Page 26 of Sex, Lies, and Margarita Mixes

TRIAL RUN PARENTS

ROXY

Vivian

Reminder, you said y’all would keep the kids today.

Rolling over, I squint at the phone screen and try to blink the sleep from my head. “Huh? What kids?”

Chase groans into the pillow. “My niece and nephew, of course. She’s got work and the babysitter canceled.”

I sit up slowly. “Wait. We’re babysitting?”

He rubs his face. “I told her we could handle it.”

I blink again. “Chase. We’re not even equipped to keep a cactus alive.”

He grins sleepily. “Babe. It’s two kids. We can handle it.”

I stare at him. “How old are they again? They’re like little.”

“Four and six.” He deadpans watching me.

“Four and six?!” I screech.

What the hell?

Who would give me a small human and think I was capable of taking care of it?

This is going to be so bad.

He kisses my temple and chuckles. “You’ve handled nightmare brides, Rox. You can handle a couple of hellions. We’ll be fine.” His tone says he’s second-guessing that confidence.

I flop back onto the bed. “This is gonna end in a hellacious mess and horror.”

At 9:30, Chase’s sister drops them off. Bella is a whirlwind in a tutu clutching a stuffed frog that weirdly looks like a stubby penis. Liam is solemnly clutching a toy dinosaur and looking at me like he’s uncertain of my abilities.

Me, too, lil dude. Me, too.

“Be good for Uncle Chase and Aunt Roxy,” Chase’s sister calls as she practically runs out the door.

“Bye, Mommy!” Bella yells, immediately dumping an entire container of beads I didn’t even see her with onto the floor. They spread into a ten-foot area.

I stare at the mess. “That feels symbolic .”

Chase laughs and ruffles Liam’s hair. “What do you guys wanna do first?”

Liam shrugs. “TV?”

Bella tugs on my hand. “I wanna bake cupcakes!”

Chase looks at me with a twinkle in his eye. “Kitchen’s yours, babe.”

I point at him. “You’re helping.”

He salutes. “Yes, chef.”

I mutter, “You’re the cook. I just look hot beside you.”

Half an hour later, I walk into the kitchen after sending an email. My eyes widen. It looks like a frosting bomb exploded. I think one did.

Bella’s face is covered in pink buttercream and sprinkles. Liam is also licking a spoon. And Chase is attempting to wipe batter… off the ceiling.

The hell? How did that get up there?

“Did you let her use the mixer unsupervised?!” I ask.

He shrugs and continues to clean, unaware of just how fine he looks with his hair all disheveled, frosting on his cheek and the front of his shirt, and flour on his nose. “She said she’d done it before.”

I blink at him. “You asked her? She’s four!”

He grins. “Prodigy?”

“Chaos goblin.” I mutter.

Bella beams proudly holding out a cupcake with a pound of icing and half a bottle of sprinkles towards me. “I made this for you!”

I sigh, unable to stop the huge smile that spreads over my face. “You did? Just for me?”

That is the sweetest thing. Ever.

She nods enthusiastically. “I made it pretty all by myself.”

I take a huge bite.

At noon, we order pizza from the pizzeria on the corner.

At 12:30, Chase and Liam build a blanket fort while Bella insists on giving me a “makeover.” Which apparently means super pigmented shimmery eyeshadow that covers my entire lid up into my brows, black eyeshadow as blush, ten different lip glosses that continue halfway down my chin, and a tiara.

When Chase peeks into the bathroom, he bursts out laughing. “Babe… you look like a drag queen and a clown had sex and made a baby.”

I glare. “Say that again and you’re sleeping in the fort tonight.”

He waggles his brows, rakes his gaze over me, and winks. “Only if you join me. We can role play.”

I bust out laughing and mutter, “Something is wrong with you. You’re into drag queens and clowns now?”

“I’m into you.” He blows me a kiss.

After lunch and a triple face cleansing, we walk them to the public park near our place.

