All four of us were godfathers to Clover, and I loved it because my dad’s best friends had done the same thing for me when I was young.
They were family, and I’d grown up with them, and I wanted to do the same thing for Clover.
When we arrived, Brody thanked us both profusely before hurrying out the door to get to work. Clover Quinn Stark was four years old, and quite possibly the cutest child on the planet. Her light brown hair fell around her shoulders in ringlets, and I chuckled as she sat on Gracie’s lap, telling her about her favorite ice cream.
“My uncle always gets me all my favorite ice creams from my Snow Balls if I eat my lunch real good,” she said. “Right, Uncle Cutty?”
“Yes, ma’am, Lucky Clover. Should we get walking?” I asked as she pushed off of Gracie’s lap, and I took her hand and led her out the door.
They both happened to be wearing yellow sundresses and sneakers, and Clover had already gasped and chuckled about the coincidence. They looked cute as hell, and I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face.
“Gracie, I like your name, do you like my name, because it’s Clover. Clover Quinn Stark but Uncle Cutty calls me his Lucky Clover, ’cause sometimes I’m his lucky girl. And I think you’re a lucky girl too, ’cause you’re uncle Cutty’s bestie, like my bestie is Pippa, and I calls her Pippa Mint because my favorite ice cream is peppermint,” she said, all in one breath.
The girl hadn’t talked much until she turned three, and once she started, she had a lot to make up for.
Gracie and I each held one of her little hands in ours as she walked between us, and I chuckled at how much she’d just shared because she was cute as hell.
“I love your name so much, and I love peppermint ice cream too,” Gracie said. “And yes, Uncle Cutty is my bestie for sure.”
“Well, I feel like I won the lottery spending the day with my two best girls,” I said as we walked into the Cozy Griddle, which was her favorite place to eat.
We ate lunch, and she told us all about her plans to go kayaking with her daddy tomorrow, which was her favorite. And then we stopped at Snow Balls for ice cream, and I was always grateful that the owner, Sandra, allowed Clover to put three flavors into her one scoop.
Peppermint. Lemon. Strawberry.
Not a combo I would choose, but she was very passionate about her three choices.
We then walked around downtown and stopped by to see Bass and Phoenix, and it was a full afternoon.
“Do you gots any kids, Gracie?” she asked as we walked toward her house.
“I don’t. But someday I hope I do.”
“You feels like a mama,” she said. “My uncle Cutty isn’t a daddy, so he says I’m his little girl too.”
“Yeah, he talks about you all the time.” Gracie smiled down at her, and I could swear my fucking chest tightened. Because I could watch these two all day long.
“He talks abouts you too,” Clover said, giggling. “I wish you could stay here with us forever.”
Me too.
“I promise I’ll visit a lot.”
“Uncle Cutty is gonna be’s sad. But he can be my bestie with Pippa Mint.” She looked up at me with those big green eyes.
“Thanks, Lucky Clover. I’ve got my two girls. That’s all I need.” I winked at her as the front door pulled open, and Brody filled the doorway.
“How much ice cream did they give you?” He raised a brow, his voice filled with humor.
Brody was a damn good father, and if I ever did decide to have children, I’d take a lot of what I’d learned from him, mixed with the fact that my pops was the best dad I could have ever asked for.
“Just one scoops, daddy. With three flaveys.” She held up four chubby little fingers instead of three and then concentrated hard until she figured out how to push one down.
We all laughed, and I scooped her up and nuzzled her neck. “Love you, Lucky Clover.”
“Love you, Uncle Cutty,” she said over a fit of giggles.
And then she reached for Gracie, who pulled her into her arms. “Thanks for the best day ever, sweet Clover.”
