Page 20

“T ime to get up,” I say softly as I try to wake up the girls. I bite back a smile when they protest.

“Do we have to?” Selena mumbles as she buries her face into her pillow.

“Today’s a school day, but it’s almost the weekend, and then you can sleep in as long as you want,” I tell her. “Now hurry up.”

I leave their room and walk toward the kitchen. I missed my alarm this morning, so the girls won’t get a big breakfast like I typically do. Instead they will have to settle for something fast. I slip into the pantry to see what we have when I feel him come up behind me, stealing my breath.

“What are you…” I ask as he shuts the pantry door behind him.

Midnight turns toward me and pushes me against the shelves as he kisses me. I can’t help but moan. He takes the opportunity and runs his tongue along mine. My hand makes its way into the back of his hair, and he moves his thigh in between my legs. Kissing Midnight is always an experience, but this time feels a little different with the way the shelves are biting into my back.

We’re so lost in each other we don’t even hear the door open.

“Are you two making out?” Selena says.

“Does this mean you’re together?” Sienna adds.

Gasping for air, we both turn and look at the girls.

“I had something in my eye, and your dad was just helping me,” I blurt out.

Midnight’s fingers flex on the back of my neck.

Selena raises a brow. “Seriously?”

“As a heart attack.”

The twins share a look and have a silent conversation that Midnight and I aren’t privy to. They nod at the same time and turn back toward us.

“So what’s for breakfast?”

“Cereal,” Midnight says gruffly. He reaches above me and pulls down a box of their favorite cereal and hands it over. “We’ll be right out,” he tells them.

The twins, bless them, shut the door as they leave, giving us a moment to ourselves.

“Your eye, seriously?” he mutters.

“It’s the first thing I thought of!” I whisper-hiss, making him chuckle.

“Well, I’ll check your eye anytime you want,” he quips, making me roll my eyes.

“Let’s go out there,” I say as I push him back.

With my head down, I walk out of the pantry first. For some reason, I can’t bring myself to look at the girls.

What if they are upset that their dad and I were making out? What if they hate me for it? From what little they’ve said about their mom and dad, I know they have never wished their parents would get back together, but still, stranger things have happened. I just don’t want them to hate me or think that I’m only hanging around for him when really, they are the two keeping me here.

“How’s your cereal?” Midnight asks.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watch as he walks over to them and drops a kiss on each of their heads before walking back toward me.

“Good,” the twins say in unison.

Midnight nods. “Glad to hear it. Coffee, Flower?”

“Yes, please,” I say quietly.

Midnight pours me a cup and doctors it up the way I like, leaving me speechless. How did he know?

“I’ve been watching you,” he says softly before kissing the side of my head, stealing my breath.

“Thank you,” I tell him as he leans against the counter next to me.

“Anything exciting happening at school today?” Midnight asks them.

“No,” Selena says.

“Nothing at all?” he challenges.

Sienna shakes her head. “Well, our history teacher told us yesterday that she wouldn’t be in today because she has a doctor’s appointment. She said that we would have a movie day instead.”

“A movie day? Seriously?” Midnight grumbles.

“Stop it. We both had movie days in school from time to time,” I say, even though I don’t know if he did.

I mean, surely if I did he did as well, right?

“I mean, yeah, but I would have thought with technology being what it is, they would have had a game plan for more than just watching a movie.”

“Are you two really talking about school right now when we could be talking about what we saw in the pantry?” Selena asks.

“You shouldn’t be messing around in the pantry anyway, it’s probably considered a health hazard,” Sienna adds, making me groan.

Midnight reaches out and squeezes my shoulder while he chuckles.

“Your dad and I are just friends,” I say lamely.

“Friends who want to fuck,” he whispers in my ear.

I elbow him in the ribs, making him grunt. “Not the time,” I hiss.

“Friends don’t kiss friends,” Selena says helpfully.

I open my mouth, but no words come out. I don’t know what to say. I don’t know how to explain this to the girls when I don’t even know myself what’s going on between us. This shit is confusing.

“Look, Lainey and I are friends who sometimes kiss. We care about each othe and that’s all you need to know for now. If things change, we will let you know. Just know that whatever happens between her and I will have no effect on your relationship with her. It’s strictly between us, okay?” Midnight says.

The twins share another look, and I can’t help but wish I could be inside their heads so I know what’s going on.

“Okay, but for the record, we are cool with you two, ‘seeing where things go,’” Selena tells us.

“Thanks, so glad we have your approval,” Midnight deadpans.

Sighing, I look at the clock and see we are once again running behind schedule. “Come on, girls, we have to get to school or we will be late.”

I push off the counter to walk away, but Midnight reaches out and grabs my hand, pulling me into him. He leans down and kisses me softly.

“I’ll see you at the shop.”

“Yep,” I squeak before rushing off.

Is running away from a guy like Midnight the smartest move I’ve ever made? Probably not, but I need some time to figure out how I feel about this latest development.

“How have you been, Hendrix? Did the tour go well?” I ask my client.

Hendrix St. James is part of the band Bad Habits, a widow, and a single dad. I met him years ago before his band took off when he and his deceased wife came in for wedding ring tattoos. I’ve always avoided matching couple’s tattoos, but for them I made an exception. I just knew they would always be together, and I felt horrible when I heard that she died.

“The tour was a tour, man.” He shakes his head, avoiding my first question, but I let it slide. “I’m happy to be home for a bit. Provide a little bit of stability for Felix,” he says, mentioning his son.

