by Claire Adams
We sat at the breakfast table and started eating.
“So, I guess now it wouldn’t be that weird if I took up your mom’s offer,” She said.
“Oh, the Broadway show?” I asked and she nodded. “She’s going to be so happy. She still asks about you; I’ll let her know later today. She might be the one person who’s actively trying to find Abby a mother.” I hesitated. “I mean, not that that’s the only reason why she likes you, of course. I think it just helps that Abby likes you. My mom is sort of overprotective of her anyways, especially after what happened.”
“So, I’ve been meaning to ask,” Everly started. I sat my fork down. “What happened with Abby’s mother?”
I smiled softly. I knew it was a conversation we were bound to have; still, there was a part of me that was terrified Everly would leave as soon as she found out the truth.
“Her name was Chelsea,” I said, hating the name on my lips. “I wish I could say we were stupidly in love and made mistake after mistake until eventually life separated us, but the truth is that it’s not a romantic story at all.” I glanced at Everly; she was intimately focused on her peanut butter and banana crepe. “It was a one-night stand that I can’t even remember. We met in the bathroom of a club, and nearly two years later met again in front of my house. Only this time, she had a picture with her of a little blonde-haired, blue-eyed baby.” I could still picture the very moment that I saw her, her wide eyes staring up at me with pure adoration.
“Abby,” Everly whispered and I nodded.
“At first, I was worried that she wanted to be a family.” I laughed. “Can you believe that? I was worried that she wanted a family. But then it was obvious that she just wanted someone to support her and Abby, and at the time I was in the middle of opening Alaskan Way, so I paid her off. A couple million, and in exchange she would never bother me again or force me to spend time with the baby. Of course, at that time I only considered it a baby, not my baby. Not Abby.”
I paused and took a bite of my crepe. It was flaky and chewy at the same time, and I wondered how it would taste with a homemade hazelnut chocolate spread.
“And then?” Everly gently asked. I realized I had been daydreaming about the crepe instead of planning the words in my head.
“And then one day, after getting lunch with Nick, I arrived home to find a baby at the foot of my door, and a note saying she couldn’t do it anymore. I never heard from her again.”
Everly’s jaw dropped, but she quickly recovered.
“What a bitch,” she muttered. I laughed and agreed. Of course, I had called Chelsea plenty of worse names in the previous years.
“She abandoned Abby, and I’ll be honest, I hated Chelsea for the longest time. I hated her for forcing a kid on me, especially one that I never wanted. I didn’t have time for kids, I had sworn them off years ago. But over time, I grew to be thankful that Chelsea left. I can’t imagine my life without Abby, and if Chelsea hadn’t run off, I’m not sure if I would have manned up and taken responsibility for her,” I said. Everly was smiling at me, and I realized I was playing with the tablecloth. A nervous habit, I supposed. “Sometimes I wonder what would have happened had Chelsea stayed, actually tried to be a family. If maybe that would have been best for Abby.”
Everly stood from her seat and walked toward me. Her hair was still damp from our shower, and she smelled like my shampoo. She sat on my lap and placed my head in between her hands.
“Maddox, anyone who took the chance to get to know you would be crazy to walk away. If Chelsea left you, then she’s stupid,” she said, her green eyes as serious as Abby’s had been when she said the same words.
“Thanks,” I said. “So, you’re not itching to run away, then?” She frowned.
“What? Why would I do that?”
I shrugged. “I wasn’t sure how you’d feel after learning the truth about Abby’s mother.”
“Honestly, if anything it makes me feel better. This whole time I was picturing Abby’s mom as some rich and famous supermodel who was busy touring the world, but was planning on coming back one day to complete your family. Knowing she’s just a gold digging bitch makes her less of a threat now.” Everly smiled. I chuckled and kissed her.
“No one compares to you,” I said. “Are you busy this weekend?”
She tilted her head. “I don’t think so, why?”
“I’m taking Abby on her first trip to an amusement park. I was hoping you’d go.” I held my breath and waited for her answer.
