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Chapter 21
Maxwokethenext morning toErin’slittlevoicecalling fromdown the hallway.Hefocused hiseyes on the digital readoutof hisbedsideclockand sawthatitwasseven am. He’donlymanaged two hours ofsleep thankstothemarathonsessionwith Gigi. If hehadn’tbeen so damn tired,hewould havehad atleastanother threetimeswithher,buthe had barelybeen abletokeep hiseyesopen thefirsttime.
Turning hishead,hefoundher with her gorgeousred hair fanned outon hisotherpillow,her chestrising and falling gentlyas she slept. Hetookamomentjusttostareather. She’d been amazing lastnight. Heliked tohaveall thecontrolin thebedroom. Itwassomething Chelsea had foughthimon,butGigi had responded beautifullyto hiscommands. Itwasn’tthathewas intothatwhole Dom/sub thing—hejustlikedtotakechargein everyfacetofhislife. Hethoughtit stemmed from his parents’divorce,sincethatkindofbrokethefragilesenseof balancehe’d had growing up.
Rolling offthesideof thebed,hepulledon hissweatsand openedup thebedroomdoor.The fresh air hitting hisfaceonlyconfirmed that his bedroomstill smelledof sex.Maxfound Erin babbling toher bunnyinthecot,and fromthelookonher face,theconversationwasa pretty seriousone. Hegathered her tohisnaked chestand kissed thetop ofher head;hewasrewarded with aone-toothed smile.
“Isittimefor breakfast,my girl?” heasked her,takingherthrough tothekitchen.Hefixedher breakfastfirst,sitting herin her highchair tofeed her.When shewasdone,helether goand playin theliving roomwhile hestarted up thecoffeemaker.Gigi wasstill asleep,and he had theurgeto makeher breakfastin bed.
Whilethescentof coffeewarmedtheapartment,hescooped Erin up andtookher tohis bedroom. Gigiwasjustwaking up,her relaxedexpressiononlylasting amoment beforeshelooked likeshewasn’tsocertain aboutwhathad finallyhappened betweenthem. Shesatup,clutching the sheetto herchest.
“Max,”shebreathed.
“Don’tgetup. I’mbringingyou breakfast,” heordered,striding intotheroomandhanding her Erin. Bending down,heplaced a gentlekissfirsttoErin’sforehead thenGigi’s.“I’ll berightback.”
In the kitchen,hethrewtogetherintoa griddle thethingshe needed for anomelette,putsome toastonand pouredthemeach a coffee. Opening up oneof thecupboardsabovethefridge,he found a traylargeenough tofitall the platesonto. Heloaded it up,carefullycarrying itback towardshisbedroom.
Through theopen door,hecould seeGigi blowing raspberriesontoErin’sstomach,his little girl’s smile widewitha soundlesslaugh. Hestood thereand watchedthembefore hewasnoticed,and a pang of longingwentthrough him. What heand Gigi had wasn’t meanttolastforever.Howcould it? Hewassupposedto beleaving in a few monthsoncetheclub wasup and running properly.Shewas supposed tograduatefrom universityand geta job—ajob directlyin linewith herchosen career path.
Butseeing herwith Erin, Maxwanted ittolastforever.
Erin deservedthatmuch even if hedidn’t.
Lettingouta sharp breath,hewalked thelastfewfeetintohisroom,drawing both of their attention. “Hungry?”heasked,hiseyesdrifting downtowhereGigi had coveredherself up with her t-shirt. Hewasdisappointed tosee her bodyhidden again,butforthesakeof proprietyand thefact thatErinwastherewith them,hekepthismouth shut. Setting thetrayon hisbedsidetable,hegot backintobed,propping himselfup with some pillows.
Twisting,he pickedup the plateof eggsandthetwoforkshe’d placedonthesideand started feeding Gigi smallmouthfuls.
“This tastesgreat,”shesaid quietly.
Heleaned forward tokisssomeketchup fromthesideof hermouth.“You taste great,”he murmured,managing to drawthecolor fromhercheeks. Hesatbackwitha grin.“Doyou haveto studytoday?” heasked,loading up another forkfulofeggs.
“No,I don’t haveto. Why?Whatdid you haveinmind?”
“I thoughtwecould gotoCentralParkZootoday.”
Gigi’smouth turned intoagrin. “Youknowwhat?I’ve been in NewYorkfor fouryearsand I still haven’tbeen there.”
“It’ssettled then,”hereplied,taking abiteoftoast.“Eatup.”
*
Anhourlater, MaxandGigisteppedthroughthefrontgatesofthezoo.Theystrolledaroundwith Erin,lookingatthesealions, the redpandas, and thesnowleopards,andexploredthe children’szoo.Gigi surprisedhimwhenshetookErinandsatwithheron thebackofagiantrabbitstatuetohavetheir phototaken. Chelsea would never havedoneanything likethat. Shewas always tooconcerned with whatpeoplewouldthinkofherifshewasactingsilly.Maxclickedhalfadozenphotosofhistwo girlsthen tooka fewcandid shotsofGigi asshepicked Erin backup again.
“Timefor a coffee?”Maxasked,smiling atGigi.
Shenodded.“Soundsgreat.”
Takingaseatatthecafe,heenjoyedtheeasywayheandGigicouldtalkabouteverything, enjoyed how much fun shecouldbe.
“Whatare you smiling at?”sheasked.
“You,”hereplied.
A blush creptup herneck,and shebitherbottomlip.“Why?”
Leaning forward,hetookher hand in his. “Becauseyou’reperfect.”
Shescoffed at him.“I’mfarfromperfect.”
