by Cara Dee
"Hi, Tennyson!" Maliah waved.
"Hey, sweetheart. No school today?"
"I'm on break." She pushed herself up from the water to check her phone.
"You'll learn all about school holidays when it's Kayden's turn," Brooklyn said with a grin. "By the way, happy birthday."
"Thank you." He smiled. "Do you happen to know where Ash is?"
"He's picking up lunch," she replied. "He should be back soon."
"Got it. I'm just gonna borrow his office for a bit." He would've done it in Sophie's loft if he'd had a printer in his room, but he didn’t. "I'll be out of here soon."
"Hey, Tennyson?" Her voice made him pause, and he looked back at her. "Asher—he's a good man, right?"
Brooklyn was a smart woman, and if she didn’t have a good feeling about Asher, she wouldn’t be here. But if she needed reassurance, Tennyson had no problems giving it.
"He knows it's not only about you, Brooklyn." He glanced over at Maliah, who was preoccupied with her phone. "My brother doesn’t take commitment lightly, so once he's in, he's all in. And yes"—he smirked—"he's a good guy."
"Thank you." Brooklyn smiled, visibly relieved.
"Anytime." With that done, he made his way upstairs to do something he'd never thought he'd do.
Go online to search for gossip about Sophie.
Chapter 15
The second Kayden went down for his nap, Sophie got busy. Her first plan had been to invite their closest over for dinner, but then she'd remembered last year. Small get-togethers and dinners were her thing. Tennyson preferred peace and quiet.
He was like Max in a way. They could be complete goofs and shit-stirrers, but mostly with Kayden. When others were involved, they withdrew to the few they were comfortable around. It made Sophie warm and fuzzy to think she was one of those—for both Tennyson and Max.
Dogs and men.
While the steaks soaked in marinade, she wrapped the presents she'd bought from her and Kayden. She hid all the birthday-themed items in her bedroom for now, which included one balloon that said "Happy Birthday, Daddy."
On her way back to the kitchen, there was a knock on the door, which made Pup bark.
"Come here, little rascal." She picked up the puppy and opened the door.
Oh, damn. It was Josh. Seeing him burst her family bubble and brought her back to reality.
"Hey, babe." He grinned and leaned against the doorframe. "I don’t see much of you whenever Noah's out of town."
Yeah…that was why. It wasn’t because she was avoiding Josh like a coward.
"I'm sorry." She smiled awkwardly. "Um, what's up?"
He reached out and touched her cheek. "I wanted to see if I could take you and Kayden out for ice cream or something."
That was sweet of him, but she couldn’t shake the discomfort she felt whenever Josh mentioned Kayden.
"I know you said you wanted some time to think," he added, "but I figured there's nothing wrong with going out as friends. After all, that’s what you did with Tennyson yesterday, right?"
Sophie tilted her head. "You mean the game?"
"Yeah." Something in Josh's eyes seemed to dim. "How come you didn’t tell me?"
That put her on edge. "I didn’t know I had to tell you."
Josh seemed to notice, and he flashed a grin to lighten the mood. "You don’t, beautiful. I know we're only friends—for now. But anyway, you wanna head out?"
"I'm sorry, I can't." Sophie adjusted Pup in her arms and took a small step back, wanting to wrap it up. "It's Kayden and Tennyson's birthday. We're having dinner later."
"Oh. Just the three of you?"
What the hell was his problem? Not enough had happened between them for him to have the right to be possessive. "Listen, Josh. I apologize if I gave you the wrong impression, but you're sort of making me uncomfortable. I never promised you anything, and it feels like you expect something from me."
She had thought about them in the past few weeks, but the attraction had begun to fizzle the second Josh had mentioned dates and being there for Kayden. It didn’t feel right at all, because she wasn’t looking for a stepdad for her son. He already had an amazing father.
Josh chuckled darkly. "Guess I got it wrong. My bad." He pushed himself off the doorframe and gave her a grim look. "I thought you were better than that, but you're a cocktease like the rest of them, aren't you?"
For a moment, she was sure she'd heard that wrong, but no. Holy hell, he'd actually said that.
