There’s a black Lexus parked in my usual spot out the front of Mum and Al’s. “Who’s here, Mummy?” Astrid asks.
I shrug. “Don’t know, baby. Let’s go in and see.”
The kids and I pile out of the car. Dixie throws the door open before I get to the front porch and runs inside screeching, “Lee!”
Well, that explains the fancy-arse car out front. I trail behind the kids, and my heart melts at the sight of Lee swinging Dixie up in his arms. She smooshes her face in his neck and squeezes him tight. He squeezes right back.
“Hey, princess, how was school?” he asks when he places her carefully on her feet.
“Good. Me and Astrid are in the same class. Do you know Astrid?” Dixie asks, pointing at my daughter who is now hiding behind me.
Lee smiles at me then shifts his focus to the little blonde head poking around my side. He crouches and extends a hand to her. “Hi, Astrid. I’m Lee.”
She eyes him for a few moments, and I curl my hand around her shoulder. “It’s okay, baby girl. Lee’s a friend.”
Astrid rolls her big blue eyes at me. “I’m not a baby,” she huffs then stomps over to Lee, accepts his offered hand, and gives it a solid shake. “Hello, Mr. Lee.”
He grins at her. “Just Lee is fine.”
She shrugs. “Okay, Just Lee. I’m Astrid, and I’m a big girl. I’m six. Ari is a baby—she’s only three.”
“I see. Definitely not a baby then,” he agrees.
Astrid turns to face me, a satisfied smile on her face. “See, Mummy? Just Lee knows.”
I chuckle. So much sass. “My bad, honey.”
She nods then turns back to Lee. “So, who are you, Just Lee? Why are you at my nanny’s?”
Oh goodness. How to explain this in a non-confusing way to a six-year-old ...
Before either Lee or I can answer, Dixie does. “Lee is my big brother.”
Astrid’s little eyes bug out while Sailor frowns.
I add, “Lee is Poppa Al’s son from before he married Nanny.”
“So Lee is your brother?” Astrid asks me.
“Kinda,” I hedge. I don’t want to say yes since it seems like Lee is going to be around the kids a bit more from now on and they’re already going to be confused by all of this. “He’s not really my brother. But he is Dixie’s big brother just like I’m her big sister.”
“But Poppa Al married Nanny, so now Lee is your brother too. That’s what Jenny’s mum told her when she married Josh’s daddy. They are brother and sister now,” Dixie adds helpfully.
Well, shit. I glance at Lee, then my mum enters the room holding a tray of cut fruit and veggies for the kids to snack on. This successfully distracts most of them from the conversation. But not Sailor. He saunters over, a carrot stick in hand and a confused little frown on his face.
“What’s up, buddy?” I ask.
He takes a chomp from the carrot and chews slowly. All the while, his inquisitive eyes bounce from Lee to me then back again. When he’s finished chewing, he narrows his gaze on Lee and says, “You didn’t tell me you’re my uncle at the grocery store.”
Lee shoves his hands in his pockets and rocks back on his heels. “That’s because I’m not, not really.”
Sailor raises an eyebrow, and it’s the cutest damn thing in the world—my wee man grilling Lee. “But you’re Aunty Dixie’s brother, so that makes you my uncle.”
Sailor’s not the average four-year-old. He’s excessively smart—scary smart, if I’m being honest. He can already read and does so frequently, devouring information like it’s candy.
Lee swallows, spins his baseball cap backwards, then crouches to Sailor’s level, who in turn takes another bite from his carrot stick.
“You see, me and your mum? We’ve been friends for a really long time. We were already grown up when my dad and her mum got married and made Dixie. So, we’re just friends. Good friends—no, best friends,” Lee tries to explain.
Sailor mulls this over then nods slowly. “Okay,” he says then turns his back on us before returning to the snack tray.
Lee’s eyes meet mine as he stands to his full height. “I thought you said Astrid was the full-on one?” he asks with a quirked brow.
