Total pages in book: 147
Estimated words: 136048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 136048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
“Yes, Mommy.”
“Okay,” she says, leaning into them and wrapping her arms around both girls at the same time. “I love you both to the moon and back. You’re going to have the best time tonight, and when I see you tomorrow, I want to hear all about the crazy things, but not too much candy and ice cream, okay? We don’t want to get a sore tummy before bed, do we?”
Jonah leans over the back of the couch, squashing both the girls into his arms. “Oh, leave them alone,” he chides Emily, giving each of them a swift kiss on the cheek. “How often do they get to have a special sleepover with Aunty Harper? Let them have all the candy they want. It can be tomorrow’s problem.”
A smirk settles over my lips. I might not be a parent, but even I know that’s a bad call that’s bound to bite him in the ass at some point, but if he wants to give me the green light to feed them nothing but candy and ice cream, then I’ll do my best to stick to his instructions. After all, he’s their father. He knows best.
Emily rolls her eyes, and after giving the twins one last hug, she makes her way around to the door, tears welling in her eyes. “Oh my God,” she laughs, wiping her eyes. “We have to go before I change my mind.”
Jonah grins and glances at me. “It’s the first time we’ve left them for the night,” he explains before stepping into my side and giving me an awkward hug. “Thanks for doing this. We really appreciate it.”
“No need to thank me. You know I would love to have them any time.”
“Alright, well, try not to traumatize them too much,” he teases. “We should be back maybe late afternoon tomorrow.”
“Sure thing, and feel free to stay for dinner,” I tell them. “You’re always welcome. I mean, I can’t cook to save my life, but I’m happy to volunteer Knight’s time. And I can guarantee that it’ll be better than any other dinner party you’ve been to in Blackstone lately.”
“Oh, I don’t doubt that,” Jonah laughs. “We’ll give you a call in the morning and let you know how we’re tracking, but dinner sounds good. It’ll be good to catch up properly.”
A smile pulls at my lips as a warmth spreads through me, loving the way our relationship seems to rebuild just a little bit more every time we see each other. It’ll probably be a hot minute before we can walk into the same room without having that slight awkwardness between us, but we’re more than heading in the right direction. The fact that he’s trusting me to look after his girls is more than proof of that, and it means the world to me.
“Alright, get out of here,” I tell them, striding into the entryway and opening the door just in time to see Izzy’s car pull up on the curb behind Jonah’s. “We’ll be fine. Go enjoy your night, watch your friends get married, and maybe even have a few drinks. See if you can figure out how to actually have a good time for a change.”
“Ha. Ha. Very funny,” Jonah says, his hand falling to the small of Emily’s back as they both glance toward their beautiful girls one last time.
Just as they open the front door to leave, Izzy barges in, dressed head to toe in unicorn pajamas with her arms filled with supplies. “Ugh. The fun police are still here?” she teases, stopping by Emily and giving her a quick hug, only to accidentally drop everything at her feet. “Get out of here. If we’re going to corrupt your girls to the best of our ability, then we’re going to need all the time we can get.”
Jonah rolls his eyes and moves toward the porch, leading his secretly pregnant wife along with him, holding on to her so she doesn’t slip on the wet concrete. Making my way over to the door, I start closing it behind them when I call out with a grin on my lips. “Alright, whose head are we shaving first?”
The door closes with a solid thud, and I turn to face the girls with a wide grin on my face just as the sound of Knight’s pager rings through our home. He immediately sighs. “Shit. Sorry, doll.”
“Don’t be sorry,” I tell him as he silences the pager. “I hoped for this.”
He gapes at me. “The fu—fluffy duck did you just say?”
“It’s a girls’ night,” I say as Izzy makes her way into the kitchen and spreads out the supplies on the counter, pulling out bags of cotton candy, popcorn, ice cream, and chocolate, despite the bags upon bags I’ve already stocked up on. “We can’t have a girls’ night with a grumpy alphahole killing the vibe.”