"Go fuck yourself." She slammed the door in his face.
God, she was shaking from the shock.
She wasn’t a tease. Was she? She'd flirted with him—briefly—and they'd made out. That didn’t fucking mean she had to put out, especially not two minutes after their first kiss.
*
The next few hours weren't easy.
Sophie couldn’t let go of what Josh had called her, and then Kayden woke up in a hellish mood. Nothing was good enough, and his screaming caused her to forget the cookies in the oven.
"Goddammit!" she shouted, dumping the tray in the sink.
Of course, that startled Kayden, and he started screaming all over again.
"I'm sorry, Kayden," she groaned. "I suck, I know." She bent down to pick him up, but he didn’t want that. "Okay, okay, go play."
Instead, he plopped down and banged a plastic pan on the floor. "No!" he yelled. "No! Noooo!"
"Kayden!" she snapped. "Stop banging!" He didn’t, so she took the pan from him, and that was when the timer went off for the potatoes on the stove. "Someone give me strength."
Closing her eyes, she stood absolutely still and counted to ten. This was hardly the first time Kayden had woken up with a temper. She'd gotten through this a million times.
She blew out a breath, determined to get through the day, and picked him up again. Then she walked over to his high chair and placed him in it, attaching the straps over his shoulders so he couldn’t get out.
"Can you be nice?" she asked. "Can you stop shouting and tell me what you want?"
Kayden screamed and thrashed in his chair, so she ignored him. She turned to the stove and took off the potatoes. Once she'd drained the water from the pan, she set them aside to cool. She'd mash them later.
It took him a solid hour before he got too tired to cry, and by then, she was nearly done with dinner, but she was also dead on her feet.
"Mommy…" Kayden whined and sniffled.
Sophie checked the clock and saw that Tennyson would be here in about forty minutes.
She was far from ready, but she was done. The kitchen looked like a war zone, Kayden had thrown toys all over the living room, the table wasn’t set, and Sophie hadn't showered or picked out clothes.
She couldn’t be bothered, though. She just couldn’t. The dinner would be fine, and she could make the goddamn cookies another time. They'd have cake.
"You wanna rest a bit with Mommy?" she asked Kayden.
"No sweepy," he complained, yawning.
"Sure you're not," she muttered. Carrying him over to the couch, she sat him down and then put on cartoons for him. "Come here, my little monster."
She wasn’t worried he'd ruin the loft further. He could barely keep his eyes open, and when she lay down, he was eager to snuggle up against her chest.
"You can be such a pain in the butt." She kissed his hair and closed her eyes.
*
She woke up slowly, and it was to the sound of low murmurs.
"There's one more truck over there. Can you put that in your box, too?"
She heard little feet run across the hardwood floors and then how Kayden tossed a toy into his plastic box in the corner.
"Good boy. I'm gonna check on the bath. You can wake up Mommy, right?"
"Yeah."
"Nicely, Kayden."
Sophie stifled a smile as she felt Kayden's little hand on her cheek.
"Mommy," he whispered.
"Yes," she whispered back. She opened her eyes and
blinked sleepily, noticing it was getting dark. Shit, how long had she been asleep? Sitting up, she pulled Kayden onto her lap and hugged him as she glanced over at the clock on the wall. "I slept too long." It was past eight, damn it. "So you're not cranky anymore, huh?"
Kayden merely grinned.
He was dressed in PJs and smelled like baby shampoo, so Tennyson must've given him a bath.
"Did you eat, baby?" she asked. Dinner at six had been pushing it as it was, and with his second nap, she had a feeling he wasn’t going down for a while. "Did Daddy give you dinner?"
"Yeah." He nodded and rubbed his tummy.
Sophie chuckled and looked around her, only now seeing that Tennyson had done a lot more than feed and bathe their kiddo. The kitchen was spotless, Kayden's toys were stowed away, and it smelled like food. Which meant Tennyson had mashed the potatoes and started the steaks himself.
I was supposed to do that.
Some birthday she was giving him.
"She's awake," she heard him say in his low, warm voice. He came from down the hall and smiled at her, looking all…delicious. Daddy-perfect. Sweats, a T-shirt that hugged his torso, a dishrag thrown over his shoulder, hair unrulier than usual, ink on display, and bare feet.