“Can my sister and niece tag along?” she asked. I nodded. It was a wonderful idea.
“Abby would love that. She needs kids around her age,” I said. “So that’s a yes?”
“Yeah, we’ll go.” Everly kissed me on the cheek. “But I don’t do Ferris wheels or anything that goes upside down; just a head’s up.”
“Oh, but I thought I gave you the courage to do things you couldn’t do before?” I teased her. She rolled her eyes and shoved my arm.
“Don’t be an ass,” she said and kissed me.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Everly
I watched with a grin as Lacey struggled to get Belle in a thick, unfashionable jacket.
“Mom, no one else is going to be wearing this,” she argued. Lacey groaned in frustration and gave Belle her best mom look. I yawned. It was barely 7 in the morning on a Saturday, and any other Saturday I would have been lost in a deep sleep still.
“Belle Winters, get this jacket on right now, or you’re not going to the amusement park today,” she demanded.
“Everly isn’t wearing a coat,” Belle said and pointed at my striped sweater. I shrugged; she wasn’t wrong. It wasn’t as cold as it usually was this time of the year, and I wanted to savor the weather.
“Well, Everly can just catch a cold and die from a fever,” Lacey said. “I’m wearing a coat too, see?” She gestured at the ugly brown leather jacket.
Apparently, Belle had been self-conscious all week after hearing that she would be spending the day with Maddox and Abby. It was endearing; Belle didn’t have many friends, and she was nervous about meeting another child. She almost never acted up, so she must have been even more nervous.
“Belle, Abby is probably going to be wearing a thick coat, too,” I said. Belle looked at me.
“Really?” she asked.
“Yeah, Maddox is super overprotective, and Abby doesn’t like her coat, either. But I think if you wore yours, she would feel better about hers.” I gave an encouraging shrug. “What do you think?”
Belle glanced at the thick coat in her mom’s arms. “I’ll wear it, but only to make Abby comfortable,” she said.
“Thank you.” Lacey mouthed as she helped Belle slip it on. “Can you put the dishes away? Maddox and Abby will be here soon.”
“I can do the dishes,” I said. “It’s my apartment.”
“Shush,” Lacey said as Belle started bringing our breakfast plates to the sink. “This is the best part about kids. You’ll learn soon.”
I rolled my eyes.
“She’s the best thing that ever happened to me,” Lacey said. She was staring as Belle cleaned the dishes. A teardrop appeared in the corner of Lacey’s eyes, and she wiped it away. “They’re not for everyone, and I’ve never once judged you for not wanting to have children.” She paused and tilted her head to the side. “As long as you were certain, and wouldn’t grow up regretting your decision, then I would have gladly accepted it.”
“I know,” I said. “I’ve never had to worry about you judging me, Lace.”
“So it is awful of me to be so incredibly happy that you found this family?” She ran a hand through her dark hair, short and styled as always, and sat at the table. “I feel so selfish, because it’s not my life that’s about to change.”
I sat across from her and covered her hand with mine.
“That’s not true,” I said. “You’re my family, you and Belle. Which means that if I’m going to be a part of Maddox’s family, th
en you are too. If anything changes, it’ll change for all of us.”
“I think I’m just worried for Belle,” Lacey said. “I don’t want her to get attached to anyone, not after my failed dating life.”
“Your dating life isn’t a failure,” I argued. “And I think it’ll be good for Belle and Abby to meet. They might be seeing a lot more of each other in the future.”
“I just hope she drops this whole diva act soon,” Lacey said and glanced at Belle. “She’s still a sweet angel 95 percent of the time, but that 5 percent? God, if this is a teaser for her teenage years, I might let Maddox adopt her.”
I laughed. “Well, you and I were pretty awful, and Mom survived.”
“Barely,” Lacey said just as the doorbell rang. Belle fixed her coat as she rushed to answer it.
“Hello,” she said as Maddox and Abby stood on the other side. I was surprised to find Nick slouching behind them, hands buried in his pocket. Belle’s posture was so stiff and formal as she greeted the three of them that I was half expecting her to bow.
