I swallowed hard as I thought about what to say. How do you explain the complexities of life and love to a nine-year-old? “I think it was life. I think life broke both of our hearts, kiddo.”
Bailey’s eyes went wide, and I worried I was a bit too honest. “I hope life doesn’t break my heart.”
“It won’t. You know how I know?” When Bailey shook her head, I continued. “Because your mom loves you and I love you and we won’t let anything or anyone hurt you.” My mind flashed back to what Kacey was dealing with outside and I hoped I could stick to my word.
Bailey snuggled into me again and sighed. “I hope you’re not my mom’s girlfriend forever.” Not exactly what I was expecting to hear. “I hope you become her wife, then we can be a family.”
I put an arm around Bailey and pulled her closer to me, barely able to handle how full my heart felt and praying Ariana’s unexpected return didn’t put a wrench in things. “We are family, and no matter what happens, that won’t change, okay?”
“What are you two talking about?”
Both of our heads turned to the bedroom doorway where Kacey was now standing, a strained smile on her face. “Just talking about life, family, and broken hearts,” Bailey answered nonchalantly.
Kacey laughed and a sincere smile spread across her face. “Quite the loaded conversation to be had over Saturday morning cartoons.”
“So, what did you buy for breakfast?”
Kacey’s eyebrows knit together curiously. “For breakfast?” I gave her a look to try to convey the lie I had told. “Oh… umm… I didn’t end up getting anything. I decided we should go out to eat instead. Want to go get changed and use the bathroom, so we can head out?”
Bailey hopped off of the bed but whispered something to Kacey before leaving the room that had Kacey gripping her side with laughter. I lifted an eyebrow at her once she was gone. “What was that all about?”
Kacey let out a few more chuckles. “She said I should make you change too since you’ve been wearing the same outfit since yesterday.”
I put a hand over my heart. “Ouch. Tough crowd. I’ll do that in a minute, but first...” I patted the spot beside me on the bed and Kacey sat down, laying her head on my shoulder just as Bailey had done.
“Apparently, I’m ridiculously predictable. When Ariana showed back up at our old house and realized we had moved, she knew this was where I came, then a few questions around this small town was all it took to figure out where we live.”
“And what does she want?”
“She claims she wants to see Bailey. She said she misses both of us. I wish I could believe it, but I’ve heard it all before. Once she gets what she comes for, which is usually money, she leaves. And she slipped in the fact that she got fired from her last job multiple times during our conversation, so I don’t have the utmost confidence that she’s telling the truth.”
I ran a hand through Kacey’s hair as she scooted even closer to me. “So, what did you tell her?”
Kacey took a deep breath, then pushed all the air from her lungs in one long exhale. “I told her to prove it. I said if that’s what she really wanted, she would put in the time and energy to show me. So, I called the cheapest motel in town, got her a room for the next week, and told her I’d be in touch. I don’t have much of a plan beyond that. Am I a complete sucker?”
“She’s family,” I breathed out.
“She’s blood. She’s not family. At least not until she proves otherwise.” Kacey let out another breath and looked up at me. “Still all in?”
Instead of answering, I leaned in and gave her a kiss that I hoped would convey everything I was feeling. Kacey deepened the kiss, and it took all of my willpower to pull away a few seconds later. I put my hand on her chest and pushed her away from me gently. “Bailey is going to come barreling back in here any minute now.”
Kacey groaned, then ran her eyes over my outfit. “That means you need to get changed.” She nodded her head toward the closet. “Help yourself to whatever.”
When I emerged from the closet moments later, Kacey looked me up and down as though I had chosen a short skin-tight dress. She stood from the bed and walked over to me, wrapping her arms around my waist and spinning me around. “I really like how you look in my clothes,” she whispered into my ear.
I looked down at the jeans and Bellman University sweatshirt I was wearing and laughed. “They look just like my clothes.”
Kacey kept her mouth close to my ear, her breath against my skin giving me the impression that I could feel her throughout my whole body. “But I know they’re mine and I love it.”
I buried my head in the crook of Kacey’s neck. “I love it too. They smell just like you, so it’s like you’re constantly wrapped around me. Makes me want to never take them off.”
“Good grief. What is it about being in love that makes you not want to change your clothes?” Bailey asked as she walked back into Kacey’s room.
Kacey pulled away from me to look me in the eye, lifting one eyebrow and looking so very sexy. “You told her you were in love with me?”
Bailey shook her head as she walked closer to us. “She didn’t have to. Your effulgent glances gave it away. You’re both totally done for.”
Kacey laughed and slipped away from me to put a hand on Bailey’s shoulder. “I’m not exactly sure what that word means, but I’m going to bet you’re not wrong, kid. Let’s go to breakfast.”
And so we went. As if this had always been our life. As if it always would be.
***
Two weeks into Ariana being in town and it felt like I saw Bailey more than I saw Kacey. Okay, so that wasn’t exactly true. Kacey was good at assuring her time with Bailey wasn’t compromised because of her sister. She would see her some mornings after dropping Bailey off at school, before she had to be at work, but mostly it was at night. We would both tuck Bailey into bed, then Kacey would sneak out once we were sure she was asleep. As for me, I would lay in Kacey’s big bed alone, until she crawled back in sometime in the late hours of the night and we would make love until we couldn’t keep our eyes open anymore. It wasn’t ideal, but it was what Kacey needed right now and I wanted to support that.
One night after having another mind-blowing orgasm, Kacey ran her hand along my stomach and stared into my eyes as if she were longing to say something. I stopped the path of her hand and reached up to twirl a piece of her hair between my fingers. “What’s up? You look like you have something to say.”
“I think…” Kacey sighed then took a deep breath as if it were hard to get the words out. “I think I want you to meet my sister. Bailey was invited to a slumber party next weekend, so we wouldn’t have to worry about explaining it to her or lying about where we were going. I just… things are going okay and I’m cautiously optimistic, so I want to know how you feel.” She stopped to stare at me for a few seconds, looking at me as though she was trying to read into the words I hadn’t said. “Would you be okay with that? You don’t have to do it if it makes you uncomfortable.”
I pulled her close to me, bringing our lips back together for what had to be the fiftieth time that night. When I pulled back, I placed one more kiss on the tip of her nose before looking into her eyes. “I’ll do whatever you want me to. If you want me to meet your sister next week, I’m in. I love you, Kacey.”