Page 81 of Manny Included

“Are you?That’s cool.Are you gonna do something dressy for Halloween?”

She looked at him.“A party!Gonna have a big dress.”

“Oh, okay.I like big dresses.”

“Yay!Big dresses!”

“Merry!”Belle hissed at her sister.

“Oh!It’s a secret party!”Merida said.

“A secret party?It’s not secret, baby, it’s trick-or-treat.”

Merida looked utterly confused, but Belle nodded.“Totally.Do you want to come see this thing?Merry?”

The little girl nodded, going right to her sister.“Tricky treat?”

“It’s okay,” Belle whispered.“Don’t worry about it.”

Okay, something was definitely going on.Now he just had to decide if he needed to be worried about it.

“Is everything all right, honey?”he asked her.“You’re good?”

She met his eyes and nodded.“Yes, Uncle Petey.”

Well then.He supposed he didn’t need to worry about it.She had answered honestly, no attempt to hide anything.

Bay came down from his office.“Man, am I glad it’s Friday.”

“Oh, me too.”It was their night to have supper, and the kids liked it because they got chicken fingers and fries.

Bay stopped at the bottom of the stairs and gave him a warm smile.“Look at you.”

He glanced down at himself, curious.“I… I look okay?”

“You look amazing.”Bay walked up to him and gave him a kiss, soft and sweet.

Oh, he did like that, very much.“Thank you, love.I appreciate it.”

“It’s the truth.”Rubbing their noses together, Bay smiled.“I’ve taken care of dinner tonight.”

“Oh?Excellent.”He couldn’t wait.He loved when Bay surprised him.

“And we’re all going to eat together tonight,” Bay added casually.

“Oh?”He fought not to be disappointed.He loved their quiet adult time, but he wouldn’t hurt Bay’s or the kids’ feelings.

“Yep.The kids wanted to join us tonight.”Bay smiled over at where Merida was still huddled with Belle and Eric.

“That’s amazing.Do I need to put out some blankets or something?”

“I’m pretty sure Belle is getting the dining table set.”

The dining table.So many different things.Wow.“Excellent.So, what should I do?”

“Noffing.Come and snuggle me.”Merida took his hand and tugged.

He let her take him over to the couch, and he sat.She immediately climbed into his lap.