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"I—"
"What? Mom? Are we leaving?" Gabby appeared in the doorway. "And holy shit! You guys slept together?"
Sofia grimaced, and quickly stood up, while Keegan swore and yanked the comforter up over his lap. She quickly headed toward the door, leaving Keegan stuck in the bed, because he wasn't about to get up and parade around naked with Gabby there. "Gabby—"
"Mom." Gabby put her hands on her hips. "You are not going to make us leave, are you?"
"It's complicated—"
"It's not! You just make it complicated! God, Mom! He's nice! Bella's nice. Everyone's nice, and they want to be our family. Do you want another Christmas eve with two of us at the table? Another Christmas morning with the two of us? Don't you want anything more? Like, a huge family that is welcoming us with open arms?"
Sofia bit her lip. "Gabby—"
"Unless you don't want us?" Gabby spun toward Keegan. "Is that it? Is my mom trying to protect me from rejection? Do you not want me?"
"Fuck no." Keegan grabbed his jeans from the floor and shoved them under the covers, trying to get dressed. "You're my kid, Gabby. I'm all in. I want to get to know you. I want whatever role you'll have me in your life."
"And my mom? Do you hate her for not telling you about me?" Tears filled Gabby's eyes. "Did you break her heart?"
Sofia's heart felt like it was going to snap in two. "Gabby, no. It's not him. It's me. I…I think I'm breaking his heart. Maybe. Again."
Gabby whirled toward her. "So, he wants both of us?"
Sofia glanced helplessly at Keegan as he threw back the covers and got out of bed, now wearing his jeans. "He—"
"I can speak for myself." Keegan walked over and went down on one knee in front of Gabby, so he was looking up at her. "Gabriella, what happens between your mom and me has no impact on you and me."
"That's not true, and we all know it."
"All right," he acknowledged. "Yes, it will have an impact, but it doesn't affect how I feel about you."
Gabby stared at him. "Did she leave you back then? Did she walk away from you? Is that why she won't tell me? Because she was in the wrong?"
Oh, God. "Gabriella, that's enough—"
Gabby spun toward her. "You're ruining it again, aren't you? He's my dad. You don't get to take him away from me again! You kept us apart, and it would have been so easy for you to let us become a family at any point, because clearly, he's totally fine with having me. But you didn't give us a chance. And now we have that chance again. He wants both of us, and you just want to wreck it again, don't you? Sleep with him, then walk away again? Well, forget it! I'm not going! You don't get to do that to me anymore!"
She whirled around, raced back into their bedroom, and slammed the door shut, leaving Sofia and Keegan standing in his room.
"She's not wrong, you know." Sofia and Keegan both turned to see Bella down the hall, holding the puppy. "Didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I was bringing Millie back, and I heard the commotion."
"Bella," Keegan said, his voice low. "Stay out of this."
"No." Bella walked up. "Gabby's right. Keegan did deserve to know about her, and he would have been a great dad all along."
Keegan swore. "Bella, seriously—"
She waved him off and came to a stop in front of Sofia. "You were wrong to keep them apart."
Sofia fisted her hands, preparing for the accusations she knew she deserved.
"But it's okay," Bella said, taking Sofia off-guard. "We've found each other now, all of us, and we just go forward from here. It's also okay that you're struggling to trust him, to trust us," Bella said. "I get that. We all do. We all have trust issues. Keegan might have fallen head over heels for you again, but he'd never hurt you. My brother is one of the best guys on the entire planet, and you and Gabby are safe with him."
Tears clogged Sofia's throat at Bella's unconditional acceptance of her. "I don't know what to say—"
Keegan took her hand. "Bella, maybe go chat with Gabby for a moment. Help her not to be so mad at Sofia. We'll be right in."
Bella nodded. "Millie will help. Come on, sweetie." She knocked lightly on the door. "It's Millie and Bella," she called out. "Let us in."