“She is, but Sailor is crazy smart. He’s full-on in a whole different way to Astrid. She’s a girly-girl down to the core and high-maintenance to boot.”
He nods. “I see.”
I snort softly. He has no idea. “A high-maintenance princess on her own wouldn’t be so hard, but add in a borderline genius and a toddler? Absolute mayhem.”
His brows crease as his eyes move back to the kids bickering over who gets the last apple slice. “Hmmm,” he murmurs. “I’m sure I can handle them.” He nods to himself as he says this. When he returns his gaze to me, he smiles. “What are you doing tomorrow night?”
“The usual: early dinner, bath time, bedtime, then collapsing on the couch with a glass of wine until the kids are actually asleep. Then, I finally get to take a shower and crawl in my own bed.”
“Want some help with all that?” he asks.
I blink at him. “What?”
A serious air takes over, and his eyes bore into mine. “When I lost you, Till, I lost my best friend, my soulmate, my smile, my laugh—my everything. I’m not backing down or walking away this time, babe. So, tomorrow, I’m going to come over, give you a hand, and get to know the kids while spending some time with you.”
My heart pounds. I draw my bottom lip between my teeth as tears prick the back of my eyes, and I nod. “I’d like that.”
Lee’s smile is everything. The dimples I’ve always loved pop in his cheeks, and his eyes shine with promise. I can’t help but match his level of enthusiasm, even though I know he’s in for an evening of hell.
She said yes. I want to fist pump the air, but that would be corny as shit, and I’m a fucking grown-up.
I wasn’t sure if it would be too much, too fast, asking to spend time with the kids so soon. But she needs to know how serious I am about this.
There is nothing I want more than her. And the kids are part of her. All three of them resemble her in different ways, and I love it. They also resemble their dad, and ain’t that a hard pill to swallow.
I never liked Curt. He always had a thing for Tilly back in the day. The second she and I broke up, he was there. Arsehole.
A gentle touch yanks me from my thoughts. “You okay? You’re clenching your jaw,” Tilly says softly.
She must have moved closer while I was stuck in my head, because she’s pressed into my side now, her full breasts pressed snugly against my bicep. I shake my head. “I’m fine, babe. Just thinking.”
Her eyes search mine, and I have to physically hold myself in check or I’ll kiss her right here in front of all the kids. And I do not want an audience the first time I kiss my girl in more than six years.
She licks her lips, and goddamn it, blood rushes south, and I have to take a step away from her. I twist my cap back around, shading her view of my lust-fuelled gaze. Now is not the time. Besides, I’m pretty sure once I cross that line, I’m not going to want to stop for a long-arse time.
I’m trying to get a hold on my burgeoning hard-on when a little body wraps around my legs. A set of pale-blue eyes framed by white-blonde curls peer up at me. And just like that, the boner situation is a non-issue. I smile at Ari and run a hand through her soft hair. “Hey, pretty girl.”
“Hey,” she chirps. “Up!”
I bend, hook her under the arms, and lift her into mine. “And what did you do today, little miss?”
Ari giggles, and it wraps around me like a fist clenching around my heart. I want to be the one responsible for her making that adorable sound every damn day.
“I played dollies and trucks and pincesses,” she exclaims excitedly.
“That sounds fun. Did Mummy play too?”
Her little face scrunches up. “No. Mummy worked.”
This is news to me. I thought Tilly was a stay-at-home mum. My eyes move to her, and she shrugs. “I blog for my friend Charlotte. You met her the other day at McKenna’s.”
“You blog? About what?”
Her cheeks pink beautifully, and she glances away as she answers me. “Fashion, from a mum’s perspective. I have a couple of columns I do each week. Mumming Mondays, and Tips from Tilly, and Thrifty Thursdays.”
“That’s great, Till.”
She finally brings her eyes back to mine. “Yeah?”
I nod. “Hell yeah, babe. You’ve always had your own style. Except when you’re stealing other people’s T-shirts,” I tease then wink.
She blushes again. “I swear that’s my shirt.”
“Sure it is.” I chuckle.