“It was the most embarrassing moment of my life!” I tell Charlotte and Reagan the next day over coffee at my kitchen table.
Lee is off at a fitting with his future stepfather for their wedding suits, making this the perfect time to get it all off my chest.
Charlotte bursts out laughing, holding her middle then gasping for air. “Don’t make me laugh when I’m surfing the crimson wave!”
Reagan stands, going to retrieve Char’s heat pack from the microwave, and returns with a smile on her face as she hot-potatoes the heat pack from one hand to the other. “Whose idea was that? Permanent marker on your pubes.” She chuckles. “That’s totally something I would do.”
Char arranges the pack and settles back in her seat, propping her feet on another of my dining chairs. “It was a solid idea. How was I to know it wouldn’t maintain its integrity when mixed with bodily fluids?”
“It was all over his chin, Charlotte. I had to fully scrub it with a loofa to get it all off. I swear, I died inside. Everything had been perfect, right up until he sat up with a beard that wasn’t there before he ventured downtown,” I exclaim. “Then, I had to tell him why there was permanent marker on his pretty face. I have never known such bone-deep humiliation.”
“I told you to use the Clitter capsules.” Char shrugs and sips her coffee. “Glitter makes everything better.”
I glare at her.
Reagan’s eyes light with interest. “What are we talking about? You know I love glitter.”
“They’re little capsules you insert inside your vagina that melt and release a flow of non-toxic glitter into your nether regions, making it all shiny and pretty,” Char explains.
“Ohh, I want some of those!” Reagan says, clapping her hands like an excited child. “Rhett would love it.”
I throw my hands in the air. “Am I the only one who has an aversion to glitter-ising the promised land? It’s weird. You guys know that, right? It’s unnatural.”
They both look at me like I’m the weird one here.
Then, Charlotte’s lips twitch with a playful grin. “Says the woman banging her stepbrother.”
My eyes widen, and my jaw drops. “You did not!”
She arches a brow. “I did. So, tell us, does that little hint of taboo make the sex hotter?”
“Oh, yes!” Reagan chimes in. “I’ve heard step-sex is off the charts.”
Char nods her agreement then turns her gaze on me, a pleased smile on her face. “See? So, spill. I want details.”
I roll my neck, loosening my tight muscles, close my eyes, take a deep breath, then give her what she wants. “It was freaking amazing. But not because of the step-sibling thing, you kinky mole. To tell you the truth, the thought never even entered my mind. All I was focused on was him and me—nothing else mattered.”
“That is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard,” Reagan says, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. “Ugh, look at me getting all emotional. I must be getting hormonal.”
“No,” Char says. “It is beautiful. I’m so happy for you, Tilly. You deserve this.”
I blink back tears of my own. “Oh, you guys.” I sniffle. “You’re going to make me cry.”
“Okay, okay, time for a subject change!” Reagan says, fanning her face.
We spend the next hour chatting about the sex talk with Sailor and how Lee has a way of getting through to Astrid like nobody else has ever been able to.
* * *
ONE WEEK LATER …
“Mummy,” Sailor says as he pokes his pointy little finger into my forehead repeatedly. “Mummy, we need to talk.”
I pry one eye open, glance at the clock on my bedside table, then close it again. “Sweet pea, it’s too early. We can talk later when the sun is up, yeah?”
“Nope,” he says and resumes his poking.
Heaving a sigh, I open my eyes and look at my son. He’s smiling a knowing smile. I arch a brow and go to sit, only for a big, muscular arm to tighten over my stomach. Holy fudge-nugget. Lee is still here. In. My. Bed ...
My mind races as the smile on my son’s little face grows. “You had the sex with Lee,” Sailor declares.
“Oh, God,” I mumble, more to myself, but Sailor hears it.
“You said that last night too. Why were you talking to God? You don’t even believe in him.”
“Sailor, honey, how about we take this little chat to the lounge room so we don’t wake up Lee?” I suggest.
He shrugs. “Okay.”
But just as he turns to leave my room, Mr. Pickles dashes in, jumps onto the blanket box at the end of my bed, and lands on the mattress. He squeals happily and trots over to me before flopping on his back for a tummy rub, right on Lee’s head.