“Belle?” Abby asked. Belle nodded. “I’m Abby.”
They shook hands, and all of the adults in the room exploded in laughter.
“Damn, kids are more polite than us,” Nick said as he followed Maddox and Abby into the room. Maddox shot him a glare, and he apologized. “Sorry, I guess Abby’s used to my potty mouth.”
“Belle’s heard quite a few words,” Lacey said. “And repeated one too many.” Lacey was eyeing Nick up and down, her interest evident in her expression.
“I’m Nick.” He held his hand out to me. “We haven’t really officially met.” His blond hair was cut short, similar to Maddox’s, and his eyes were blue and as bright as a sunny day. He smiled, and I could practically hear the flutter in Lacey’s heart.
“Everly.” I shook his hand. “This is Lacey, my sister, and her daughter, Belle, is currently showing Abby all of her Shopkins.” I realized that the two children were making quite the mess in the middle of my living room, but it was good to see them getting along so well. “We might be here a while.”
Maddox was sitting beside them asking Belle about her various Shopkins.
“We can leave within the hour,” Maddox said. He wore a light blue sweater with white cuffs, and dark pants and leather shoes. His gray eyes seemed brighter with the light color of his sweater, and I realized I was having a difficult time not staring at them.
He offered me a small wave, and I blushed as I returned it. I really did feel like a high school girl with a high school crush.
“The lines are going to be long,” Lacey mentioned. “It’s honestly not that cold for once.”
“Good thing Maddox hooked us all up with those VIP, front-of-the-line wristbands,” Nick said. “No lines, no worries.”
“No lines?” I asked. “You didn’t mention that.” He shrugged.
“I’m not one for bragging, you should know this by now,” he said.
“Can we take some of them?” Belle asked Lacey and gestured at the various ingredient items on the floor. Maddox had made several recipes, and he and Abby were looking for the Shopkin to complete a chocolate fudge sundae.
“Yeah, can we?” Abby asked, only this time she looked at me. I shared an expression with Lacey, who nodded.
“Promise you won’t lose them?” I asked. Abby and Belle both nodded. “Okay then, take two each, but if you lose them, we’re not replacing them.”
Nick whistled behind me. “You really don’t know how this whole aunt thing works, do you?” he asked.
“What do you mean?”
“He means that as an uncle, or aunt, you’re supposed to spoil the kids rotten,” Maddox said and walked toward me. I slipped my hand in his, and he squeezed. “Nick lets Abby do whatever she wants.”
“She loses a Shopkin, you best believe I’m buying her the entire store,” Nick said.
“That’s how a kid grows up spoiled and rotten,” Lacey argued. Nick smirked at her.
“Exactly, and that’s the parent’s problem, not the uncle’s.”
“We should probably head out now,” Maddox said. “I have a lunch booked at one of the restaurants around 11, and I want to make sure we work up an appetite.”
“Don’t tell me you have all our morning rides planned out.” Nick groaned.
“Of course I do,” Maddox said. “And the afternoon rides, this way we make sure we get everything done and have time to ride the favorites two or three times.”
“A man after my own heart,” Lacey sighed. “Good luck trying to get Everly to plan out anything, much less a vacation.”
“It’s more fun when you just go with the flow,” I said. “But I don’t mind a planner, either.”
Nick gestured his thumb toward Maddox. “Yeah? Well, try going to Disney with this guy. He schedules our bathroom breaks,” Nick teased. Maddox rolled his eyes but didn’t argue against him.
“You’d learn a thing or two from planning your life,” Lacey said to Nick.
“I haven’t planned a thing, and I think my life is pretty damn good,” he said.
Maddox and I glanced at one another as Lacey and Nick bickered. It seemed as if a small spark was beginning to flame.
“Are you girls ready?” Maddox asked Abby and Belle. There was something about the way he spoke to them that softened my heart.
“Yes, Daddy,” Abby said. They picked out their respective Shopkins and we left for the amusement park.
