Her head snapped up, and she narrowed her eyes.
I shrugged. “It’s true. I came into some money. And I’m giving it all to the kids.” My filter was off and I was in too deep to stop now. “Plus, I love Gwen, just so you know. And I love the kids. They’re my family.”
She stepped back, her eyes wide.
Without another word, I walked over to join everyone. Bree’s eyes lit up when she saw her panda, and she gave me a soft kiss on the cheek as payment.
“Thank you,” she said.
“You’re welcome.”
She smiled wide and hugged the bear close. “I love you, Dee.”
“Love you, too, princess.” I didn’t know where the new term of affection came from, but it earned me her hand in mine.
Chapter 30
Baby, You’re a Rich Man
My father was staring at me with the strangest expression on his face.
“Son, I need you to repeat that, please.”
I took a deep breath. “I asked if you would give your blessing, Dad.” My eyes shifted over to my mom and sister, sitting on the couch with their mouths open. “Am I supposed to ask all of you . . . or . . . am I doing this wrong?”
“I have no idea what to say,” Cece said.
“That’s a first,” I said, hoping to lighten the mood.
She pressed her knuckles against her chin. “Please tell me this is real and you’re not trying to give me some sort of quarter-life coronary.”
“This is a huge decision. Are you sure?” My mom sounded both elated and like she was about to cry.
“I know, Mom. And you can imagine how hard this is for me, since the biggest decision I’ve made before this point was to leave home and live in another country.” I glanced back over at Geoffrey. “I can do it on my own, but—”
“No.” His voice was firm. “Your money is yours to do with whatever you want. And you have the right to use it in any capacity. Change your mind a thousand times and it’s still yours. I just had no idea it would be for this.” He sat down in his office chair and pulled out a stack of paperwork. “It will take some time, you know. But it shouldn’t be a problem.” He smiled. “I’m astounded by the change in you, Andrew. I never in a thousand years saw this coming. I . . . I’m proud of you.”
It was exactly what I wanted to hear, and I couldn’t exactly process it. I rubbed the back of my neck and looked down at my feet. “Thank you. I didn’t see this coming either. Trust me.”
Cece made a tentative move in my direction, and I shrank back against my chair. She stilled and blinked, speechless. We just stared at each other before her face broke out into the biggest smile.
“Oh. My. God. You meant it!”
Before I could brace myself, she jumped into my lap and wrapped her arms around my neck to hug me so hard I couldn’t breathe.
How had I not noticed my sister’s arms were like pythons of death? That yoga was paying off.
“Okay, okay,” I gasped and patted her awkwardly on the back.
And then both my parents flanked our sides and wrapped their arms around us—a huge Lyons family sandwich. My mom pressed her face to my temple, and my dad rested his chin on my head, while Cece was nuzzled up against my neck. And even though I couldn’t breathe, I didn’t need to.
I’d finally made amends. I’d finally made them proud.
When the ruckus died down, I walked out to the Family Wagon—as it would be named from that day on—and sat down in the driver’s seat. What I had just done would change my life forever, and I needed to remember why I was rushing. I reached into the glove compartment and pulled out the little drawing Brady had given me earlier in the week. My eyes roamed over every inch of the paper and the crayon picture that stared back at me.
It was Brady’s interpretation of our family: me and Gwen in the center holding hands with the kids by our sides. We were in a field of flowers, with the sun shining from the right hand corner. High up in the clouds were Bryan and Anna, smiling down at the four of us.
With a deep breath, I said a silent prayer that they’d approve when I made this picture come true.
Two months had passed since I’d announced my love for Gwen to the kids. I’d had no idea I could command a household as well as I did. I was in charge, and not in a creepy Scott-Baio-is-gonna-sleep-with-your-daughter kind of way. I was Daddy Dee. And I kicked ass at it. The kids listened to me and we had fun. Even when they stepped on my nerves or frazzled me for no reason at all. They weren’t as perfect as I’d thought they were at first, and I liked it that way. I found ways to get them to enjoy doing things around the house—like chores. And the reward was always the same: family time.