“He happy to be home?”

“You know it. How are you and the girls? Your ex still holding them over your head?”

About a year after his wife died, he came in for a tattoo. He stuck around after it was done, and we got shitfaced and talked about how our lives aren’t what we thought they would be. I told him things I have never told my brothers, and while sometimes that makes me feel like shit, it makes sense. He understands what I’m going through in a way the guys don’t.

“Actually…she dropped the girls off one day and bounced. Haven’t heard or seen her in weeks.”

Hendrix looks over at me with wide eyes. “No shit?”

“No shit.”

“That’s fuckin’ awesome, man. I mean, for you. It sucks for the girls and everything, but man, you’ve wanted them with you forever.”

“The girls have adjusted to the transition better than I have. I feel like I’m fuckin’ failing them with how much I work,” I admit.

Hendrix shakes his head. “Nah, none of that. Those girls know you love them, and they are old enough to know that you have to work to provide for them. You got anyone helping you?”

“Lainey is helping me with them.”

His eyebrows jump up. “The girl at the front desk?”

“That’s her. The girls love her.”

“What about you?”

I take my time as I wipe off his tattoo to check my progress. “I like her. The situation is a little messier than I would like, but I can’t do anything about it.”

“Yeah, you can’t help who you fall for,” he says, full of anguish.

“Have you started dating yet?” I ask, even though I know the answer.

“You know I have no plans of ever dating.”

“She was a good woman. She wouldn’t want you to be alone for the rest of your life,” I tell him softly.

I’ve said it time and time again, and I’ll keep telling him until it sinks in. His wife said it herself when I was tattooing them. I don’t know if she knew she would die young or what, but at the time I thought it was incredibly fucked that she told him she would want him to move on if she died young while I put a mark on her hand, claiming her as his.

“Yeah, well, she’s not here to kick my ass over my life choices anymore,” he says bitterly.

I know the conversation isn’t going anywhere, so I change the subject. We talk about where all they went on tour and what they saw. He tells me about a crazy lady in Dublin who somehow made it on stage and they had to be escorted off until she could be contained.

Time passes by as I finish up his new ink.

“All right, you are done. Need me to go over the directions?” I joke.

“Yes, because I have no idea what to do when it comes to a tattoo. Will you show me?” he deadpans as he looks down at his ink-covered body.

I shake my head and laugh. After he settles the bill, he sneaks out through the back, and I clean up my station. I head out front to see what’s going on and find that it’s empty.

Shit, is it really after four? I think as I stare at the clock. Lainey is probably just getting home with the girls after picking them up from school. Reaching into my pocket, I pull out my phone.

Me: Did you girls get home okay?

Lainey: Yep. The girls are already sitting out on the patio doing their homework. Once they are finished, I told them we can paint each other’s nails.

Me: Sounds like fun. I’ll see you guys when I get home.

When the bell on the door chimes, I put my phone away. “Hey, how can I…” I trail off when I look up and see her.

“Midnight…” Miranda hisses, arms crossed.

“So, you’re alive.”

She rolls her eyes. “Of course I’m alive. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Maybe because you haven’t answered my calls or texts? Or maybe because you cleaned your place out and bounced weeks ago after leaving my girls with someone they don’t know,” I say quietly as the anger I’ve been carrying comes back in full force.

“Like I told you, it’s your turn to raise them.”

“Why are you here then, Miranda?”

“Because you stopped paying me,” she yells.

Stepping forward, I grab her arm and pull her to the back of the shop. Once we are safely tucked away in my office, I turn on her. “You are here for money? That’s it? You don’t want to know how the girls are or anything?” I ask in disbelief.

I don’t know why I’m surprised, but I am.

“You owe me,” she hisses.

“I don’t owe you shit, Miranda. Obviously I was going to stop sending you child support when they fuckin’ live with me,” I say, hitting my chest.

She points her finger at me. “You are going to keep paying me, or I’m going to take them back.”

“That’s not how it works.”

Wickedness flashes through her eyes. “I have friends in high places, Michael. I can take the girls away from you within the blink of an eye. Don’t tempt me.”

“You wouldn’t.”

She cocks her head to the side. “Wouldn’t I?”

As much as I hate the woman in front of me, I know she’s not lying. She would do anything to get her way. She’s a selfish bitch who only cares about herself and no one else. Miranda would take the girls from me just to get her way, and I know it. She’s not bluffing.

“How much?” I grit out, my hands clenching at my sides.

“That’s what I thought. Twenty-five hundred. Preferably in cash.” She smirks.

“That’s more than I ever paid you before.”

“Tick, tock…”

My hands are tied. Fucking tied behind my back. I don’t want to pay her, but it’s the only way to ensure my girls stay with me. So I’ll dance with the devil even though it’s the last fucking thing I want to do.

Reaching into my pocket, I pull out the fifteen hundred Hendrix just gave me and hand it over. “Step, out and I’ll get you the rest.”

Miranda rolls her eyes but does as I ask. With the door shut, I walk over to the painting and pull it away from the wall, revealing the safe I have built into the wall. Quickly I open it and grab some cash. After putting the painting back, I go to the door and shove the money at her.

Miranda smiles as she takes it. “Nice doing business with you, Midnight. I’ll see you again soon.”

I watch as my evil fucking ex bounces out of my shop as if she didn’t just extort me.

I fucking hate that bitch.