Good, baby, see you tonight. Have a good day.
“What is it?” Abby asks.
I lift my head after dropping my phone back into my bag.
“I’m having tacos with Lucas and Maddi tonight.”
“That smile on your face right now is the reason I like him,” Abby says.
I touch my lips with the tips of my fingers. I didn’t even know I was smiling.
After knocking on Lucas’s apartment door, I rub the top of Merida’s head. She wiggles impatiently at my side. I don’t know who’s more excited to be here—me or her. As soon as I got off work, I went to the store to pick up stuff for dessert before I went home to change and pick her up. She was happy to see me, and I was happy to find out that she could be left alone and not destroy everything in sight. When I told her that we were going to see Maddi and Lucas, I swear she understood me. It was as if she couldn’t wait to get out of the apartment.
“Hey, baby,” Lucas greets me as soon as he opens the door.
I smile up at him. I don’t know how it’s possible to have missed him—it’s really only been a few hours since I saw him last—but I have. Lucas always looks hot, and today he’s wearing a dark-red button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a pair of gray dress slacks.
“Hey,” I breathe against his lips as he brushes his mouth against mine. I feel him smile.
“Missed you.” He kisses me again, and my stomach does a flip.
“Me too,” I admit.
His smile broadens as he steps back to let me into the apartment. Taking Merida’s leash from me, he unhooks her. I watch her run off toward Maddi’s room and use her nose to push the door open and her way inside.
“How was your day?” I follow him toward the kitchen, where I can smell taco meat already cooking.
“Good. Or rather, it was good until I got a call this afternoon from Maddi’s school.” He picks up an open beer off the counter and takes a swig from the bottle as I set down the shopping bag and my purse.
“What happened?”
“She kicked some kid in the nuts. He had to go to the nurse, so Maddi has detention for two days.”
“What?” I stare at him, sure I heard him wrong.
“I only kicked him because he tried to kiss me,” Maddi says, defending herself as she comes out of her room carrying Merida. I fight back a smile as I watch her nose scrunch up in six-year-old annoyance. “I don’t think I should have gotten in trouble for defending myself.”
“I don’t, either,” Lucas grumbles, in a voice barely loud enough to hear.
My foot twitches to kick him.
“Boys are very sensitive in that area of their body, sweetheart. I know you were defending yourself, but you could have really hurt him,” I say gently.
She looks down at Merida and frowns. “I said I was sorry when he started to cry.”
I press my lips together and look down at my feet so that she doesn’t see me trying not to smile. It’s not funny, but at the same time it’s a little funny.
“Do I still get to go to Grandma and Grandpa’s this weekend?” she asks, sounding worried.
I look up at that piece of news.
“Yeah, honey,” Lucas mutters. His eyes come to me, and my expression must give away my curiosity. “My parents are taking Maddi to the aquarium and zoo this weekend, since they are going to be out of town during her birthday.”
“That sounds like fun.” I look at Maddi, and I can see that her smile doesn’t reach her eyes. I can tell she’s upset that she got into trouble. Even though the kid probably deserved to be kicked, she’s feeling a little guilty for hurting him. “So is Merida the only one who gets a Maddi hug?” I ask.
Her eyes light up. She comes to me, still holding Merida, and I wrap my arms around her and then kiss the side of her head. I don’t care if I’m overstepping some hidden boundary. When I let her go, her smile seems more genuine. I smile back.
“I brought stuff to make dirt cups. Do you want to help me make them while your dad finishes dinner?”
“Dirt cups?” She giggles.
“It’s not really dirt. It’s chocolate pudding mixed with whipped cream topped with crushed Oreos and gummy worms.”
“They sound yummy.” Her eyes light up.
“They are yummy.” I pull the stuff out of my shopping bag, then tip my head at Lucas when he sets a glass of wine near me on the counter.
The expression on his face is so warm that I feel that warmth wash through me and settle somewhere deep inside my soul where I didn’t even know I was cold.
“Thanks,” I whisper.
He dips his chin, then kisses the side of my head.
“So what do we do first?” Maddi asks.
I look down at the beautiful girl who has taken a part of my heart and say softly, “First we wash our hands. Then we make dirt.”
Feeling Lucas’s lips touch the top of my head, I look into his beautiful eyes.
After the delicious tacos, he, Maddi, and I watch a couple of her shows on TV. Then it’s time for her to shower and get into bed. Like on Saturday, she asks me to read her a book, and, like on Saturday, my heart melts when she curls up against me while I read to her. The Princess and the Pea, again. I don’t fall asleep this time, but she does before I make it even halfway through the story. I lie there with her for a long time, soaking in the feeling of holding her before I get out of bed, kiss her head, and turn out her light.
When I turn to leave the room, I find Lucas standing in the doorway with the same warm expression on his face that he had earlier—a look I try to memorize as he holds out his hand toward me. When his fingers wrap around mine, I let him lead me to the couch. He settles me against him, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. His hand rests on my hip, and his fingers slide under my top to run softly against my skin.
“Thank you.” His softly spoken words pull me from my thoughts, and I study his expression.
“For what?” I ask, not understanding the look in his eyes.
“Maddi was upset when she got home from school. When she gets into trouble, she always closes down. I expected her to stay locked in her head for a few days, but within a few minutes of you being here she was back to being herself. Thank you for that.”
“I think she felt bad for hurting the boy.”
“She shouldn’t feel bad. He shouldn’t have kissed her.”
“Honey . . .” I turn so my front is to the back of the couch. Once I’m facing him, I rest my hands against his chest. “You’re right. He shouldn’t have kissed her, but she shouldn’t have hurt him.”
“Yes, she should have,” he growls.
Seeing the look on his face, I realize what I’m doing. I press my lips together to keep my mouth shut. It’s not my place to argue with him about how Madeline should or shouldn’t act.
“What’s that?” His brows pull together as his eyes scan my face.
“What?”
“You. What’s that look that you just got? One second you’re ready to battle with me, and the next you’re pressing your lips together like you’re attempting to keep quiet.”
“Nothing.” I turn back to face the TV, which is now playing the news.
“Talk to me,” he demands, putting his hand under my jaw to force me to look at him.
“It’s nothing. It’s not my place.”
“Not your place.” His eyes turn kind of scary, and I try not to flinch. “You’re in our lives. In my life. I want to hear what you have to say. I want to know what you think.”
“I . . . I’m . . . It’s not my place to argue with you about Madeline.”
“Pardon?”
Even though I can hear the slight warning in his tone, I still say softly, “I’m not her mom. We are all just getting to know each other, so I don’t think it’s my place to tell you how Maddi should or shouldn’t act.”
“When does it become your place?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know how these things work,” I say quietly.
His jaw twitches. “Maddi was going to freak Sunday when you said you were going home. She didn’t want to miss out on time with you. Twice now you’ve lain in bed with her and read her a bedtime story, shared something with her that has only been mine since the day she was born. She never even asked her mom to read to her. We like you being here, and I plan on you being here for a long fucking time. So tell me, baby, when will it be your place to give me your opinion?”