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“Really?” Her eyes brightened as she sat up straighter.

I nodded enthusiastically. “I’ll check with your dads. If they’re okay with it, I’ll be there! I remember those events at school. They sucked.”

“Who went with you?”

“No one. I was usually alone.”

Joey’s face dropped. “That’s not good.”

“It wasn’t. Now, eat your pasta, or no cookies.”

Joey groaned playfully but picked up her fork and started eating.

Gideon was the first to make it home. Joey was upstairs, trying to find her books, when I found him in the kitchen. He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close to him for a moment, burying his nose in my hair.

“Hey,” I greeted him with a tight smile, nerves coiling in my stomach. “Can I have a word with you for a moment about Joey?”

The alpha tensed, his face going from placid to tense. “Is everything okay?”

“It is!” I assured him. “It’s just…Well, today, Joey asked me to go to an event at her school, and I agreed. I should have asked you guys first, but I just felt for her and blurted out the words before I thought about them!”

“What event?”

“It sounds like the mothers come into the school and help set up a little carnival for the kids.”

Gideon frowned. “She asked you to go? We usually go to those things.”

I took a deep breath. “I think it’s moms only…”

“You’re not her mom—why would you agree to go to that?” His voice was sharp, and I couldn’t help but wince.

“I know I’m not, but the moment she asked me, all I could think about was how many times my school did mom-and-daughter events and I was all alone. It sucked, Gideon. I was always on the sidelines, and every time it happened, I feltterrible. I know I’m not Joey’s mom, but I care about her, and if I can help her feel a little less alone, then I would happily do it!”

“She really asked?” Gideon’s posture was still tense. I desperately wanted to know what was running through his mind.

I nodded. “I should have asked you first, I know. My heart just broke for her, remembering my own childhood. Even though you guys are far more involved in her life than my fathers ever were.”

“You don’t talk about your family much…Was it really that bad, being raised by just fathers?”

The vulnerability in his voice was palpable. He wasn’t asking about me; he was asking out of concern for his own daughter.

I cocked my head to the side, thinking for a moment before speaking. “Yes and no. On the one hand, I certainly missed my mother, and she left a gaping hole in my life. Never having anyone to go shopping with or to teach me to do my hair or nails wasn’t fun.”

His brows knitted together. “I hate that you had to experience that. You deserved better. Do you see your family much now?”

I scrunched my nose. “I honestly want to avoid them. I only go back out of obligation. That won’t be the case for your family, though. My fathers never made an effort. Cullen learned to braid hair better than most for Joey, and I saw the wardrobe full of princess dresses from when she was a toddler.”

“We’ve done our best.”

“And Joey is a fantastic little girl,” I assured him.

“But we’re failing if she doesn’t feel like she can ask us to these events.”

I shook my head. “No, speaking from experience, it’s not like that at all. Joey thinks you guys hung the moon, rightfully so. You are some of the most attentive fathers I’ve ever met, butthese school events…frankly, they suck, and little kids suck. Joey didn’t ask me because she would rather have me there over any of you guys. It’s simply because I have a pair of tits, and the other kids would tease her if she brought a dad.”

Gideon’s eyes widened. “They would tease her?”

I nodded sheepishly. “Yeah, children are seriously assholes.”