Sophie ached.
It wasn’t just her body that yearned. It ran deeper. Much deeper.
"You should've woken me up." She pouted at him.
"Not a chance." He chuckled quietly and took Kayden from her. "Judging by the sight I came home to, I'm guessing he's had a tantrum or two?"
"Or five," she grumbled.
He shook his head. "You should have called me, princess."
Princess.
He hadn't called her that since…since she'd visited him in Texas and they'd fucked for three days straight.
"No way." She stood up and stretched. "It's your birthday—"
"And it'll continue after your bath." He nodded toward the hall. "Dinner will be ready in twenty. Go."
"Are you for real?" Approximately ninety percent of her wanted to kiss his feet in thanks, but, again, it was his birthday. Today was supposed to be about him. "You should sit down and relax. I'll fix—"
He cut her off again. "Go."
*
Sophie relaxed into the big tub and allowed herself ten minutes—okay, fifteen—of complete silence. She soaked up the warmth and shut out the world, and then she showered and dried off before she found herself hesitating in her walk-in closet.
It's Tennyson.
She could be herself with him, and he obviously knew her day had been a mess. So she pulled on a simple cotton thong, a pair of yoga pants, and a T-shirt. She didn’t bother with her hair, makeup, or a damn bra.
Kayden was quietly watching a kids' movie on the couch, a towel underneath him, while munching on bits of grapes.
There was no way she'd intrude, so she padded on, finding Tennyson in the kitchen flipping the steaks.
"How was your bath?" he murmured.
"Like heaven." She opened the fridge and spotted the cake. "I feel bad, but thank you so much."
"Don’t thank me." He side-eyed her and smirked slightly. "Would you believe me if I said I got exactly what I wanted today?"
She giggled and scrunched her nose, grabbing a bottle of white wine from the fridge. "You wanted to come home to a complete mess so you could clean?"
"I wanted to come home to my two favorite people."
Ugh, she hated when he said things like that. It upset her because it intensified the ache. By now, she knew she wanted. But nothing with Josh. Nothing with anyone else—just that damn bastard. Tennyson.
If only he could be less eager to push her away to try new things.
For once, she wanted to be reeled in. She wanted to feel wanted. Needed.
"Where are those herbs you use for your mashed potatoes? This tastes off."
Now I'm only needed for herbs.
"Excusez-moi." She hip-checked him lightly and reached for the spice rack above them. "Got you hooked on my cooking, do I?"
"You definitely do," he chuckled. "Remember the first time you made dinner for all of us?"
Well, it hadn't been the first time, but it was the first since Tennyson and Asher became permanent fixtures in her life. "That was painful." She snickered and poured two tablespoons of herbs into the pot. "You all pretended to like it until I had a taste and nearly threw up."
"Didn’t help that you were pregnant." He laughed as he plated the steaks. "Anything could set you off."
Sophie still couldn’t look at tuna without gagging, which was a shame. She used to love tuna melts. "It's been a cool little trip down memory lane, but now I'm starving." She added some more butter to the mashed potatoes, and then she walked over to Kayden. "Baby, I think it's time we get Daddy his gifts. You wanna help me?"
"Loon!" he shouted, clapping his hands. He stumbled off the couch and rushed toward her bedroom.
"What did he just call you?" Tennyson asked, shocked.
It was funny, and she merely laughed until their baby boy reappeared with the big balloon he'd picked out for Daddy.
"Loon, loon!" Kayden ran over to Tennyson, who understood now. "Daddy, loon!"
Sophie giggled and finished setting the table. "Don’t forget to give him the gifts, Kayden."
"I'm pretty sure Kayden wants the balloon for himself," Tennyson chuckled. "What do you say, bug? You wanna keep this safe for me?"
Kayden was over the moon, and he forgot his parents, because watching cartoons with his new balloon was more important.
"Just be careful," Sophie told him. "Remember what happened at the store?" He'd popped one by squeezing it, scaring himself and everyone else nearby in the process. But if the balloon stayed in the living room, where they could keep an eye on him, she wasn’t worried.