Bree always wanted to play Rock Band. Brady wanted to play tag or hide-and-seek. Gwen wanted to play with Don. All was well in our tiny existence.
I went home to get ready for the school Halloween dance. All of us were going. Brady had begged and pleaded with his big eyes and pouty lips for me to dress up, but when he gave me the options of going as Muno the Giant Red Dildo or DJ Lance, I’d put my foot down, thrown my hands in the air, and said I wasn’t dressing up. The fact that I seemed like a stick in the mud was hilarious considering I’d started out as the most immature person in the house.
Bree had decided she wanted to be a rock star, and since I wasn’t about to let her out of the house looking like Britney or a fake punk like Avril, we settled on a nice Taylor Swift-type costume—wholesome yet sparkly. Brady decided on Plex from YoGabbaGabba. I okayed it because that robot was the least annoying of all the characters—plus it gave us an excuse to practice the robot dance every chance we could.
Like I’d have given up that opportunity.
I sat on the couch, and Brady came down the stairs walking stiffly because of the way the costume was proportioned. It looked like he was having some trouble seeing through the eyeholes, and I couldn’t help but laugh as he flailed his silver arms and yelled.
Bree skipped down the stairs with her wig and microphone, a joyous smile on her face.
They sat down by my side, and I flipped through the channels while we waited for Gwen to finish. She hadn’t told me what her costume was, and I tapped my foot nervously, hoping she wasn’t going to wear something that would make me jump her bones.
I heard her door swing open, and I craned my neck to see her walk down the stairs, while my heart did a funny little dance in my chest. She was decked out in wings, her hair curled and pinned with flowers all throughout, and body glitter gleaming off her skin. She smiled, and I couldn’t help but grin back at her.
She was a beautiful butterfly.
“I wanted to get a firefly costume, but then thought better of wearing a light-up butt in the middle of a bunch of school kids.” She laughed and smoothed her shimmery dress down over her thighs.
Brady tried to see her through his costume’s head. “Dee, hewp!” He shifted off the couch, flailing his legs and arms, their motion limited by the boxy nature of his costume. “I’m stuck!” He fell over and landed on his back, looking like a turtle in the middle of the road as he rolled from side to side with his arms straight up in the air. I grabbed hold of him and righted him to his feet.
He heaved a sigh. “I don wike dis anymow.”
I nodded and bent down to fix his helmet. “I know. That’s why I’m not dressed up. But you’ll get to have fun doing the robot dance, right?”
He nodded, and Bree giggled at the bouncing of his head. I was pretty sure it wasn’t going to be easy to get him buckled into his car seat.
When we walked in the door, Ainslie Tate walked right up to me with a cocked brow. “Who are you supposed to be?”
I looked down at my black long-sleeved T-shirt and scratched at the hat on my head. “An adult?”
Gwen rolled her eyes and pushed the kids inside so that they could join their friends. Bree went to Jennifer’s side, and Brady tottered off in the direction of Keegan. I watched as he tried to maneuver his way through the crowd and smiled to myself when he ripped
the robot cap off his head and threw it down next to the trashcan. He made a big to-do of shaking his head and pulling off the stiff arms that were hindering him. And then the legs came off, too. He looked like a kid in a yellow box, which seemed to suit him just fine while he danced around with the other boys from his class.
He was careful not to let girls touch him, though. He’d informed me in the car that girls were now gross. Or “gwoss.” Except for Auntie G and Bree, of course. He was going to marry Gwen one day.
I squeezed Gwen’s arm and nodded toward the punch table where some of the administrative staff were standing. “I’ll be back,” I said, and she gave me the thumbs-up.
It took me a few minutes to finish up my conversation at the punch bowl before I returned to Gwen’s side, smiling from ear to ear.
She narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips.
“What?” I asked.
“Are the kids in trouble? Did you do something?”
