write the word down and move to the next one as he takes another sip of his coffee.
“Parts of a chest that aren’t drawers…” I murmur, frowning. Thinking of the chest of drawers in the room upstairs, wondering what it could be.
“Breasts,” Griffin says immediately, and I sit up.
“Oh, you can’t be serious…” I look back at the crossword, and sure enough, it fits.
“Is the universe trying to tell me something today?” I write down his answer, grinning, a giggle fluttering past my lips.
“That you’re perfect… and you have fantastic breasts.”
I pause and look at Griffin, who watches me intently, my son peacefully resting on his chest.
“You’re full of compliments this morning,” I tease, shaking my head as I bite my lip.
He nods, leaning back a little and sighing contentedly. “I like it.”
“Like it?”
“Like you in my home. Like you in my bed. Like you in my life. I like it all… a lot.”
“I like it a lot too…” I tell him honestly, wanting to say so much more but hesitating.
“Probably should’ve taken you out on a few dates before I brought you home and made you mine…” He looks a little remorseful.
“I don’t need fancy dinners or flowers. I think what we have together is perfect.”
Swallowing roughly, he looks down at Tommy before bringing his gaze back to mine. “I don’t want it to change. You. Me. Tommy. Together.”
“Well, by the look of Tommy, he isn’t going anywhere…”
He smiles, his big hand gently rubbing Tommy’s back as he sleeps.
“Is Tommy preventing you from starting your day today?” I ask, wondering what he’s up to.
“I’ll take you both to the bakery this morning, then work from my home office for the rest of the day. I have a few things to iron out on the Colorado project.”
“The boulder?” I ask, and he chuckles.
“See, you were creeping…” His grin widens, and I love the look of it.
“Fine. I was creeping. Happy now?” I slip off the stool where I was sitting to start packing up from breakfast.
“The happiest I’ve been in a long time, sweetness. Maybe even ever,” he says, pulling me close, the three of us cuddling before Tommy starts to squirm.
Griffin presses a kiss to Tommy’s head, and something in my chest aches with how badly I want this life to stay untouched.
I sit in the darkness, the little nightlight my only light, feeding Tommy. I’m tired. I had a big day at the bakery, and my nights of broken sleep are wearing me a little thin. It’s almost hard to keep my eyes open in this soft cozy rocker Griffin got me.
“Hey, sweetness…” Griffin says softly as he walks in. He does most nights. It doesn’t matter if it’s two a.m. or four a.m., he’s always here. He steps up to me, kissing me quickly, and places a glass of water on my side table before he sits on the footstool and grabs my feet.
“You don’t have to get up for every feed, you know.” I grin, secretly loving these quiet nights we have together. We’ve grown closer because of it. Shared more together than I think either of us have ever before.
Griffin hasn’t left our side. He works from home but had one day last week when he flew from Whispers to Colorado and back in less than twelve hours. Spending more time in the air than he did on the ground, but he was adamant he was checking on his crew and signing off on a few things, then would be back in time to pick us up from the bakery. Which he was.
My feelings for him have expanded. Our story isn’t one that’s followed a traditional path. In fact, we’re so far off from tradition it's almost comical. Young pregnant woman, grumpy older builder. Friends before we became friends with benefits to help the baby along, and then a birthing partner. To now acting like new parents and living together.
“Hmmm, you do, so I will too.” He’s so matter-of-fact; I know there’s no way to stop him.
