by Piper Rayne
“Are you looking for someone? Like do you want to be in a relationship?” Harley’s tone is more hesitant now and I don’t blame her. Because Savannah’s love life has always been off limits. I have no idea the last time she got laid nor do I really care to know.
Sav shrugs while I slide into the chair on the other side of Calista, cutting up the egg into small pieces, waiting for them to cool.
“Dada!” Calista says excitedly. I’m not sure I’ll ever tire of hearing her say that.
“I do, but I’m so busy. My fear is that a man like that is the only man who can handle me because my mind is on work all the time.”
Harley’s lips turn down and she glances over to me. “It must be hard for you to have all that pressure on your shoulders.”
Savannah shrugs again and buries her head in her plate.
Harley widens her eyes at me, and I don’t get what the big deal is. Savannah likes to be in charge of Bailey Timber. She likes to organize her drawers with color-coded pens. Even her junk drawer has compartments for similar items. That’s Savannah. So, I have no idea why Harley is conveying to me that she feels bad for Savannah.
“Here you go baby girl.” I put the egg on the high chair tray and Calista’s feet start flailing. She takes no time at all to pop a piece into her mouth.
Then I fork a piece of the omelet off and hold my fork in front of Harley’s mouth. She slides it off the tongs and my dick twitches in my pants. But then she moans at how good it tastes and yeah, full on hard-on. We need to hurry this late night meal up and get this baby to bed because I am starving for Harley.
“And that’s my cue to leave.” Savannah stands from the table.
“What?” I ask.
“You two are practically eye-fucking each other.”
“Fuk,” Calista says.
Harley sighs and rolls her eyes.
“We are not.” I laugh.
“You were envisioning it. Listen.” She rinses her plate and puts it in the dishwasher. “I don’t want to be up hearing you two screw, so at least keep it down.” She comes over to the high chair and pats Calista on the head. “Pretty soon Mommy and Daddy are going to give you a brother or sister if they can’t keep their hands off one another.”
The piece of omelet lodges in my throat.
Savannah shoots her eyebrows up at Harley and they both laugh as they watch me choke.
Great, my sisters have found someone else to join them in tormenting me.
Twenty-Five
Harley
A few weeks later, we’re in Rome’s truck on our way to Sunday dinner at Austin and Holly’s. We have to make a pit stop to pick up Grandma Dori which I think is actually more of a reason for her to traipse Calista around the senior home and brag about her to her friends.
Once we’re parked, Rome grabs Calista out of the car seat, but she kicks him over and over again until he places her feet on the ground.
Our little girl only wants to walk and never wants to be held anymore unless it’s bedtime. I feel bad for Rome because he missed the time in her life when you could hold her forever.
She runs fast through the lobby of the assisted living place Dori lives.
Rome jogs ahead of her, egging her on to catch him. They’re amazing to watch together. I have a feeling he’ll thrive in this newfound freedom Calista’s enjoying by being able to move around more. Her climbing needs to stop before she gives me a heart attack though.
“Knock on the door,” Rome whispers and then grabs my wrist to keep me against the wall out of view of the door.
The man does love his childish games.
The door opens and Calista’s looking at us giving away the joke that she got there by herself.
“Calista!” Dori swoops her up in her arms and Calista’s feet flail in the air. “Whoa. I know it’s retired, but great-grandma’s love glove can’t handle that.” She puts her back on the ground just like Calista wants and we all file into the room, finding Juno and Kingston on the couch.
“I have to grab my purse. Be right back,” Dori says.
“What are you guys doing here?” I ask them.
“What’s up beauty queen?” Kingston puts his hand up in the air for a high five.
Calista slaps it.
“That’s kind of sexist,” Juno says, flicking the buttons on the remote.
“Thanks for coming,” Rome says to them.
“Sure thing. I love my little beauty queen.” He side glances Juno, not caring what her thoughts are of what he calls his niece, then picks up Calista and props her up on his lap.
She wiggles out from under his arms and her feet are on the floor again.
“She’s more active now.” I excuse her for not wanting to have anything to do with her uncle.
“She’s Rome’s kid so it goes without saying she’ll always be running.” Kingston laughs and Juno joins in.
Kingston reaches for a glass on the end table, takes a sip and then looks over at Rome. “Hey bro, got milk?” He has a milk mustache on his face and I immediately want the earth to swallow me up, knowing what he’s referring to.
Juno starts laughing uncontrollably beside him.
Rome just shakes his head. “How long you been waiting to use that one?” He rolls his eyes.
Kingston laughs and sets the cup back down, licking his upper lip. “Sorry, Harley. Didn’t mean to embarrass you but that one’s just too good to let pass.”
“No worries.”
Dori comes in from the back room with her turquoise purse over her arm and a light spring jacket in a matching color. She’s very color coordinated today.
I sit down in the armchair. “What are you guys doing here anyway? I thought we were picking Dori up?”
Kingston and Juno stare at Rome and I follow their line of vision to see his classic smirk like ‘I got one over you.’
“You and I are going away. I only have Sunday nights and Mondays off, so I figured you’d be cool if Juno and Kingston took G’Ma D and Calista to Sunday dinner and then she’ll spend the night with Austin and Holly?”
