by Toni Aleo
As long as it was with these two.
When Lucy looked up, her face bright and happy, he smiled before kissing her nose. “Love you.”
“Love you,” she whispered, her eyes locking with his as she exhaled happily.
Holding her gaze, her gorgeous green eyes burning into his, he couldn’t take it. He wanted this. Every day. He wanted to wake up to her beautiful face, to hold her sweet body when he slept. He wanted them over for breakfast, to share dinner with them. He wanted his family.
Angie and Lucy.
His voice thick with emotion, he whispered, “Move in, Lucy. Tomorrow. I don’t want to wait till January. I love you, I love Angie, and this is right. We are right.”
She searched his eyes, and he could feel her heart pick up in speed, beating against his chest. He figured she would fight him, tell him to hush, but to his surprise, she nodded her head and whispered, “Okay.”
And right then, Benji decided that “Okay” was his second favorite phrase to ever leave Lucy’s mouth.
“Baylor, thank God, she’s leaving!”
Lucy shot Jayden a dark look as she handed Benji the last of the boxes. Standing in the front yard, all of them freezing their butts off as they packed Benji’s truck with their things, Lucy shook her head. She was going to miss them.
“Har-har-har,” she said and Jayden laughed, wrapping his arms around her waist before picking her up off the ground and shaking her.
Like he had been doing since they were kids.
“Put me down, you big oaf,” she demanded as her feet hit the ground.
Kissing her on the cheek, Baylor smiled. “We’ll miss you guys.”
She went to her sister-in-law, who had just had surgery a week before, and hugged her tightly. She was on crutches so it was awkward, but she was thankful for such a good woman for her brother. “Thanks, Baylor.”
“Any time,” she said, squeezing her arm as Angie came over to hug her tightly.
“Now, Benji, there is a no-return policy on her. No take-backs on the little one either,” Jayden teased as Angie climbed up his back and Lucy punched him in the chest. Wheezing for breath, he said, “Okay, we’ll take Angie back, but not that one.”
Benji just laughed as he jumped out of the back of his truck, wrapping his arm around Lucy’s shoulders. “No worries. Didn’t need the policies anyway,” he said, kissing her cheek as she looked up to where all of her and Angie’s belongings were in the back of Benji’s truck. If she had been smart, she would have waited, done it all right, planned to move everything out of storage and all that, but Benji made her impulsive. So, like a crazy person, she packed up and moved in the following day. She knew it was outrageous, but she prayed it was going to work.
Because she really saw no future unless Benji was in their life.
They would be fine if he weren’t. They were always fine, but they’d never truly be happy the way he made them happy. Because of that, she was ready to move in to her dream home with her dream man. It was simply ludicrous, when only a couple of months ago, she was just gliding through life, following Angie and only caring for her, to now, not only caring for Angie and Benji, but herself.
Love. Crazy thing, that love.
“When do we get my bed?” Angie asked as she sat up on Jayden’s shoulders.
“Tomorrow,” Lucy said, leaning her head to Benji’s shoulder. “We have the Assassins’ Christmas party tonight. You still wanna go, right?”
“Duh, Mom,” she said dryly and Benji laughed.
“Yeah, duh,” he teased, kissing her head before slapping his hands together. “So come on, ladies. Let’s get home and unpacked. Home. I like that,” he said, grinning over at Lucy and she smiled.
“Me too.”
“Me three! We aren’t homeless anymore!” Angie cheered as Jayden laughed, putting her on her feet.
“Angela,” Lucy scolded, but she ran around her, jumping in the truck, saying good-bye to Jayden and Baylor before slamming the door shut.
Laughing, Benji leaned against the doorframe as Jayden teased, “You know you’re gonna get shit for this from Jude and Jace.”
Lucy rolled her eyes. “I don’t care. I’m happy.”
Jayden nodded before coming over and wrapping his big arms around her, hugging her tightly. “Good. That’s all we want,” he said and then he dropped his mouth to her ear. “I love you, Lucy, and I want this for you. Don’t fuck it up.”