Bella immediately bolts toward the swings, Liam climbs halfway up the jungle gym and freezes.

“I’m stuck!” he calls, his voice full of six-year-old fear.

Chase jogs over while I stay with Bella, pushing her on the swings. They’re next to each other, so I hear him talk to Liam. “Buddy, you’re not stuck. You’re just scared. I’ve got you. Come down the same way you got up.”

Liam whimpers. “I’m too scared. I’m gonna fall.”

Chase shakes his head. “You’re not gonna fall. You got up there, you just have to take your time to get down. You can do it. And if you do fall, I’ll catch you. Promise.” He gently guides him down, encouraging him the whole way while he crouches beside him, ready to catch him if he does fall.

“Brave doesn’t mean you’re not scared, buddy,” Chase says softly. “It means you do it anyway. And I’m right here.”

Oh, my God… that is so sexy.

Liam nods solemnly and slowly makes his way down. When he reaches the ground, he jumps around and screams, “I did it! I did it all by myself, Uncle Chase,” proud of himself.

Chase hugs him and ruffles his hair. “You did! I knew you could do it. Good job, buddy!”

My heart squeezes.

God, he’s gonna be such a good dad.

That is so damn hot.

I blink hard.

And realize for the first time… I really do want this… with him .

By 4PM, both kids are passed out on the couch. Both are sprawled with arms and legs everywhere, tangled in blankets, and their angelic little faces are absolutely adorable.

I curl up in the chair with Chase, resting my head on his chest as we both watch them sleep.

“Well?” he murmurs.

I smile. “We survived.”

He chuckles. “We crushed it.” He looks down at me. “Today was a good day.”

I chuckle softly. “You were amazing with them, Chase. And it was a good day.”

He kisses my forehead. “Don’t shortchange yourself, Rox. You were too.”

I trace lazy circles on his chest before I freeze and quietly say. “I want this… more moments like today.”

He stills for a moment before asking, “What do you mean? You want to babysit more? Or do you actually want… kids?”

Lifting my head, I meet his gaze. His dark eyes are vulnerable and filled with so much emotion.

I smile and kiss his chin. “Both… I would love to keep them again. And… I want… our own kids… I know we briefly mentioned it at the beach house, but... I do want this. For so much of our life together, I’ve been trying to make you leave…

but you didn’t… but… do you- do you want kids with me, Chase? ”

His smile spreads slow and tender. He nods. “I do. I’ve always wanted kids. I’ve wanted kids with you… a future with you. I said that and I meant it. I was just waiting for you to realize you wanted it… no, you deserved it, too.”

We kiss sweetly. Then, we sit in the quiet for a while, just watching the kids sleep.

I want kids with Chase. He wants them with me.

I want everything with this man.

When his sister arrives to pick them up, Bella doesn’t want to leave. She hugs my knees and looks up at me. “I love you, Aunt Roxy.”

Swallowing back the lump in my throat, I bend down and tap her nose with my finger. “I love you, too, munchkin. You can come spend time with us anytime. I had fun today. Thank you for taking care of me.”

Her nose wrinkles and she blinks at me. “I had fun, too. And you were a good girl.”

We all laugh.

Liam high-fives Chase as we walk them to the door. He pauses and turns back, “You’re the best uncle ever.”

Chase grins, “Thanks buddy. You’re a pretty awesome nephew.”

I swipe at a tear as they leave.

Chase pulls me close, kissing the side of my neck. “We’d rock this parenting thing, huh?”

I chuckle. “I think we would actually. After I nap for a month.”

He laughs and closes the door. “Deal. But first… how about we practice baby making so we get a really good nap after?”

Tangled in his arms, after we practiced the hell out of making babies, I realize…

The future might be messy but with Chase…. it’s also gonna be magic.

And I’m ready to live this life of ours to the fullest.

I’m not pushing or running anymore.

I’m all in.