I sit back in the chair for a second. I can’t help but feel like this is something we should’ve discussed together, but I do love that he surprised me. I’ve just never spent a night apart from her.
“Um…”
“Austin practically raised us, and Holly, I mean you see how she is with Daisy. They’ll take good care of her.” Juno sits up, ready to defend her brother and fiancée.
I don’t say anything, and Rome sits down on the arm of the chair leaning in close. “We both need a night, just us. She’s in good hands.”
I stare up at him. He’s confident and since I’ve been here, he’s been more protective of her than me. And he’s right, I need to release the reins a little because although our little family of three is working out, it’d be naive to think that Rome and I don’t need our own time, too.
“We have to go through the directions in case something happens,” I say.
He nods, stands and comes back with a pad of paper and a pen. “You have better handwriting than me.”
I prop it up on my knee and start writing down instructions on what to do should she fall and cut herself or get a bloody nose that won’t stop. It’s pretty simple—get her to the hospital and tell them she has Von Willebrand Disease. Apply pressure to the wound to try to keep the bleeding to a minimum.
Tearing off the sheet of paper, I hand it over to Juno, but Kingston snatches it from her hand.
“Hello?” she says.
“I’m a trained paramedic.” He winks over at me and I’m thrown, realizing for the first time how much he resembles his brother. “Don’t worry, Harley, I got this.”
Rome chuckles. “Great. Calista!” he hollers, and she runs out of Dori’s bedroom with red lipstick all over her face.
I gasp and jump from my chair. “Oh, my beauty queen,” Kingston says with a laugh, picking her up and carrying her over to the sink where I’m already wetting a paper towel.
“Thanks, Kingston,” I say.
“No problem. I told you. She’s safe with me.”
I side glance him still not sure about this whole going away thing. “I didn’t even pack a bag, Rome,” I holler through the small cut-out from the kitchen to the family room.
“No worries, I did.”
I can only imagine what’s in there. “You gave them an extra outfit, pajamas, a couple sippy cups, her blanket—”
“I am her dad, so I do know what she needs.” He laughs it off. Sometimes I wonder what Rome takes seriously in his life.
Shit, that was a crappy thing to think. He’s been nothing but stellar since we arrived in town.
“Pacifier?” I ask.
“Two.” He comes over to the opening, blows on his fingers and runs them on his shirt like he’s the shit.
“I guess you’re a quick learner.”
Calista swats at my hand as I apply more pressure to get the lipstick off.
“Come on. We’re going to be late. I have a special guest coming today,” Dori says.
I eye Rome and he eyes me back. The conversation from Savannah’s a few weeks ago must run through both our heads. Dori seems to be set on setting Savannah up with someone.
“Who?” Juno asks.
She shoos her away. “Nobody to concern yourself with. Colton will be there for you when you’re ready, sweetie.”
Juno rolls her eyes. “I’m the matchmaker, what don’t you understand about that?”
“You’re fine for those other people, but I’m the matchmaker for the Baileys.” Dori smiles serenely as though she’s not offending Juno in the least.
“You haven’t fixed either one of them up.” Juno points between her brothers, stands to her feet and turns off the television.
Rome rolls his eyes and leans against the wall, crossing his arms while Kingston blows out a breath. I can tell they’re annoyed about the fight brewing and that this probably isn’t the first time Dori and Juno have had this particular argument, but for me it says something when people fight.
People fight when they care. It’s silence that kills a relationship.
“I don’t need to prove my victories to you, Juno. Let’s go. He can’t get there before us.”
Taking that as my cue, I say goodbye to my daughter. “Okay baby girl, Daddy and Mommy are going to go and you’re going with Uncle Kingston and Aunt Juno and Doodoo to Uncle Austin and Aunt Holly’s house.” Man, that was a jumble to get out. She went from no family to listing five members in one sentence. The thought makes me smile.
“Can we please stop with the Doodoo?” Dori gets in Calista’s face. “DORI!” She says it loud with no pronunciation, but I can’t say I’d want to be called Doodoo either.
“Sorry G’Ma D, that’s your name from this point on.” Rome laughs and fist bumps Kingston.
“You’re going to have so much fun with Daisy and Myles.”
“Woof!” she says to me and her eyes light up.
“Hey, do me a solid, keep Myles back a little. He’s so hyper,” Rome tells Kingston.
“He just loves her.” I nuzzle my nose to Calista’s giving her an Eskimo kiss and wrap her in my arms. “I love you,” I say, kissing her cheek. “And I’m going to miss you.” I rock her, kissing her cheek again. “I’ll be back first thing in the morning.” I’m about to kiss her again when she’s taken out of my arms.
Rome kisses her on the cheek, hugs her once, and puts her in Kingston’s arms. “We’ll see you in the morning, baby girl. Love you.” He ruffles her hair and that’s it.
My arms are empty, and I want my little girl back.
Kingston stares at me for a moment, probably because he sees the tears filling my eyes. He holds her out to me again.
“No, no. It’s fine.” I wave my hand for him to keep her. This is a good thing, not a bad thing. They can totally handle her overnight.
