I stand with Everly in my arms, and she mumbles something about Uncle Calder. My shoulders shake as I turn and walk around the sofa toward the winding staircase.
Cassandra follows as I make my way up the stairs, careful not to bump Everly’s head. When I reach her darkened room, Cassandra hurries around and pulls the blankets back for me to lay her in her bed.
Our hands touch as we both grab her blanket to tuck her in. I lace our fingers, staring at her in the dark for a moment, both of us absorbing the peaceful sound of Everly’s heavy breaths.
We walk out of her room hand in hand, and before Cassandra can say another word, I turn and press her against the wall, my lips crashing down on hers for a desperate, needy kiss. I barely heard a word my daughter said tonight because all I could think about was that this woman loves me. The real kind of love. The kind of love I don’t doubt.
We break apart, foreheads pressed together as I say, “I’ve been wanting to do that all night.”
Cassandra breathes heavily, her hands folded behind my neck. “Pretty sure we did that by the pool in front of a captivated audience of Everly and your brothers.”
“That was hours ago,” I moan, dipping my head to steal another kiss. “You have no idea how much I’ve missed you.”
She sighs deeply. “Likewise.”
“It was hell being mad at you these past two weeks,” I admit honestly. “Every morning you came in the house, I wanted to grab you and pull you into my room to see if I could fuck you into loving me back.”
Cassandra inhales sharply at my raw confession. She grabs my jaw and forces my eyes to meet hers. “It wasn’t that I didn’t love you, Max. I just needed time to trust that loving you wouldn’t lose me. I was getting there on my own, but honestly, that conversation with Paisley was healing for me on so many levels.”
I nod knowingly. “After seeing who Jenson really was, I knew there had to be more to the story with your coworkers. I can’t imagine anyone ever willingly letting you out of their life.”
Her chin trembles as she scores her hands through my hair, sending shivers down my spine. “I still don’t know why you love me. You’re a successful, amazing single dad with cool friends and a sweet family. You could have anyone, Max. Why on earth would you see a cuddly, twenty-six-year-old nanny on the run from her past who pitched the idea of doing nothing all summer with your kid and think…that’s the woman I’m going to fall in love with?”
My lips part at the bleak description she paints of herself because it’s nothing like the image I see. And if it takes the rest of my life to remind her just how fucking wonderful she is, that is a responsibility I will gladly take on.
I lean back to look her in the eye. “Day one, when Everly yanked you into the pool and injured you…you still wanted to take the fall for her and act like you quit instead of me firing you for not being able to swim. Day fucking one, Cozy.”
“I know but—”
“I’m not done,” I state firmly, pressing my finger to her lips. She smiles meekly and lets me continue. “It was your concept of doing nothing that let my daughter blossom like a flower this summer. Both Jess and I somehow missed the fact that our daughter was burned out and begging to just be a kid for once.”
“We healed together,” she replies, showcasing the genuine affection she has for my kid.
“You came in at the perfect time to recharge this family,” I continue, stroking her cheek reverently. “We needed you. We needed an anti-nanny. Someone to shake things up and get us out of our routine long enough to just see each other.”
Cassandra’s eyes turn glossy as she absorbs the words that I mean with all my heart.
“And you reminded me that forgiving my past to chase after a new future could be fucking worth it. I want a future with you, Cozy. You make me feel young, like I can do the family thing again and make new memories. I didn’t want any of that before I met you.”
“Max,” Cassandra croaks, her eyes wet with unshed tears. “I want that too. I love you.”
She lifts her chin to press her lips to mine, but I pull back, knowing it won’t be enough. I grab her hand and drag her behind me through the house, flicking all the lights off as I go. No more whispered words outside of Everly’s room. I want Cassandra naked in my bed staring into my eyes while I make love to her like I never have before.
I don’t know what exactly our future holds, but if I was a betting man, I’d bet on marriage and babies in no particular order. And sooner rather than later if I have any say in it. It’s about time Everly became a big sister.
“If I was a betting woman, I would have never bet on seeing this,” Jessica exclaims as she strides into the back room of Dakota’s T-shirt shop with Kailey to find me, Everly, and Cassandra covered in aprons with bottles of dye in hand.
“Mommies!” Everly peals and takes off in her rubber gloves, running toward my ex and her wife, who arrived back in the country two weeks ago. They surprised Everly mid-dive into our swimming pool, and she belly-flopped, cried tears of pain, and then cried tears of happiness as they reunited. It was a hot mess.
Everly spent two weeks with them to reconnect, but we’re finally back on schedule now, so I had her all weekend. Cassandra, she and I did a whole lot of nothing together the past forty-eight hours. It was perfect.
Except for tonight. Tonight, before Everly goes to Jessica and Kailey’s, I was somehow coerced into tie-dying a collection of my perfectly good white T-shirts. One bad thing about having a girlfriend who has an incredibly close bond with your kid is that I am now officially outnumbered.
“Stop!” Jessica and Kailey scream as they hold their hands up to Everly.
“Everly…finish the T-shirt, then hug your moms,” Cassandra instructs with a laugh, and our eyes find each other over the table covered in dye. It’s that silent look of understanding that two people who share a child can exchange. The one that says…oh, my God, our kid is a crazy monster but also I love the shit out of her.
And I realize Everly isn’t Cassandra’s child. But it’s a look we started exchanging almost from day one of her nannying position. It’s not something I could fully appreciate until I realized I wanted her to be a part of my life. And I do want her to be a part of my life. I want her to be a part of my family. I want her to be my family.
So I’m exchanging that knowing look with her whenever the fuck I want. It feels good to be parenting a kid with a partner. I didn’t realize what I was missing all these years.
“The hoodies Everly made you guys are hanging up right behind me.” Cassandra gestures with her head as she squirts a bottle of blue dye over a rolled-up sweatshirt.
Jessica and Kailey walk over to the rack and pull the rainbow tie-dyed hoodies down to admire them. Dakota printed “I Heart my Moms” on the front.
“Do you like them?” Everly asks, smiling at Cassandra because they made them sometime over the summer.
“I love them,” Jess answers excitedly.
“They are perfect!” Kailey agrees.
“Dad, should I make one of those for Cozy too?” Everly inquires, her big blue eyes blinking at me curiously.
The room goes silent as Jess and I exchange a look this time.