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“Yeah, it’s just sometimes I still wonder why Travis left us the way he did. How could he leave Maddie? The one thing I’m grateful for is that she doesn’t remember him. And the few times she asked where her daddy was, I just told her that he had to go away and maybe one day he’d be back. I never wanted to lie to her. Even if it hurt me.”
Hollis wraps his arms around me. “You’re the best mom Maddie could ever have. No matter what life has thrown at you, you’ve always done what’s best for her. Maddie is a lucky little girl.”
“Now that we have you, we’re both lucky. We should get going, morning traffic is crap around the school.”
“Okay, baby,” he says as he stretches. Then he gets up and heads into the bathroom. “I’ll be out in a few minutes.”
I watch him walk away. I love watching his butt flex when he walks. I think his muscles have muscles. A lot of the MC guys are built like my Hollis, like it's a prerequisite to be a part of the club or something. Muscular, tattoos, and sexy as sin.
I stretch and roll out of bed to follow him into the bathroom. We’ve gotten pretty comfortable around each other. Well, enough to brush our teeth and shower together. We still haven’t had sex again, even with all the showers and teasing. I love that Hollis is letting me take this slow. I told him I’d like us to get to know each other better first.
I watch him shower through the glass doors. Times like this make me want to rethink the no sex rule. Damn him with his sexy muscles and tight ass. Okay. Look away, Lila. I finish brushing my teeth and go to wake Maddie up.
“Come on Maddie, time to get up,” I say as I kiss her tiny face.
“So early, Mama.” She yawns.
“Same time every school day, munchkin.”
She giggles and rolls out of bed.
“Make sure you brush your teeth and then come down for breakfast,” I say to her as I leave her room.
“Okay Mama, I set my quacky timer.”
Hollis bought her a timer that has a baby duck pop up every thirty seconds, making a quacking sound. It helps Maddie brush her teeth. Thirty seconds in each section of her mouth. It’s also made her start quacking at everything. And when I say everything, I mean everything.
“We should get a puppy,” Hollis says as he comes into the kitchen.
“Whoa. A puppy? Um. Why?”
“Because all kids should have a pet, and a puppy seems like a good fit for Maddie.”
“I don’t think I can handle a puppy.”
“You wouldn’t have to do it alone. I’m here to help you. I also wanted to ask you something.”
He seems nervous now. I’ve never seen him get nervous about anything. I stare at him, trying to figure out what he could be so nervous about. Is he leaving me?
“What’s wrong? Did something happen?” I ask.
Hollis
“No, cupcake. Nothing’s wrong. I just wanted to ask you to move in with me. You and Maddie,” I blurt out as fast as I can. She opens her mouth to say something. “Before you say no, please give me a second to say what I need to. Look, I know it’s fast. When Luciana met Rónán, they fell in love so fast I thought they were crazy. Then Amante and Charmaine. Again, crazy. But they met the same night we did. And I fought that feeling as much as I could because it scared the shit out of me. But now I realize I can’t fight it—I don’t want to fight it. You’re it for me, Lila. You, Maddie and all the other babies we’ll have. So move in with me so we can start our life together.”
Now that I word-vomited all over her, I watch as she processes all of it. I’m not sure if her silence is a good or bad thing. And now it’s making me anxious. Dammit. Did I just fuck this up?
“You want more babies?” she whispers.
“Hell yes, cupcake. I want as many babies as you’ll say yes to.”
Lila gives me a huge smile. “Why don’t we talk to Maddie and see what she thinks.”
I nod at her. “I know she’ll say yes.”
“So confident,” she teases.
I nibble her ear and that makes her giggle. It’s one of my favorite sounds.
