That wasn’t true. I’d gotten used to eating lunch with her and Brooklyn. And I just…didn’t want to stop. But before I could correct her, James and Rob came back over.
Kennedy removed her hand from my thigh but didn’t seem to care that my hand was on her back.
“Sounds like girls’ night is ending early,” James said. “Penny will be home any minute. So you guys better…down those shots?” he said looking at the coffee table. “Since when were we doing shots?”
“They’re actually only for Matt,” Mason said.
“No way. Which one of them is sick?” I asked.
Rob laughed. “How did you know that? Liam and RJ are both fussy. Daphne thinks their tummies are upset.”
“Boom,” I said. “Drink up.” I pointed to Mason.
“Fuck.” Mason shook his head, but started downing shot after shot.
“What the heck did we miss?” James asked.
“Mason bet me that your wives were calling because Liam pulled Sophie’s hair again.”
Mason cringed on the fourth shot but kept going.
“And I bet it was because one of them had a tummy ache. I won.”
Mason slammed the last glass down on the coffee table. “Bee’s going to be so pissed that I’m coming home this drunk. Well, not this drunk. Drunk as in drunk me 15 minutes from now.” He coughed. “I’m pretty sure that tequila is in my veins.”
Kennedy laughed. “In my defense, I thought we were each going to take a shot. I didn’t know you guys were making a bet.”
The front door opened. “Daddy!” Scarlett called from the hallway. “Liam’s doing the burping thing!”
James laughed. “Excuse me for a sec. Liam has the cutest burps.”
“Gross,” I said.
James lightly slapped the back of my head as he made his way past me. After a few seconds, Scarlett came running into the room. Heading right for me.
“Uncle Matt, Uncle Matt!” She ran into the great room and climbed up onto my lap. “I got to eat chocolate cake tonight! A whole piece all on my own. This big.” She showed me with her hands how big the ginormous slice of cake she’d eaten was. She seemed…very hyped up on sugar. “You should’ve seen it.” She turned to look at Kennedy and then ducked under my arm to hide from her. “Who is she?”
Kennedy smiled. “I’m a friend of your uncle’s.”
“Which one?” Scarlett asked from her hiding spot.
“Matt. Well, all of them, actually.”
“It’s okay, kiddo,” I said and ruffled her hair. “Kennedy’s really nice. How about you come say hi to her.”
Scarlett shook her head.
“For me? Please?”
Scarlett peered out. “So you’re my aunt?”
“Oh.” Kennedy laughed. “No.”
“But all my other uncles are married. So that means you’re dating Uncle Matt. Which means you’re my aunt. It’s nice to meet you.” She sat back down on my lap, her fear of Kennedy completely gone.
“Your uncle and I are just friends.”
“No.”
Kennedy laughed. “Yes we are.”
“No, boys and girls can’t be just friends. That’s what Axel says.”
“And who is Axel?” Kennedy asked.
“My boyfriend.”
“You have a boyfriend?”
“Yes. And we’re going to have ten babies because he doesn’t care that I like playing with dolls. And he’s going to be on the TV with the football.”
Kennedy smiled. “It sounds like you have it all figured out.”
Scarlett nodded. “You too.” She grabbed my hand and Kennedy’s and put them together. “You can have ten babies too if you want. It’s okay.”
Kennedy and I looked at each other.
I knew Scarlett had no idea what was going on outside the world of her dolls and Axel. But to me, this felt like her blessing. Like maybe she was telling me I should take a chance on being happy. That maybe it was worth the risk.
“Pumpkin, it’s time for bed,” James said and lifted Scarlett upside down.
Kennedy pulled her hand out of mine. I didn’t want to be put in the friend zone. And I didn’t want to wait around being Poppy’s puppet. I’d been waiting my whole life. Just letting it pass by in one big blur. Scarlett wanted me to be happy. And James would understand. Hell, he’d already said he understood. I’d find another way to ensure that Scarlett was safe. But I couldn’t put my life on pause again. Not when I’d finally figured out how to start living again.
Scarlett laughed. “Daddy, I had the biggest piece of cake.”
“I can tell,” James said as he righted her in his arms and peppered her face with kisses.
She squealed.
I grabbed Kennedy’s hand and pulled her off the couch.
“What are you…” her voice trailed off as I brought her into the kitchen.
“I’m done,” I said when we were alone.
Kennedy shook her head. “Done what?”
“I’m not going to make the same mistakes I did before. I’m not going to keep how I feel about you a secret. I would never do that to you, Kennedy. You deserve more than that. So much more.”
“Matt…”
“I’m telling Poppy I’m pulling out of our deal.”
Kennedy took a deep breath. “I can’t let you do that.”
I stared down at her.
“Maybe if you had said this downstairs earlier, I would have agreed. But I just met that cute little girl. Scarlett’s adorable. And the way she ran right over to you?” She shook her head. “I can’t let you risk Poppy hurting her. I can’t.”
“I’ve already made up my mind. I’ll find another way to keep Scarlett safe.”
“You’re a great uncle. And I’m not going to get in the way of that.” She grabbed both my hands. “And I hope you do find another way to keep her safe.”
“I will. And in the meantime we can…”
“No. In the meantime nothing. We can’t do anything until you have a backup plan in place. I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to Scarlett. Not because of me. I already live with so much guilt because of what I said to Brooklyn…”
“Brooklyn knew you didn’t hate her.”
“Did she though?” A tear ran down Kennedy’s cheek. “Because I never got a chance to apologize.”
“She knew, Kennedy. She knew.”
Kennedy took a shaky breath.
“Is everything alright?” Penny asked.
Kennedy took a step away from me and wiped beneath her eyes. “Yes,” she said with a laugh. “Matt just made me laugh so hard I was literally crying.”
Penny smiled. She was patting Liam on the back and he made the most adorable little burping noise.
I would have said “aw” if I hadn’t just made fun of James for thinking it was cute.
“Excuse you, baby boy,” Penny said and kissed the top of his head. “I’m so sorry, I’m being rude. Can I get either of you something to drink or anything?”
“Your hands are full,” Kennedy said. “I should be offering you something to drink.”