Lee swats at Pickles, trying to shove the little pig off. I quickly scoop him up and cuddle him to my chest. Lee props himself on an elbow and stares at me. “Why is there a pig in the bed?”
Sailor giggles uncontrollably from the other side of the room. Lee’s eyes widen, and he rolls over to look at him. “Oh, hey, big guy. I didn’t see you there.”
The giggles just keep coming as Sailor climbs onto the bed with us, causing Pickles to wiggle out of my arms to run to him. He jumps in Sailor’s lap, puts his tiny front legs on Sailor’s chest, and proceeds to nuzzle him into a laughing fit.
That’s when the girls come in.
“What’s going on?” Astrid asks, rubbing her eyes.
Ari just wanders over to the side of the bed and puts her arms up. Lee and I shuffle to sitting against the headboard. Thank God I’m still wearing my nighty. Lee is shirtless, but the kids don’t seem to mind. In fact, they don’t seem to be reacting to the fact that he’s in my bed at all.
This is weird.
Lee scoops Ari up and settles her in the curve of his arm where she snuggles in and promptly goes back to sleep. My heart is a big pile of mush in my chest.
“Come here, sweetheart,” I call to Astrid, who’s still lingering by the door.
She blinks sleepily then crawls onto the end of the bed and over to me. I wrap my arms around her, running my fingers through her silky hair.
A warm hand curls around the back of my neck, and I roll my head to face Lee. His smile is everything as he gazes at me, then my kids, and back to me. “I love you,” he mouths.
“I love you too,” I whisper. My heart may be mush, but it’s also full. So ridiculously full it just might burst.
Then, Sailor announces, “We’re going to have a cousin-brother!”
* * *
The kids and I are belting out “Walking on Sunshine” in the lounge room before Curt comes to pick them up for the weekend. It has become my theme song since Lee came back into my life.
Every day is perfect and beautiful with him in it.
He’s basically moved in since the kids found him in my bed last week. And I’m still wrapping my head around them having no reaction to his presence in said bed.
Except, of course, for Sailor being obsessed with acquiring a new cousin-brother, which resulted in a very awkward and uncomfortable conversation about pregnancy prevention.
A knock at the door lets me know Curt has arrived, and I open it for him. “Hey, come in. I’ll just grab the kids’ bags.”
“Thanks,” he says, stepping inside right before the kids swarm him. He lifts Ari and Sailor and spins them around. They squeal and laugh, wrapping their arms around his neck. I love how good he is with them.
Ducking into the hallway, I grab the kids’ backpacks and return to the living room to find the atmosphere has changed dramatically. Lee is standing in the open doorway, his jaw tight as he stares at Curt.
Well, shit.
I knew the first time they saw each other again was going to be intense, but I had hoped they’d have outgrown their issues with each other.
“Hey, you,” I say, approaching Lee and pressing a light kiss on his tense jaw.
His eyes immediately drop to mine, warming instantly. “Hey, babe,” he murmurs, tucking a strand of loose hair behind my ear.
Curt clears his throat. We turn to face him, and he raises a brow. “I was wondering how long it would take you two to pick things back up again,” he says, a warm smile slowly spreading across his face.
My heart stutters. He’s happy for me. Genuinely happy. I rush him, wrapping my arms around his middle. “Thank you,” I whisper.
His arms curl around my waist, and he gives me a gentle squeeze. Then, he pulls away slightly to look at me. “You deserve to be happy, Till. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for you. If he’s what gives you that, then so be it.”
A lump forms in my throat. I have to swallow hard to get my next words out. “I want that for you too, Curt. What I have with Lee … I want that for you.”
He shrugs. “I’ll find it one day. But for now, I’ve got everything I need. Happy kids and a happy baby-mumma.” He brushes a kiss to the top of my head, winks and releases me, and turns his attention to Lee. Then, he extends a hand to him, asking, “We good?”
Lee nods, his body loosening as he steps in and accepts Curt’s offered hand. “Yeah, we’re good, man.”
I thought my heart was full before, but this, my whole family in one room with zero tension ... I couldn’t be happier.