“No one’s in trouble. I was just having a conversation, that’s all.” I chuckled and pulled on her wings. “Take these off? I’d like to dance with you.”
She pulled them off and placed them under a table, and I clasped her hand and led her over to a corner of the dance floor, away from the children. My hand rested on her shoulder blade, and I pulled her close, wrapping my other arm around her waist while she laid her head against my shoulder.
“You do look beautiful,” I murmured into her ear.
“Thank you.” Her hold tightened around me and she inhaled deeply.
I lowered my chin, and she lifted her head just a tiny bit to press her lips to mine. The entire world faded away when our mouths touched.
There was a tug on the hem of my shirt, and I looked down at Brady, staring up at Gwen with so much love and adoration I had to look away.
“I wan dance wif you,” he said, bouncing.
I released her and pulled off the cumbersome box around our boy, and Gwen took Brady into her arms. He giggled and placed his head on her chest, as she had done with me. They swayed back and forth to the music, and then Bree approached to ask me for a dance as well.
As the night continued beyond his bedtime, Brady began to wear out. When it was time to leave, I carried him and his yellow robot costume to the car. As soon as Bree was buckled in, her head slumped into her chest.
We put the children to bed, tucking them in together and giving them kisses on the cheek. I leaned against the wall in the hallway and smiled, watching Gwen secure the door to Brady’s room behind her.
“They had fun,” I said.
“I did, too.” She wrapped her arms around me, and I rested my chin on her head as she sank into my chest. “Can we go to bed now?” she asked into my shirt.
My response was to turn us toward the bedroom. I let my hands travel over her, reveling in the feel of her beneath my fingertips and palms. I locked the door behind us and ran my hands along her shoulders before resting them in her hair. One by one, I removed the tiny flowers and pins that held up her silly curls. She closed her eyes and sighed as my fingers worked the waves loose, letting them fall against her back.
I kissed her like I had at the school, my lips parted, opening hers and sucking on her lower one. I took my time and closed my eyes as I focused on the feel of her hands trailing over my cheeks, to my chin, and then across my neck. Her touches were featherlight, as if we would break if she pressed any harder.
The material of her costume gave way under my hands, and I rolled the top down over her shoulders, peppering kisses along one and across her throat until I reached the other side. She gripped my sides as her dress dropped lower, and I dipped my head to attend to her nipples with my lips and tongue.
I fisted the material and shoved it down, over her hips and thighs until it fell at our feet. Then I kissed down her stomach and settled onto my knees. My nose traced over her belly button, my hands trailing over her hips and coming to rest on either side of her pelvis.
Her entire body was flushed, and I caressed her skin and leaned in to place a kiss on her thigh.
She sighed while my mouth moved higher, and I flicked my tongue to trace a line to her clit. She shifted, and I nuzzled in further. Her knees shook, and she slid down and rested against the edge of the bed. I took the opportunity to part her knees wider, delving deeper with my tongue, lapping slowly and making her pant.
She scratched her fingers across my scalp, then ran her hands under the neck of my shirt to rake her nails over my back. I teased her for another minute before angling back to help her remove my shirt.
Once my pants were off and my shoes thrown across the room, abandoned and forgotten, she cupped my face and kissed me hard.
I slid my fingers from her knees inward until my thumbs were resting against her folds. I swiped my index finger along them, and she cried out into my mouth when I slid it inside. I added a second finger and curled them forward and watched as her eyes squeezed shut.
I removed my fingers, and she crawled farther backward onto the bed. I followed until I was hovering over her, face-to-face.
I swallowed and glanced down to where I was throbbing just shy of her entrance. After shifting myself to line up with her, my eyes found hers again and I filled her, making us one. She reached for my shoulders and pulled me down on top of her so there was no room between us at all.
I braced my elbows on the bed and stared into her eyes as I began to move. Each thrust took my breath away, and each slow slide made her whimper.
Our mouths met again, our eyes wide open, a shared moment of bliss as my hips began to move just a little bit faster.
