Page 18

“T his french toast is good, Lainey,” Sienna tells me.

“So good,” Selena moans as she shoves more into her mouth, making me laugh.

“I’m glad you think so. Are you guys ready for your math test today?”

Both girls groan.

“Why did you have to remind us?” Sienna whines.

“We were having such a good morning too,” Selena adds.

Shaking my head, I laugh. “Sorry.”

“No you’re not,” they say in unison.

The sound of boots coming down the hall has me tensing and the girls perking up.

“Morning, girls,” Midnight says as he walks over to them, kissing the crown of their heads.

“Morning, Daddy,” they say in unison.

“I’m surprised you’re awake,” I blurt out without thinking about it. “You were out late,” I say, trying to backtrack.

The corner of his lips twitches as he shoots me a look that says I’m full of shit.

“Yeah, well, I wanted to see the girls before they go to school, and I owe you an apology.”

Sienna and Selena both whip their heads toward their father.

“What do you mean, you owe her an apology?” Selena asks.

“What did you do, Daddy?” Sienna asks, her voice full of disappointment.

“I was in a bad mood last night, and I took it out on Lainey. I said something I shouldn’t have,” he says without looking away from me. “I’m sorry for that. You did nothing to deserve the way I treated you.”

I scan his face looking for any sign of deception but none shows. He’s sincerely apologizing for either what we did or what he said after, I’m not sure which.

I wave my hand through the air. “It was nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

“But I do,” he stresses.

“Daddy, you need to be more careful with your words,” Sienna scolds.

Selena nods. “Words have meaning and can hurt people. You can’t hurt Lainey, Daddy.”

“Or she might go away and we don’t want that,” Sienna adds.

“Yeah, we need her,” Selena finishes, making me speechless.

There are no words to describe how it makes me feel knowing that they want me in their lives and knowing they would miss me if I was gone.

A look of panic crosses Midnight’s face. “I…” he stumbles.

I should let him handle this on his own, but for some reason I feel like I need to step in.

“Girls.” I wait until they look at me. “Sometimes in the heat of the moment someone might say something they don’t mean. Yes, your dad hurt my feelings last night, but he sincerely apologized, and I’ve accepted it. I’m not going anywhere unless he makes me.” My eyes flash up to his. “Which he’s not.”

Midnight clears his throat. “Exactly, and it won’t happen again.”

“Are you sure?” Selena presses.

“I’m sure. Now why don’t you two go get your shoes on? We’re running late.”

The girls jump up and ditch their plates in the sink before running off to do what I asked.

I move to the sink to wash the plates off but Midnight cuts me off.

“Let me.”

“Are you sure? I don’t mind.”

“I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t sure.”

“Okay…” I turn to leave, but he stops me.

“Did you mean it?”

Sighing, I lean against the counter next to him. “Of course I meant it. There’s no hard feelings, Midnight.”

“I fucking hate myself for making you look the way you did last night,” he rasps as he shuts off the water.

“Let’s be real, we don’t know each other really well yet, so we’re bound to say things from time to time that we don’t mean. As long as we apologize when we mess up, everything will be okay. Besides, I think I can take some heated words from you from time to time after everything you’ve done for me.”

Midnight frowns and turns to look at me, his arms crossing over his chest. “What do you mean?”

I shrug. “You’ve been saving me since I met you. You knew I needed a job, so you gave me one. When you found out I was kicked out of my apartment, you gave me a safe place to land. You didn’t have to do that, but you did because you are a good guy.” I take a deep breath. “And I owe you an apology as well.”

“For what?” he asks, looking completely confused.

“I might have been a little harsh last night with my dig about me raising the girls,” I say quietly.

Pain dances across his face, but he shakes his head. “Did it hurt to hear? Fuck yes, but you weren’t wrong. You spend more time with them than I do.”

“Yeah, but you have a lot going on right now. You didn’t expect for them to move in with you without any notice. You have a crazy schedule at the shop. Add on the stuff with the club, and it’s obvious you’re stretched a little thin.”

He shakes his head. “That’s no excuse, and we both know it. I couldn’t do this without you.”

“Yes, you could.”

He levels me with a look. “No, I couldn’t. You might think that I saved you the night we met, but you’ve been saving my ass ever since. You’re a blessing to this family, and we appreciate you. Fuck, the girls love you.”

“I love them too,” I say softly.

His eyes darken. “You don’t know how much I like hearing that, Flower.”

“You’re a good dad, Midnight.”

“You’re a good nanny, Lainey.”

I duck my head to hide my smile. I know he’s just saying it to be nice, but it’s nice to hear. It’s nice for everything I’ve done to be noticed.

The girls come running down the hall and interrupt before Midnight or I can say anything else.

“Ready?”

“Yep. Just let me grab my bag,” I tell them before looking over at their dad. “See you at the shop?”

“Yeah, I’ll meet you there.”

“You don’t have an appointment until noon,” I can’t help but point out.

“Yeah, but we both know I have some shit to do before that.”

“Okay, I’ll see you soon.”

While the girls say goodbye to their dad, I head toward the door.

