“You,” Mateo swooped down and grabbed him, “my little J Man, are Sully fromMonsters Inc.”
“Nooo.” Jayden giggled as Mateo held him above his head. The smile that lit up Mateo’s face was unlike any I’d seen before. He gazed up at Jayden like the little boy hung the stars, and my heart did something stupid watching it.
Josie’s voice cut through the laughter. “Mateo, do not throw my son through the ceiling.”
“I would never!” he called over his shoulder, then proceeded to toss Jayden just a few inches above him.
“Can we watch a princess movie?” Wrenley asked me.
“Uh.” I looked at her and Kai, unsure of what I should say.
Lydia suddenly appeared beside me. “How about we start a movie, and when Emmie is done helping with dinner, she can come join you. What movie do you guys want to watch?”
“Tangled!”
I sent Lydia a grateful smile, straightening from my squat as Kai and Wrenley climbed onto the couch in front of the TV, Jayden wriggling in Mateo’s arms to be put down so he could join.
“Well, don’t you have superpowers,” Mateo said softly, arm banding around my waist.
“What can I say, I'm amazing,” I joked, still a little surprised at myself for getting the kids to like me.
“You really are.” He said it so sincerely, my chest squeeze. His arm tightened around my waist as he looked down at me, like he still couldn’t quite believe I was real.
“Please tell me we can start giving Mateo shit for going all googly-eyed on his girl like he did to us all these years?” Trevor asked, breaking the intimate moment between us. It was probably for the best or I would have yanked him down into a kiss too inappropriate for his family to see.
“That, I can get behind,” Bryton said in agreement.
Mateo dropped his arm from me only to grab my hand instead. He gently lead me toward his kitchen island where everyone was at.
“Go right ahead. I don’t care.”
“Uh huh.” Trevor said it like he didn’t believe Mateo. He turned to me, beer in hand. “Did you know your boyfriend hits on our wives constantly? He’s a terrorizing little shit.”
“Language—there are children present,” Lydia snapped, stepping back into the kitchen. I bit my bottom lip, stifling a grin at the sheepish look on Trevor’s face.
“See, that’s what you get for trying to talk bad about me,” Mateo quipped.
“Just wait until Emmie hears the stories about you.”
I perked up at Trevor’s words. “Stories, huh?” I turned to Mateo, my eyebrow raised.
“Don’t believe a word they say.” Mateo leaned down and pressed a kiss to my cheek before he left my side, rounding the island. He pulled Josie into a quick hug, clapped Steven on the shoulder, and then pulled his mom into a side hug. I watched it all, loving this version of him.
“Definitely believe every word we say,” Bryton said. “He loved—hell, stillloves—to be a pain in the ass to all of us.”
“That sounds like Mateo,” I laughed.
He shot me a look over his shoulder as he grabbed water from the fridge. “You’re supposed to be onmyside, not theirs.”
“Just because I’m your girlfriend doesn’t mean I’ll always defend you,” I joked. “Sometimes, you’re clearly the problem.”
A few snickers sounded around the kitchen, and Mateo turned slowly, pointing the bottle at me like I’d personally betrayed him. “You’ve already gone to the dark side, I see.”
I shrugged. “If you wanted unconditional loyalty, you should’ve gotten a dog.”
The room erupted with laughter, and Mateo pressed his lips together, fighting a smile.
“I like her,” Wyatt declared. I gave Mateo a look that saiddid you hear that?
