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He cradled me with one arm, holding my son with the other. “I missed you too, baby,” he whispered back. He met my eyes. “I want you to know I choose you, Larkin. I choose you and this family. And you can wonder all you want if you need to, but I’m sure, baby. I’m sure. And I’ll show up every day to show you just how sure I am.”
And as I met his blue eyes, full of emotions, I knew he was telling the truth. It didn’t matter what anyone thought of us, because we had each other, and we had his family, and we had my children, who were looking up at him with all the adoration I felt in my heart.
“Thank you,” I told him.
He looked at me. “For what?”
“For helping Jackson find his voice—and for helping both of us find our feet. And for showing me what it feels like to truly have a home.”
He leaned in, giving me a kiss that may have been short but held so much emotion I had to smile against his lips.
I’d never been happier. Because finally.Finally. I knew I was with a man who saw love as something real.
49
KNOX
TWO MONTHS LATER
I wasat Larkin’s place rolling a ball across the floor with the kids while she made supper when her phone rang. I watched from the living room as her expression pinched at the name on the screen.
“Who is it?” I asked.
She glanced at me, saying, “Ancy-nay.”
I chuckled at her use of Pig Latin. “Ice-nay.”
Emily gave me a weird look over the big inflatable bouncy ball. “The ice is in the freezer, Knox.”
She’d only been in kindergarten for a short while, but she’d already grown up so much and was speaking in longer sentences. That sass would always be there, though, just like her mama. She rolled the ball over to me.
Larkin brought her phone to her ear, offering a tentative, “Hello?” Leaning back against the counter, she had her arm over her chest. “I see.”
Oof. “I see” was never a good thing in mom speak.
“So, you refused to watch them and now you want to visit them?” she asked.
I hid a wince as I rolled the ball back to Jackson. I didn’t want them to glom on to Larkin while she tried to have a conversation because they sensed something wrong from me.
“Of course I’ll let you see them,” Larkin said. Her voice was firm as she added, “However, it will be at my house. You’re all welcome to come over for supper this weekend.”
Now my eyebrows rose, but I kept my gaze down on the blue and white marbled bouncy ball rolling my way.You’re all welcome?I wondered to myself,Did that mean what I thought it meant?
“One moment,” she said, then she waved me over while holding the phone to her chest. “Can you be here for dinner Sunday after the game?” she whispered. “The andparents-gray and eth-Say want to come over for dinner.”
Concern knit my brows together. “Are you sure you want them all here?” I whispered back. “We could do it at my place.”
“We?” she asked, a small smile playing along her lips.
“You know it’s you and me, babe.”
She gave me a thankful half-smile, then drew the phone back to her ear. “Knox will be here. It will be a great chance for everyone to bond.” She went back around the corner, and I could hear the spatula over the pan as she stirred dinner.
“You two play,” I said to Em and Jackson, then went to Larkin, hugging her from behind and dropping a kiss on the cheek opposite her phone.
“Yes, he will be here. This is my home,” she said.
Damn straight. I was proud of her for standing up for herself. She’d walked on eggshells with them before, not wanting to lose her childcare. But now that she was covered, she had no reason to accept less respect than she deserved.