Sitting down at the head of the table, she filled their plates with steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, and plenty of salad. The latter was something Tennyson always managed to "forget," so she took it upon herself to make sure he ate greens, too.
It wasn’t only children who struggled with vegetables.
"Damn, this looks good." Tennyson sat down and took a swig of his beer.
"You practically made it."
"Don’t exaggerate." He gave her a look. "Here's an idea, though. How about we save Kayden's gift and the cake for tomorrow?"
"God, yes." Sophie nodded in thanks as he poured her wine. "I screwed up the schedule today. It's not like he's gonna notice, anyway. But you should open your gifts now."
What did you give a millionaire who could buy anything he wanted? Keepsakes.
Tennyson smiled faintly and reached for one of the boxes on the table, only to grin widely and chuckle when he saw what was inside. "This is priceless." He emptied the box and began sifting through the personalized items—phone cases, mouse pads, T-shirts, coffee mugs, pens, key rings, and much more. All with photos on them. "Ha! This one's hilarious." He held up a to-go mug with a photo of Sophie and Kayden making funny faces and holding up a sign that said "Caution: Hotness on the road."
"Zane helped us with the photos." Her personal favorite was one of the T-shirts. "Unfold the T-shirt. You can wear it when you go climbing."
He complied and laughed at the print. It was a diaper-clad Kayden, showing off painted-on abs and trying to look mad. On his belly were the words "My daddy's stronger than yours." Tennyson shook his head in amusement and then leaned over to kiss Sophie's cheek.
"There's one more." She pointed to the other box, this one smaller. "That one's from me, though feel free to prefer Kayden's."
"He's sort of hard to compete with." He winked then unwrapped the last gift. Tucked into a photo frame with a picture of him and Kayden was an envelope. "What's this?" He opened it and drew out a piece of paper.
"It's for one of those indoor climbing places." Sophie bit her lip, hoping he'd like it. "I reserved a wall for one day. You and Asher could show off your skills and maybe teach us a thing or two."
After getting over the anxiety of being out in public at the NBA game, she had realized how much she loved to do things with the people she'd come to see as family. Not only Kayden and Tennyson, but all of them. She hadn't gained friends. She'd gained family.
"We'll make a day of it." He leaned in again and pressed his lips to her cheek, lingering and gently cupping the back of her neck. Fuck. She missed him. God, she missed him. "Thank you for this, Sophie."
She exhaled shakily and managed a nod once he'd eased away. "Of course."
They were quiet for a beat, and Tennyson ate while he grinned and examined the gifts some more. Sophie ate too, but all she could think of was how badly she needed body contact. Everything from hugs and kisses to raw sex. She wanted sweet, carnal, affectionate, and wild.
"Oh, I almost forgot. I'll be right back." Tennyson stood up and crammed a piece of bread into his mouth. She watched him grab a paper bag in the hallway and return to the table. "I went over to Asher's earlier today to get you this." He was being all casual, but she detected a hint of apprehension in his eyes. She was pretty certain there was determination as well. "Did you ever read the article about you in Women's National?"
"Yes." It had taken her a while, but yeah. She'd read the damn thing. It wasn’t bad, but then again, the articles had never truly been the problem. "What about it?"
"So you know you the journalist called you brave, strong, and a good role model," he stated as he brought out a stack of printouts. "Here's what the readers think of that article."
He slid a piece of paper next to Sophie's plate, and she froze.
"Get that thing away from me."
What the fuck was he doing?
This couldn’t be happening. Her heart started drumming faster, and her hands got clammy. She had a publicist who half the industry was afraid of because she was so ruthless, and that was why Sophie loved her. She didn’t need Tennyson to handle anything remotely close to publicity.
"Fair enough. I'll read the comments out loud, then." He took the printout again, and before Sophie could bolt, he read the first one to her. "'I'm glad more actresses are stepping forward to tell the truth about the pressure. It's not all sunshine and roses in Hollywood.' Here's the next one. 'I'm gonna make sure my daughters see this article.' Another comment. 'Pierce has come a long way. Good for her.'"
