Page 68 of A Little Crush (The Little Things #6)

RORY

“ J axon!” I squeal. He boops my nose with the tip of his vanilla ice cream cone one more time for good measure. “Seriously?”

Way too proud of himself, he laughs, licking the ice cream in his hand as the monkeys squawk around us while I wipe the cold, sticky milk from my nose, giving Jaxon a mock glare.

“You know I owe you now,” I tell him.

“Do you?”

“Mm-hmm.” I bump his hip with mine, shoving him to the side as I take over pushing Poppy’s stroller. “Come on, Pops. Let’s go see which monkey looks the most like your dad.”

“Ha, ha, very funny!” Jaxon calls from behind us.

My mouth spreads into a grin.

It’s been a few weeks since we told everyone about us, and the freedom it’s brought is out of this world. We even went to Sunday brunch with everyone a few days ago, and no one batted an eye. If anything, they took turns making jokes about what took us so long .

I loved it.

Iris has decided I don’t exist and only talks to Jaxon. Not that it’s very different from the way she handled everything before Jaxon told her we’re officially dating, but I won’t complain. Things are…happy. And steady. And so freaking perfect I could cry.

Jaxon doesn’t need to be at the arena for a few more hours, so we decided to take full advantage of the free time by going to the local zoo. It’s nice to soak up what’s left of the fresh, unseasonably warm air, and the snack isn’t bad, either, even if some of it did end up on my nose.

Ever since we came out to my parents, Jaxon’s been…

different. More open, I guess? It’s like he’s finally embraced our relationship fully, and it’s been incredible.

Or maybe the transition really happened in Harden Heights.

When we talked about dreams and what we want out of life, realizing the other person played a role in our future, even if we were scared to fully embrace it at the time.

Not anymore, though. And it’s scary and exciting and every other emotion a girl like me can feel with a guy like Jaxon. When we reach the apes, I park the stroller in front of the glass, then squat down beside Poppy, pointing out the great, big silverback near the back of the space.

“That’s the one, right Pops? The one who looks like daddy?”

Jaxon squats on Poppy’s opposite side. “Don’t listen to her, baby. Your dad is a lion, not an ape.”

I give him the side-eye. “Maybe a buffoon who gets eaten by a lion.”

His laugh cuts me off. “You think you’re cute, don’t you?”

Batting my lashes, I grin back at him. “The cutest?—”

“Excuse me,” someone interrupts.

I look behind me, my eyes widening when I notice someone from the zoo standing behind us. Feeling like I just got caught doing something I shouldn’t, I start to stand, an apology rolling off my tongue like it’s the most natural thing in the world. “Oh, I am so sorry. Are we in the way?”

“Not at all.” The stranger lifts his camera. “I take photos for the zoo’s website. Do you mind if I take a few photos of your adorable family?”

Family?

He thinks we’re a family?

“Oh. Uh.” I turn to Jaxon and shrug, unsure what to say.

“Sure, we’d love to,” Jaxon offers. “What do you need from us?”

“Perfect!” the photographer says. “Let’s see…” His attention shifts from Jax, to Poppy, to me. “Mom, if you want to hold your daughter instead of having her in the stroller, that would be great.”

Like a bolt of lightning striking out of nowhere, my body jolts in surprise.

The photographer using the term family was one thing, but Mom?

The assumption steals the breath from my lungs, catching me off guard.

And maybe it shouldn’t. I’m sure from the outside looking in, we appear to be the picture perfect family.

But the truth is a lot messier than that, isn’t it?

I look at Jax, curious if he heard the photographer’s comment.

How does he feel? Does it bother him? Someone making an assumption like this?

We’re not wearing rings, but there are plenty of families without the binding agreement of marriage. Does it scare him? Should it scare him?

Jaxon rounds the stroller and slips his hand around my waist. “Hey, Mama, you good?”

So, he did hear.

And he was okay with it. So much so, he isn’t even kindly correcting the photographer. He’s leaning into it. And I don’t know why, but it kind of makes me want to cry .

“Yeah,” I breathe out. I wipe beneath my nose with the back of my hand, then sneak a peek at the photographer.

He must think I’m a wacko.

“Sorry, let me just…” I undo Poppy’s buckle, pull her out of the stroller, and prop her on my hip.

“Perfect,” the photographer announces. “Let’s have you stand right over here.” He motions to the right side of the glass. “Mom, twist Baby around so she’s facing me. Dad, put your arm around Mom. And then everyone look at the camera.”

We follow his instructions, posing for the photo as the photographer uses a squeaky toy to convince Poppy to look at the camera. Fiddling with the buttons on his device, the photographer snaps a few more pictures, then lowers the camera and smiles. “These are great. Thank you so much!”

“Anytime,” Jaxon returns. He kisses the top of Poppy’s head, then kisses mine as the worker leaves the ape area in search of another family to photograph. “You can stop looking like a deer in the headlights now.”

I grimace. “Was I that bad?”

“A little.” His chuckle softens the blow of his words. “You okay?”

“Yeah, he just caught me off guard, I guess.”

“Me, too,” Jax admits. “Not sure why, though.”

I twist around so we’re facing the exhibit, and Poppy kicks her feet, leaning forward to press her hands to the glass as the gorilla strides closer to us.

Distracted, I ask, “What do you mean?”

“I mean, you look like Poppy’s mom. The blonde hair. The way you hold her. Talk to her. Make her smile.” He shrugs. “It makes sense he’d assume you’re her mom.”

The easy way he says it, like we’re talking about the weather or something, makes me pause.

“Are you okay with it?” I ask .

“Are you okay with it?” he tosses back at me, but there’s a lightness in his words that eases the knot inside of me.

Shifting Poppy to my opposite hip, I argue, “You answer first.”

His mouth lifts. “Of course I’m okay with it.”

“You’re sure?”

“Shit, Rore.” He shakes his head and moves closer, wrapping his arms around me and his baby girl until we’re in a makeshift group hug in the middle of the apes building.

“Do you know how happy that made me? Hearing him call you Mom? It makes me think…” He shakes his head again as if he’s in disbelief.

“It makes me think that we can do this for real. You, me, and Pops.”

“You, me, and Pops,” I repeat.

“Yeah.”

“And that’s what you want?”

I don’t know why I push it. Maybe I shouldn’t.

But I can’t help myself. I love Poppy more than anything in the world.

I would literally die for her. But being her mom?

Slipping into that position, even if it’s part-time?

Let alone knowing it’s what Jaxon might want, too?

It’s scary. The good scary. The life-altering scary.

The kind of scary that feels a hell of a lot like my childhood crush on the man in front of me.

He tilts his head. “Are you still questioning my feelings for you, Beautiful?”

“Not in general,” I argue, looking down at Poppy in my arms. “Just in… this way. The mom-role way. The non-employment way.”

With a subtle curve of his mouth, he leans in for a kiss, dragging his cheek along Poppy’s soft hair as he holds my gaze. “I want it more than you can even imagine.”