Laughing, she pushed him away. “Thanks, asshole.”
“God, I love you,” he said as she met his gaze. He meant it, she knew that, but he drove her insane. Still, though, there was no way she was doing anything but grinning ear to ear.
“I love you. You too, Baylor,” she called as she walked around the truck, and Baylor smiled.
“Love you. Don’t be a stranger. I’m lonely now, all by myself until this leg heals.”
“Which won’t be long,” Benji said with a nod. “We’ll see you on the ice in no time.”
Baylor beamed, but Lucy looked to Jayden to see how he felt about that. Her brother was grinning, his eyes full of love, and that was her answer. As much as he worried about Baylor, he loved her and he wanted her to be happy.
The ice and Jayden made her happy.
Waving, Lucy got into the car as Benji said good-bye and got in himself. Looking back at Angie, he said, “You ready to go home, sunshine?”
Lucy looked back at her daughter who looked just as happy as she felt. Angie threw her hands up and waved them wildly. “So ready!”
“Me too,” he said, starting the car. He glanced over at Jayden’s house before looking at Lucy. His eyes were dark, and her lips quirked at the side as he held her gaze. “The first time I pulled into the driveway to give you your bag, I sat right here and thought, do I really want to go in there and convince that girl to love me? Let me tell you, I didn’t even have to think it through. I got out of this truck, went up to that door, and that’s when it started. Our love story.”
Breathless, she shook her head. “I thought it started when I said, ‘And you think I’m gonna trust you with my kid?’” she said.
From then to now.
Wow.
Other than her family, there was no one else she trusted more with Angie than Benji.
He thought that over for a moment and then winked. “You’re right. I like that better.”
Grinning, she leaned over, kissing his cheek as he put the car in reverse to head home.
Home.
Their home.
When they got back to the house, it was crazy getting everything where it needed to be in a rush and convincing Angie that the guest room would be fine until they could go get her bed.
“It’s fine. I’ll go get her bed after the party,” he suggested, but Lucy shook her head.
“That’s silly. She’s fine and she hasn’t slept in it since we moved out of my mother’s house. You can sleep in the guest bed.”
“But I want my bed, in my room,” she complained with typical seven-year-old urgency, and Lucy rolled her eyes.
“Angela, come on—”
But Benji was there, lifting her up and onto his shoulders. “It’s really no big deal. We can grab everything that we two can get,” he said then and smiled at Lucy. “Don’t be mad. I want this to be fun, and if we would have planned better, she would have her bed.”
Lucy glared. “Stop spoiling her.”
He grinned. “But I spoil both of you.”
She rolled her eyes. “It’ll bite you in the ass when she’s sixteen, I promise you,” she warned, but all he did was laugh. Rolling her eyes, she turned and headed down the hall to get her bath box, the last box that was downstairs. She heard Angie say something about playing, but she ignored them, thinking they were going to drive her up the wall. She knew he didn’t mean any harm, but he couldn’t just roll over for that girl. While it was sweet and adorable, Angie had that man wrapped around her finger, and Lucy would need to untie him before Angie had him buildin
g her castles in the skies.
Knowing Benji, he’d do it.
Fool man.
And boy, did she love him.
As she walked through their home, she felt good. She felt complete and already thinking of little things she would hang to add pieces of Angie and herself to the home. She couldn’t wait. A part of her was sure she’d designed it in a way she liked so that when she finally gave in and moved in, like she had wanted to do from the beginning, it would be hers.
And it was.
Grinning, she grabbed the last box and headed upstairs, but she heard Benji’s voice full of shock as he gasped, “Um, Angie, I don’t think Mommy wants us playing with these.”
Her heart dropped.
Please, God, no.
Rushing up the stairs and down the hall, she turned the corner just as Angie swung one of her dildos at Benji’s face. “It’s a sword! A weird looking sword, but come on. I like this one ’cause it’s longer, but yours is sparkly.”
Benji, bless him, was trying not to laugh, but Lucy was horrified. “Angela Lynn!”
Throwing the dildo in the box, she spun around, her eyes wide. “Mommy, I just want to play!”
