Page 147 of The Right Kind of Wrong

“I feel the same way. About us. About feeling so lucky to get to be with you. And I really don’t need us to label anything except for the fact that I absolutely don’t want this with anyone else.” She looked at Monroe pointedly, jealousy and possessiveness surging through her veins. “And I don’t want you to either.”

Monroe’s lips curved into a seductive smile that made Blake’s whole body go on high alert. “Only yours? That has a nice ring to it.”

Blake leaned over and gave Monroe a light, quick kiss.

Yeah. It really, really did.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

“Monroe, I’m not even sure all of that will fit in Maisie’s backpack.” Blake was giving her a look that conveyed how overboard Monroe was going on back-to-school shopping, but she couldn’t help it.

Monroe threw the pack of markers in their shopping cart. “I’m probably compensating because of all the things we couldn’t afford growing up.” Before, she would have kept her thoughts inside, but she was trying to do better. Be more honest.

It made her nervous to admit that, but she also liked the way that Blake looked at her then, like she’d done something really important.

Blake wasn’t the only person who liked to please.

They’d gotten back from Austin over a week ago. Life had continued on in much the same way as it had, even with her and Blake’s proclamations of exclusivity to one another. For some people, that probably sounded boring as hell, but for Monroe, who’d always craved stability and consistency, it was like she’d been plunged into the center of a life that she’d never expected to be able to lead.

So, with school starting in less than a week, Monroe had invited Blake to come shopping with them. Blake had told her she wanted to do things like this with her and Maisie.

All that Monroe could do was trust that Blake was telling her the truth.

After Blake had gotten home from work, she and Monroe had picked up Maisie from daycare, and she’d happily jumped in the car so they could grab the essentials she’d need for her first day of kindergarten.

Unsurprisingly, it had been Blake, who had a lot more experience with kids, explaining to Monroe how things worked these days.

She’d started school over twenty years ago, and everything from pickups to school lists to online portals for student/teacher communication was vastly different from the paper-based world that she’d grown up in.

Luckily, her mom had signed Maisie up for kindergarten back in the spring, so mailed forms with logins and expectations had been arriving for months already.

That hadn’t made them any easier to decipher, but Monroe had made sure to have everything completed on time and to check in with Maisie’s social worker, confirming that it was all done.

She blew out a breath.

It was still wild to think about.

And she didn’t know how she’d have made it through these last few months without Blake, who was currently walking next to the cart Monroe was pushing while Maisie raced ahead and circled back every minute or so, remembering the rule that she always had to stay where she could see Monroe. And, more importantly, where Monroe could see her.

That had been a necessary addendum, made the first time Maisie hid in a circular clothing rack, peeking through the shirts as Monroe had grown more and more frantic in her inability to find her.

She was pretty sure that little experience had taken at least a dozen years off her life.

“So, what are we thinking for dinner tonight?” Blake asked when they hit the main aisle, heading toward the grocery section.

Every conceivable thing that Maisie could need for school was already in the larger section of the overflowing cart. A backpack. Folders and markers and stickers and pencils and erasers and crayons. A lunchbox. A few new outfits. A water bottle.

Monroe thought about the list in her mind, making sure they had all of it and then some.

More importantly, there was something she needed to discuss with Blake, now that Maisie was distracted. And sure, she could ask her that night, while they were cuddled up together, but she didn’t want to use their sexual relationship to influence Blake’s answer.

“So I was thinking about talking to Maisie. About us. Obviously, I wanted your input.” Monroe could hear the nervousness in her own voice. Blake didn’t immediately answer, which led Monroe to fill the silence quickly. “I mean, you’re over almost every night. We spend a lot of time together. I was looking up some articles about introducing a child to your partner. And yeah, it’s a little faster than normal, but you’re already her neighbor and her dance teacher. We wouldn’t have to explicitly say that we’re dating or anything. We can just let her know that sometimes we may hold hands or cuddle on the sofa or something. That’s what the blogs say, anyway,” Monroe finished, trailing off.

She inhaled forcefully, not having taken a breath during her long ramble. She felt lightheaded from both the oxygen deprivation and what she’d just asked.

Really, she didn’t want to hide her relationship from Maisie. Or for Blake to feel like she was something that needed to be hidden.

After Austin, the thought had only continued to solidify in her mind.