“Of course I don’t.”
“Really?” I ask, lifting my brows.
“It’ll be fun,” she says with a shrug. “She’s a sweet kid.”
My happy little girl is bouncing on her toes while Lainey begs her mother to allow Ivy and Josephine to sleep over next weekend—which I will, without hesitation, say yes to. “Thank you for…what you’ve done for my kids.” I get a little choked up when I tell Autumn, “It means the world to me.”
Autumn nods, her head brushing my chest. I don’t know if she realizes just how close we’re standing to each other, with Benjamin nodding off on her shoulder, whereas it’s all I’m aware of. My arm flexes with the urge to run my fingers through the angel’s hair, then rest my hand on the gentle curve of her hip.
The kids aren’t the only ones already growing attached to her much too fast, and the alarm bells ring louder.
Chapter Seven
Autumn
After we’ve all helped clean up the kids’ mess, Forest gathers their bags. Sebastian sways where he stands, exhausted after all the fun he’s had. I’m ready for bed myself, in desperate need of some blessed silence. When we’ve all said our goodbyes, the families going their separate ways, I approach Forest to pass Benjamin to him, though I don’t particularly want to. Josephine steps between us and slips her hand in mine, beaming up at me.
Forest and I exchange a long, silent look that’s interrupted when Mom says, “I’ll help you get the kids home, Forest.” She tips her head toward Sebastian, who’s practically falling asleep on his feet. To me, she says, “You can go on and head home, honey.”
Josephine’s smile falls, and she clings to my arm.
“I don’t mind helping,” I say quickly, to Mom’s surprise, and Josephine perks up.
Josephine skips ahead of me and Benjamin down the street while Forest carries Sebastian, who didn’t fightor cry when Forest picked him up, immediately falling asleep in his arms. In the nursery, Forest and I move quietly as we get the boys dressed in clean pajamas and put them to bed. I whisper a goodnight and unthinkingly lean over the crib’s railing to kiss Benjamin’s cheek. And because I kissed his, it only feels right to kiss Sebastian’s, lightly running the tips of my fingers through his fine hair, before I tiptoe out of the nursery.
I swiftly move past Forest in the hallway, but Josephine stops me from leaving when she calls out my name. She’s changed into a princess nightgown, sitting on the edge of her bed, and she holds out her hairbrush.
“Will you braid my hair? Daddy does it, but he’s not very good.”
“Geez, thanks, kid,” Forest jokes with an attempt at a smile, though worry lines his mouth. I’m not sure where it’s coming from, but something inside me dips at his expression.
I take the hairbrush and ease onto the bed to sit behind Josephine when she turns to the side. I’ve had plenty of practice braiding my sisters’ and nieces’ hair—sometimes even Brady’s, when he lets me bribe him into it. I make quick work of it, tying the French braid off with the silky pink scrunchie her dad hands to me.
Once done, Josephine turns and hugs me tightly. “What time are we going to get our nails done?” she asks, scooching up the bed to get under her covers.
“Ten o’clock,” I say, standing and glancing at the painting she’s taped low on the wall at the head of her bed. It’s masterful how quickly she was able to work it up. She may only be ten, but I get the sense I could learn much more than a thing or two from her, which I like the idea of quite a bit. “I’ll come by to pick you up so we can ride together with the girls, if your daddy says it’s okay.”
Forest nods his approval.
“Yay!” Josephine lifts her arms when Forest bends to hugher and say goodnight after turning out the light. She reaches for me for a second hug that I, of course, give her, and I impulsively kiss her cheek as I did the boys’.
A flash goes off behind me, and I jerk back, pinching my lips tight when I catch Forest shoving his phone in his back pocket, his face draining of color. Josephine is asleep by the time I close the door quietly, and I rush toward Forest, who’s pacing in the living room.
“Give me your phone,” I demand.
Forest trips over his feet as he backs away. “No.”
I advance on him and hiss, “If you’re taking pictures of me, it’s my right to see them.”
His Adam’s apple bobs. “I wasn’t.”
“Liar.” The back of his head bounces against the front door when I pin him to it. “Give. Me. Your. Phone. And so help you, if there are any pictures of my feet, you’re going to pay for them.”
“I didn’t—I wouldn’t!”
I strike, shoving my hand into his back pocket to steal his phone.
“Fuck, Autumn.” He scrambles to take it from me, lifting his arm high in the air, holding it far out of my reach.