Rome stares at me like ‘what is wrong with you, woman?’
I inhale a deep breath.
“I remember when I left Tim alone for the first time,” Dori says. “Came back and he had a huge goose egg on his head. I’ve never wanted to kill someone more than at that moment.”
The rest of us stare at her in awe, that she picked that story to share in this moment. It’s so absurd a laugh bubbles up out of me and quickly the other three join in. Even Calista giggles although she has no idea why.
“Let’s get ready for departure.” Kingston looks to Calista, positioning her on her stomach. “Arms out. Legs out.” Calista giggles and follows his directions. “Next stop, my truck so you can be securely strapped into your car seat.” He winks at me and Juno opens the door for him to fly Calista out of the apartment.
“Go you two. I have to lock up. Ethel is nosey and the one time I forgot to lock the door, I came home to her watching my Netflix account. She watches the stupidest stuff so now my recommendations all suggest I watch Our Planet. Hello… I’m going to be dead soon. Who has time for that?”
Rome puts his arm around my shoulders, leading me out of the room. My eyes are on Kingston as he flies Calista around and I close them briefly to gather myself.
“Hey, you okay? If you don’t want to go, I’ll cancel everything.”
“Everything?” I ask.
“I was going to take you away, but we’re going to switch things up now.”
I have no idea what he means, but I’m going to let him lead today because I can’t fault a man who probably underestimated how hard it was going to be for me to leave my daughter but took the initiative to spend extra time with me.
A small part of me has been hung up on the idea that Rome is in this for Calista and that I come second. I should come second to Calista, but him taking the time to plan this means I’m a very close second which makes my heart purr because I feel the same way.
Twenty-Six
Rome
I park in the small lot behind Terra and Mare. Though my plans were to take Harley to a cabin down in Homer with a spa, I see now that I’m an amateur and underestimated how hard it would be to separate a mother from her child, so in order to salvage the next couple of days we’re going to stay right here in Lake Starlight.
It’s cool though because I’ve wanted to surprise her with this anyway and now is as good a time as any.
“Do you have to pick something up?” she asks and steps out of the truck.
“No. This is where we’ll be spending the night.”
She looks at me quizzingly, but I’m not about to tell her I changed our plans because of her reaction. I know her guilt would have her making sure we go down to the spa. Three hours away isn’t exactly where I want to be on the off chance something happens to Calista either. Sometimes it’s hard to remember she has her condition because she appears so healthy.
“Okay.” She smiles, not really caring.
I open the gate to the stairway that runs up the back of Terra and Mare to my apartment. Using my key, I open the door and wait for her to go in ahead of me. She’s never been up here because it was a disaster before and lately my nights have been spent at Savannah’s. But I’m sure we’re wearing out our welcome over there.
“It’s nice up here,” she says.
I had to hire some contractors but the few days and nights I haven’t been with her at Savannah’s I’ve gotten this place together with the help of Liam and Denver. It’s great to have bachelor friends who agree to get paid with food.
“There are two bedrooms and I know the living quarters are kind of small.” It’s a joke how small the kitchen is, but I have one downstairs if I want to make anything big.
I lean against the wall, watching her soak in the place. Her fingers touch the fabric of the couch then along the granite breakfast bar that’s pretty much the table because there’s no room for one. But I have a room full of tables downstairs if we want.
“Go down the hallway,” I say.
She checks me out over her shoulder before walking down the hallway.
/> One room is a rosy pink with Calista in gold lettering on one wall.
She walks in to the empty room and smiles over at me. “It’s beautiful.”
“If you don’t like the color, I’ll change it.”
She shakes her head. “It’s perfect.”
“Come.” I take her hand and bring her to the next room, the master which now has a mattress and a headboard. I still can’t believe I’m grown up enough to buy furniture for style rather than necessity and to me it seems like a waste of money, but my sisters insisted that girls like this sort of thing.
Brooklyn decorated the room with a light gray paint and a navy and gray comforter and curtains but added a feminine touch with pink throw pillows. I tried to argue with her, but Wyatt said just let her have her way.
I lead Harley over to the mattress and sit her on the bed. “Is it comfortable? Do you like it?”
She laughs, tucking her blonde hair behind her ears. “It’s your bed.”
“Ours.”
“Ours?” She shakes her head.
“I get that we’re doing everything a little backward here but move in with me. I understand this place isn’t ideal. You probably don’t want to live above a restaurant, but just think of how accessible it is for us and work.”
“I don’t know.” She looks around.
“It’s only temporary, in a few years when the restaurant starts making more money, we’ll buy a house.”
“Rome,” she sighs, standing up and looking out the back window that has no view unless you like to see Li from Wok For U throw out his garbage.
“What?” I sit down on the bed and wait for her to come to me.
She turns and leans her back to the wall, crossing her arms over her chest. “It’s all so fast. I mean you’re talking about buying a house in a few years. Don’t get me wrong, I love whatever this is between us, but we’re not exactly the most well-adjusted couple. I clam up, you run.”
“The damage is done. We’re a couple and whether that ends now or ends in three years, Calista’s going to be affected.”
Harley picks at her nails.