She lifted her pelvis to meet me, move for move.
“Andrew.”
Not Dee. Andrew.
My mouth dropped open, and I licked my lips, gasping as she pressed her mouth to mine while I swelled and came inside her. She held on, quivering beneath me and whispering her love for me into my ear as I collapsed on top of her.
Chapter 31
All You Need is Love
It was time. I’d left her asleep in the bedroom so I could get everything ready.
I opened her door and poked my head in to see she’d already gotten up, put some clothes on, and was sitting on the bed, rubbing her eyes.
“Good. You’re presentable.”
I stepped back out and opened the door all the way as she leaned against the headboard and covered her mouth with her hands. “What is this?” she mumbled into her palms.
“Breakfast in bed,” Bree said, carrying a tray of muffins just a step ahead of Brady. He was holding a bowl of fruit, and I was carrying a tray with juice and glasses. We all crawled up onto the comforter and sat in a circle.
“No crumbs on the comforter, please.” It was a useless suggestion, but at least I tried.
While we ate, Brady kept glancing up at me and Bree, grinning and bouncing. Bree handed him a glass of juice and he drank some before handing it back, tipping it precariously before she took it and placed it on the bedside table.
“Dee?” he said.
I swallowed a mouthful of muffin and tilted my head. “Yeah?”
“Whennnn?” His voice was whiney and cute and full of impatience.
“Buh-radyyyy,” Bree said and rolled her eyes.
“Pwease?” His little face formed the cutest pout, and I chuckled.
I cleared my throat and wiped my mouth, cleaning my hands and sitting up straighter on the bed. “Um, Gwen? We wanted to talk with you about something.”
She popped a grape into her mouth and glared at us suspiciously. “See? I knew breakfast in bed was too good to be true.”
Bree set her food down. “We just wanted to do something nice for you,” she said quietly.
“What is it? Come on, you’re making me nervous.”
The kids were staring at her, and she was fidgeting with the comforter.
I glanced up and gave her a timid smile. “Okay. The kids and I have been talking and . . . well . . .” My eyes darted toward Brad
y. “You know how I told you about putting all of my money away for college for them?”
“Yeah . . .”
I took a deep breath and grabbed her hands. “I lied about putting it all away.”
She shrugged. “It’s okay. You don’t have to—”
“Tew hew, Dee!” Brady shouted, bouncing restlessly.
Bree pulled him onto her lap and whispered for him to be quiet.
“Gwen, I had my dad put some money aside for something else. Well, a couple of things, actually.”
She held her breath before she asked, “What things?”
“I . . . uh . . . this is hard. Damn.”
“No swears!”
I smiled at Bree and released Gwen’s hands to run my fingers through her hair. “I want to adopt Bree and Brady.”
Gwen’s hands began to shake in her lap, and she shook her head in confusion. “What? But . . . what about me? I’m their caretaker.” She looked over at the kids and her forehead creased. “Maybe we shouldn’t have this conversation in front of them.”
“We want to talk with you about it, Auntie G.” Bree’s eyes were wide and scared. “Don’t make us leave.”
I shifted closer to Gwen.
“I’ve spoken with my dad, and we can get the paperwork filed. I have the money to pay for it. I just want them to be part of my family, Gwen. Brady wants a dad, and Bree wants a family.”
The children nodded in unison.
“We’ll be Lyons-es-es,” Bree said, sighing in contentment.
Gwen pulled her legs up to her chest and stared at us over her knees. “So you want to be Lyons-es-es?”
They nodded again. I ran a hand down her arm and gripped her wrist. Her head whirled around as I knelt next to the bed, my hand shaking.
“I want all of you to be Lyons-es-es.”
She stared at me, her mouth wide open. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she pressed her hand to her mouth in shock. I gave a nervous smile and opened my other palm to reveal a beautiful solitaire. The round-cut diamond reflected the rays of sun from the open curtains, catching the light and splaying a rainbow across the comforter.
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