I expected Ivy to come barreling out from wherever she was to give me one of her signature big, body-rocking hug, but I got nothing. “Hello? Where is everybody?”
Sylvia’s head popped out of the kitchen. “Hey, lovely. Good day?”
I’d run the shop by myself because Ivy’s daycare was closed for the day, so my aunt had offered to stay home to watch her for me, claiming I needed to get used to running things without her there. I knew my aunt, and she had no intention of stepping away from Divine Flora, at least not fully. She was too active, and a full retirement would have driven her insane, but it was her attempt at giving me something of my own, and I appreciated the gesture enough not to call her out on it.
“It was good,” I answered as I entered the kitchen. “Busy, but good. People are starting to decorate for fall, so we sold out of all the themed arrangements.”
Sylvia was standing at the stove, browning meat in a skillet, as she said, “That’s great, dearie. Now’s about the time to make the shift fully into the new season, anyway.”
“Smells good in here,” I said, peering over her shoulder “What are you making?”
“Tacos. They’ll be ready soon.”
I looked around the kitchen, listening for the sounds of my rambunctious girl getting into something, but except for the sizzle of the meat, all was quiet. “Where’s Ivy? And why’s Micah’s truck in the driveway?”
At my question, Sylvia peeked back at me, her eyes dancing excitedly. “Take a look in the backyard.”
I turned my head to catch a glimpse out the back window, and what I saw made my feet started moving instantly.
Hugging my cardigan tighter to me, I exited through the back door and started down the garden path to the big stretch of yard behind it.
Ivy was out there, skipping and spinning around a massive pile of lumber like a little forest sprite. From the corner of my eye, I caught movement and turned to see Micah coming through the side gate carrying a stack of two-by-fours on his wide shoulder. My lungs nearly deflated at the sight of his thick biceps and roped forearms straining under the weight of the lumber.
“What--what’s going on?” I asked once I was finally able to breathe properly.
“Mommy!” Ivy stopped dancing and came running up to me, plowing into my legs. “Look at all of dis!” she practically yelled with excitement as she faced the pile and threw her arms wide.
“I see it, love bug. But what is it?”
Micah tossed the boards onto the pile and shifted direction, heading straight for me as he pulled a pair of worn work gloves from his hands and stuffed them into the back pocket of his jeans. It was the simplest of actions, but for some reason, I found the whole thing so rugged and manly a flood of arousal dampened my panties.
“Hey, Red,” he said casually as he reached out and hooked me around my waist. He pulled me into him, chest to chest, and planted a hard, quick kiss on my lips with such ease it was like he’d made this move every day for years. “You have a good day?”
“Y-yeah,” I answered dazedly. “Um, what’s going on?”
“Mike’s buildin’ me a treehouse!”
My head whipped back around to Micah—who was still holding me against him. “You’re building—that’s not—huh?”
“A treehouse,” he repeated. “She asked me last weekend, but I didn’t have a chance to get to the home improvement store until today.”
“Did she use The Look again?” I asked, ready to turn and lecture my daughter when Micah spoke again. And what he said left me speechless.
“No, she didn’t con me this time. She just asked. I remembered that my little sister and I had a treehouse growin’ up, and we loved that thing. Used to spend hours in there. I wanted to give Monster a little bit of that.”
“You—” I gaped at him, blinking slowly. “She just asked?”
“Yeah.”
“And you said yes? Just like that.”
“Well, not just like that.” He tilted his head down and gave my girl a very serious, very stern look. “And she had to make me a promise. Right, kid?”
She nodded enthusiastically. “Yuh-huh. I had to promise to never, ever kiss another boy for my whole life!”
I let out a giggle before getting serious. “Wow, Micah. This is just . . . This is really incredible.
His arm squeezed, giving me a little shake as those leafy green eyes began to smile. “It’s not a big deal.”
On that, he was very wrong. This was a big deal. Maybe not to him, but to Ivy and me it was everything. This and how he acted last weekend when he turned all Papa Bear. That he didn’t seem to notice, that he wasn’t just doing something for my girl in order to win brownie points, was a massive blow to any defense mechanisms I’d put in place.
The warmth overtaking me melted the rigidity in my muscles, and I slowly sank deeper into him. I lifted my hands and placed them on his chest, lowering my voice to a whisper as I said, “Thank you, honey. This is incredible.”
His expression changed, his features growing tender as his gaze heated. “I see you like that,” he rumbled softly.
“Very much.”
“Good. Then gimme a kiss so I can get back to work.”
Lifting up on my toes, I did just that. Mindful that my daughter was still standing right there, I didn’t take it too far, but I wasn’t exactly in a hurry to end it either.
Finally, I pulled away, giving him a smile I hoped reflected my appreciation.
He leaned in for one last peck before letting me go and moving toward Ivy, giving her hair a ruffle. “Come on, Monster. Let’s get started.”
My baby girl let out an enthusiastic whoop as she ran to keep up with Micah’s long strides, and I headed back inside the house.
Silvia was standing at the counter in front of the window when I reentered the kitchen. She looked up from the cutting board where she was dicing tomatoes, her sharp-witted gaze pinning me in place, and I knew I was about to be hit with her wisdom.
“There are men in this world too ignorant to appreciate when they’re holdin’ somethin’ beautiful in the palm of their hands, so instead of takin’ care of it so it blooms to its full potential, they neglect it, letting it wilt to nothing. Then there are men who know exactly what they’ve got, and they use all the breath in their body cultivating and caring for it so each day it’s more beautiful than the one before, even if they don’t realize they’re doin’ it. Alex was an ignorant ass. But that man out there, he knows what he’s holding in his hands, my precious girl. Don’t let fear hold you back from getting what you deserve.”
Moving across the kitchen, I came up behind my aunt and placed my hands on her shoulders before bending to press a kiss against the papery skin of her cheek. “I love you, Sylvia. You know that?”
She reached up and gave one of my hands a pat. “Of course I know. And I love you too. Now go start fryin’ up some shells so we can eat.”
On a laugh, I let her go and moved to the stove. Then I started frying up shells just like she’d ordered.
It was hours later . . . after a dinner with the four of us where, between Micah and Ivy, I’d laughed until the muscles in my stomach ached . . . after Micah called it a night with a scorching kiss that left me starving for more and went back to his house . . . after Sylvia had gone back to the carriage house and Ivy had fallen fast asleep in her bed.