“Go to your—er, the guest room. Right now! I’ve told you twice not to touch those.”
Angie looked back at Benji as he held Lucy’s sparkly vibrator in his hand. Inwardly, Lucy died as Angie looked to him, but he just shook his head. “She told you twice, dude. I can’t help you.”
“Ugh,” Angie complained, stomping past Lucy and into the guest room, hopping on the bed and letting out a wail of protest. “I just wanted to play!”
Ignoring her, Lucy looked at Benji, her face beet red as she pointed to the sex toy in his hand. “Put it in the box, and please, for the love of God, forget this moment right now.”
He didn’t hold in his laughter as his head fell back, the rough sound filling the room as Lucy died a little more. “You’re into sparkling cock?” he said in a low whisper. “Want me to throw some glitter on my dick? Would that turn you on?”
“I swear to God, I will stick that thing down your throat if you don’t put it in the box right now,” she warned, his laughter running up her spine. Shaking his head, he leaned over, throwing it in the box. But when he came back up, he had her longer one.
“And this one. Jesus, I know it doesn’t fit,” he said, swinging it around playfully. “I barely fit!”
Mortified, her eyes widened as she shrieked. “Benji!”
“What? It’s like a python,” he said, jabbing it at her.
Batting it away, she cried, “It was a gift. Please put it away.”
“A gift?! Who gave you a giant cock?” he asked, making sure to keep his voice down. “I guess it is the gift that keeps on giving. If you can get it to fit…”
She couldn’t help it, she dissolved in laughter, bending over as she wheezed with hilarity. Only Benji could make her laugh so hard she cried. When she looked up and he was holding it to his leg, shaking his head, she couldn’t take it. This man was a mess. Fixing his glasses, he made a face as he tried to wrap his hand around the girth of it. “I mean, who could this fit in?”
Unable to speak, she just closed her eyes as her happy tears leaked out of her eyes and down her face.
She loved this adorable man.
Her dorky, inappropriate geek.
After getting everything set up the way they wanted, and even stopping by the warehouse to get Angie’s bed, they made their way to Luther Arena for the Assassins’ Christmas party for the families. When Benji asked her and Angie to go, she hadn’t hesitated to say yes, but now as they started up the many stairs to the arena, a little nervousness settled in her stomach.
She was just the girlfriend with a kid. A kid who wasn’t Benji’s. What if everyone thought it was wrong of him to bring them? What if they didn’t accept them as part of him? Of course, she knew some of them because of Jayden, but they were his sister and his niece. They weren’t coming as that; they were coming as Benji’s family.
Crap on a cracker.
She looked over at Angie, who was oblivious to Lucy’s internal struggle, bouncing around, hockey stick in one hand and skates in the other. She was so excited to play with Shelli and Posey, along with all the other Assassins’ kids. There were a lot of them, for sure. While Lucy was thrilled for Angie to play and have fun with the rest of the team, her own nerves about being accepted were almost a little too much to handle. Which she didn’t understand. She’d never cared what anyone thought about her. But then, it wasn’t about her, it was about Benji.
She didn’t want to embarrass him.
Glancing up at him, she saw he was grinning, his hand in hers as they walked through the front doors and were greeted by the staff of the arena. He was so sweet, wishing them all merry Christmas, asking about their families and just being a genuinely nice guy. The best part was when he introduced her and Angie.
“This is my girlfriend, Lucy, and my little ray of sunshine, Angie.”
Angie, of course, beamed at that, and so did Lucy. She felt…she felt fucking perfect. Fantastic, even, and her nerves settled a little. Well, that was until they entered the rink and all the Assassins and their families or plus ones were there.
“Oh, we need to get you skates. Angie, go down and get ready, I’ll be right back. There’s Jayden. Hey, Sinclair, can you get Angie while I get Lucy some skates?” he called down to her brother. Jayden nodded as Angie skipped happily down to him.
But Lucy stopped Benji. “It’s fine. I don’t like skating anyway.”
He paused, his face twisting in complete confusion. “Excuse me?”