Nick wasn’t joking about the front-of-the-line wristbands. We rode everything we wanted, our favorites twice even, by 2 in the afternoon. Lunch had been a little cozy restaurant nestled in the corner of the park, and I had shared a tuna sandwich with Belle and Cajun mustard fries with Abby. They both had clung to me throughout the day, and I was forced to take turns riding with each of them. Nick and Lacey were usually left to ride together, and Maddox took his turn between sitting next to Abby and Belle.
Belle grew quiet every time Maddox neared her, and Lacey and I were beginning to recognize the patterns of a child’s crush. She got along great with Abby, at least, and Abby absolutely adored Belle. The few moments Maddox and I spent together were walking hand in hand in between rides until the girls would pull us apart.
“This might be the biggest tease of them all,” Maddox said to me once as we were waiting to be let onto a dark ride.
“What?” I asked and leaned into his arms. Nick was showing Belle and Lacey a few of his paintings on his phone, with Abby pointing out the paintings that she had helped with.
“Your brown sweater,” he whispered into my ear. The warmth of his breath did nothing for the goosebumps on my shoulders. “It makes your eyes even greener.”
I frowned. “And that’s a tease?”
“Your eyes are a trigger for me,” he murmured. “I’ve never been more turned on in my life than when you look at me.”
I shuddered against him as the train arrived. It was a track ride in a dark cavern, and each cart was capable of fitting two adults and one child. I wanted to be in our own cart, but I had to force myself to behave. Still, Maddox kissed my lips just as it was our turn to enter.
“We’ll continue this conversation later,” I said and entered the cart. Maddox sat beside me, and Abby crawled in between us. It was the first time I truly felt like a family.
“Hey, Everly, could you put up your hair?” Nick asked. I tied it up into a bun and turned behind me to apologize. Belle sat in between Lacey and Nick, and I couldn’t help but notice that their knees were touching at the very tip. There was a light blush across Lacey’s face, and a cheesy smile on Nick’s.
“We’re pretty good matchmakers,” Maddox said. So, he had noticed it as well.
Abby slipped her arm in between ours and shuddered.
“This is scary,” she whined.
“This is the third time we’ve been on this ride,” Maddox said. “You can’t still be scared of it.”
“Abby, it’s like that one movie we watched where th
e girl gets trapped in the cave,” Nick said from behind us.
“I’m going to murder you,” Maddox said as Abby ducked her head into the crook of my elbow.
“What movie is that?” Belle asked.
“Nothing you have to worry about,” Lacey said, and glared at Nick. I lowered my head until I was near Abby’s ear.
“It’s not scary. You remember what happens here, right? We go fast, and then we go slow,” I said. “I thought you liked going fast.”
Abby nodded slowly.
“You know what’s really fun?” I asked. Her blue eyes looked at me. “Putting your hands up when we go fast. It makes you feel like you’re flying. Can you do it with me?”
I raised my arms into the sky just as the train made its first turn, and Abby giggled as she was pressed up against me. She raised her arms on the second turn, and soon, she was laughing the entire way. Maddox was smiling at me as we exited the ride.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing,” He shook his head. “You’re just incredible, that’s all.”
We ate dinner at a fancy restaurant in the middle of the park. Lacey was asking Nick about his paintings as Abby and Belle played with their Shopkins on the table, and my hand was firmly in the grasp of Maddox’s as we both browsed through the menu together.
“We could try the shepherd’s pie,” I suggested. “The girls might like it.”
“Everything looks amazing.” Lacey sighed. “We haven’t eaten at a restaurant like this since before Belle was born.”
“What’s a shepherd’s pie?” Belle asked.
“It’s like a pie, but for dogs,” Abby explained. “Uncle Nick told me that after Daddy made one.”
He cleared his throat. “That’s not exactly what I said, but close enough.”
Our waiter arrived, and Maddox ordered two bottles of wine and an assortment of appetizers.
“Let’s get a half serving of each entrée,” He said as the waiter took our dinner order. He walked off, and Maddox waved off Lacey’s thanks. “No problem; this way we don’t have to worry about what everyone likes.”