I feel his eyes on me all the way out to my car, and as wrong as it is, I like it.

The tattoo gun buzzes in my hand, and the canvas underneath lays still. As I etch the tattoo into their skin, I can’t help but think about Lainey.

Somehow that sweet woman wormed her way under my skin, and there’s nothing I can do about it. She’s everywhere I look and in every room I enter. The only thing I would change is the way I treated her and the way I’ve been taking advantage of her kindness. I regret the way I spoke to her last night and the way sadness filled her eyes because of my actions, but I don’t regret kissing her or the way she crawled into my lap.

I fucking loved every minute of my hands on her and the way her body moved against mine. It was perfection.

I know she said she forgave me, but I still need to make it right. I need to prove to her that I see her and that I’m thankful for everything she’s done for not only the girls but for me as well. She’s kept our ship afloat while I’ve been distracted.

I want her. Plain and simple. Now I just need to find a way to show her that I’m serious about having her. Especially after I was an ass and made a big deal about our age difference. I used to think the saying age is just a number was a boldfaced lie and a cop-out for dating someone you shouldn’t, but Lainey has proven me otherwise.

She’s wise beyond her years and has a better work ethic than most people my age. Even though she hasn’t mentioned it, it’s become obvious that she craves stability, and that’s something I can give her. I can make her feel safe and secure when the world is anything but. I want to do that for her.

“You okay man?” Bullet asks, pulling me out of my head.

I pull the tattoo gun away and wipe his skin. Thank fuck I didn’t mess anything up while lost in my head.

“Yeah, I’m good. How are you holding up?”

Bullet shrugs. “I’m good.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t bring Harlee with you.”

His jaw clenches. “She’s busy with Honk right now.”

I get back to work. “Do I want to know?”

“Probably not,” he mutters.

“Tell me anyway.”

Bullet blows out a breath as he tries to find his words. “It’s hard watching someone I looked at as a father figure ignore his child because he’s so lost in his pain, but at the same time, I can’t blame him. Harlee, man, she’s just so angry. They both are.”

“We should probably step in before it’s too late,” I admit.

“Probably. Shit, the only reason she’s still going to class is because I fucking drag her there every morning, and I walk her to each class when I can.”

“That’s not your responsibility,” I point out as I wipe his arm again.

Bullet looks at me. “Would you let someone you care about ruin their life if you could stop it?”

“I would like to think I wouldn’t.”

“Exactly.”

I start working on his arm again, letting the topic lie. I’ll make sure to bring it up to Reaper later.

“So what’s going on with you?” he asks after a moment.

“What do you mean?” I grumble.

“How’s life with the twins?”

“Fuck, man, I can’t describe what it feels like coming home to them every night. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted,” I admit.

“They are lucky to have you.”

I wince. “It doesn’t feel like that lately with all the shit going on.”

“Fucking Dansworth,” he mutters, shaking his head.

“You can say that again.”

“And the nanny?”

“What about Lainey?” I look up at him, tension in my tone.

Bullet raises a brow. “How are things going with her?”

“What are you now, my therapist?” I joke.

“I mean, shit, we all need someone to talk to, right? Besides, it’s not like I can go anywhere right now,” he quips, making me chuckle.

I try to describe Lainey and my feelings for her, but I don’t know how. How do you describe someone who takes up every moment in your brain?

“Let me guess, you’ve become one of those romance books the girls like so much where the dude falls for the nanny.”

“Does it make me a fucking pervert for wanting her?”

“Nah, as long as it’s mutual and she’s legal, what’s the big deal? You’re only human.”

I eye the kid in front of me. I don’t know how someone who’s partially well-adjusted ended up with us, but I’ll take it.

“I don’t want her to feel pressured into something,” I confess.

Bullet frowns. “Has she hinted at something? Has something happened?”

I shake my head before he can finish his line of questioning. “No, nothing like that. It’s just a tricky situation where she works and lives with me. I don’t want to take advantage of her.”

“Midnight, out of all the guys in the club, you are the least likely to take advantage of someone or do something they don’t want. I’ve heard you ask for consent from sweetbutts multiple times before taking them back to your room, when we all know sex is why they are there,” he points out. “If the feelings are mutual and you guys are on the same page, stop holding back and fucking go for it, man. You deserve a little bit of happiness.”

“Even if it’s with the nanny?”

A smirk covers his face. “Even with the fuckin’ nanny. Just know, though, that the guys are going to give you hell once they find out.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “You aren’t going to tell them shit.”

“Are you sure about that?” he quips.

“Remember who’s holding the tattoo gun here in this relationship, kid.”

“I’m not worried. You would die before you let someone leave here with a bad tattoo.”

He’s not wrong. He’s not fucking wrong at all.

Shaking my head, I get back to work with only one thing on my mind. How do I win her over and prove that I’m serious about seeing where this goes?

“Oh, and Midnight?”

“Yeah?”

“Chicks dig flowers.”

“Noted.”

Flowers. That sounds easy enough. I can totally get flowers for my flower. The bigger question is what will come after the flowers.