She smiled. “I’m not very good.”
“You grew up with three boys playing hockey, and you aren’t a good skater?”
She shrugged. “I’m good at hockey on my feet, but skates and ice…eh, not good.”
He rolled his eyes. “Come on,” he said, pulling her along despite her protest. “My woman will skate well.”
She laughed at his silliness as they went back out to the lobby and then down to the locker room, where the skates were lined up for everyone. She noticed Lucas Brooks bent down, tying his wife’s skates.
“Lucas, that’s tight,” she complained as Benji got Lucy some skates.
“I know, babe, it’s supposed to be,” he said, grinning up at her, waggling his brows. “You know, tight.”
“Freaking sicko,” she muttered as her eyes widened. “Aiden James! Grab Emery before she tries to eat that whole thing of popcorn, please. Stella, love, come here. You can’t spin in skates on carpet. Asher! Come on, those are stairs,” she complained. The oldest one, who was very handsome, turned, looking at her wildly.
“Mom, this kid is nuts! Go give her back to the wolves,” he said, snatching the littlest one up and holding her over his head. She was adorable, so pretty. Hell, all the kids were cute as all get-out.
“They won’t take her back. Come on. Please!”
“Fallon, gorgeous as ever,” Benji said, unlacing the skates.
She grinned up at him. “Why couldn’t I marry you, Benji? I picked this lug who knocked me up four times with a bunch of hellions.”
Benji gave her a toothy grin as Lucas laughed, “’Cause it’s a joy for me. And she’s the damn leader of the hellions.”
Smacking him, she smiled as Benji said, “Well, Fallon, when you have such a gorgeous woman that you love, it’s bound to happen. Just wait, Lucy will be just like you soon enough.”
Lucy’s eyes widened and she scoffed. “The hell you say!”
Fallon laughed at that as Lucas stood, grinning over at Lucy. “Ah, the girl who has changed Benji’s world. Whoa, I know you. You’re Sinclair’s sister. Ha!”
Lucy’s cheeks reddened as Fallon wobbled on her skates. “Well, I love her already if Benji is head over heels for her. Hi, I’m Fallon Brooks.”
“Lucy Sinclair. It’s nice to meet you.”
“You, too,” Fallon said, giving her the once-o
ver. “Just wait, everyone will be gushing over you soon enough. Everyone loves Benji. Knowing he’s finally found himself a girl will be big news.”
That’s what she was worried about.
As Lucy sat down like Benji told her, Fallon said, “See y’all out there.”
He started tying her skates, and she watched as Fallon and Lucas rallied their kids together and headed back down the tunnel to the ice. Looking up at her, Benji grinned. “Didn’t freak you out with that comment, did I?”
She shrugged. “A little, but I’m not having four kids.”
“We’ll see,” he said with a wink as he tightened her skate.
“Ah, that’s tight.” He grinned and she smacked him. “Don’t.”
“Hey, I’m not the one with the monster dick in a box,” he said and then he paused. “God, I’m hilarious.”
“You’re a dork,” she said dryly, shaking her head.
He moved to her next skate, and she watched as he tightened it, making sure it was good before tying them securely. Wiggling her toes as he sat down to put his skates on, she decided this would be okay. She was a horrible skater, but at least Benji couldn’t leave her alone for everyone to swoop in and give her the third degree where she could possibly embarrass Benji.
She should have just stayed home.
“What’s wrong with you? Are you nervous or something?”
She looked over at him. “What?”
“You are nervous. Why? Everyone is great. I promise.”
She shrugged. “I’m kinda standoffish, and what if I embarrass you?”
He laughed. “Just have fun. I know you won’t. Now come on, let’s get to the ice,” he said, standing and helping her up. She was hesitant, but she made it out on her own. She even skated a bit before she went crashing down in a heap of legs and arms. Standing above her, Benji shook his head. “That was pathetic.” She glared up at him as Jayden came to a stop beside them. “How does your sister not know how to skate, but your niece does?”
“’Cause she wouldn’t go. It’s all her fault!” he accused and skated off, going after Angie.
