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I look into Hollis’ baby blues and see he’s sincere.
“Yes,” I whisper as a tear falls.
He wraps his arms around me. “Is that a yes to both questions?”
I nod as I embrace him. He lets go of me to roll over to his nightstand and comes back with a ring. It’s a perfect princess-cut diamond. He places it on my finger and then kisses it.
Today my baby—our baby, is starting at a new school. It’s closer to where we live and it’s definitely more secure than her last one. This one is aware of the MC and I know they’ll follow through with their rules, not like her old school. I really thought they were secure there, but I found out the hard way they weren’t.
I kiss Hollis one more time before I roll out of bed to grab a quick shower. Of course he follows me and my quick shower gets a little longer, but I’m not complaining. He constantly finds new ways to make me feel sexy and I love it.
After we get dressed, I head to the kitchen to make breakfast, and Hollis goes and wakes up our Maddie. Ours. I love it when he calls her his daughter. I know she’s always wanted a daddy. I was afraid I would never be able to give her one, but now she has one in Hollis. In fact, the whole club has embraced her. She’s become best friends with Saoirse Bastianini and I love watching their friendship grow. Saoirse is one year younger so she won’t be the same class as Maddie. But she will be in the same school, because it’s pre-K to eighth grade. Granchio is Saoirse’s bodyguard and he’s offered to be Maddie’s too.
I smile as I see my loves come into the kitchen. I put their plates in front of them.
“Are you excited for your new school?” I ask Maddie.
She nods. “I get to see Saoirse there too.”
I chuckle. “But you know that you won’t be in the same class, right? You might get to see each other at recess, though.”
“That’s okay, Mommy. We can play when we get home.” She smiles, then frowns a little.
“What’s wrong?” Hollis asks her.
“Can you be my daddy?” she asks him.
Hollis looks at Maddie, then at me. “We should tell her,” he says.
I nod at him. “You can tell her.”
The smile that spreads across his face is priceless.
“I asked your mommy to marry me. And I asked her if I could adopt you.”
She tilts her head to the side and thinks. “Does that mean you’ll be my daddy?”
“Yes, baby. I will be your daddy.”
Maddie jumps off her chair and onto Hollis’ lap. She wraps her arms around his neck. “Can I call you ‘Daddy’ now?”
He chuckles at her. “If that’s what you want. Yes.”
“Yay! I love you, Daddy. So the mean man’s not my daddy anymore, is he?”
I don’t know how to explain this part to Maddie. How do you tell your five year old that Travis is her biological father and always will be, but Hollis is her daddy? The one that will be there for her for the rest of her life? Sometimes being a parent is harder than it seems.
Hollis
“Maddie, Travis is your father. I’m your daddy. I know that’s confusing for you, but one day you’ll understand. All you need to know is that I’ll be here for you from now on. No matter what,” I explain to her. I’m not sure how much she really understands, but I know that I have the rest of our lives to prove to her the difference between a ‘father’ and a ‘daddy’. I know firsthand that being a father does not mean you’re a daddy.
Maddie hugs me tighter, and it makes me feel like a superhero. I will always protect my family. My chosen family.
Since it’s Maddie and Saoirses’ first day of school, Francesco, Maeve, Granchio, Lila and I are taking them to school. Starting tomorrow, only Granchio will take them and stay with them all day, unless there’s something important he needs to do for the club. I know he’ll protect our girls and keep them safe.
Epilogue
Lila
