I’m panting by the time I’m done speaking as I back up toward the door. “I hope one day that you realize what you’re missing out on, and you change. Because right now? You don’t deserve him. You don't deserve our daughter. You don’t’deserve his love. But don’t worry, Olive and I love him enough to make up for it.”
Spinning on my heel, I turn and stalk out of the house, shutting the door behind me. When I make it to the porch, Briggs is standing at the bottom of the steps with a look I can’t read on his face.
“Did-d you hear all of that?” I swallow as I walk down the stairs, taking each one carefully.
He nods, then I’m being pulled against him and his lips are on mine.
He answers me by the way his hands slide up my jaw into my hair as he kisses me, deep and reassuring, and I feel it.
“You love me, huh?” He grins against my lips, his eyes shining with amusement.
I can feel my cheeks heat under his gaze, but I shrug. “A little. I guess.”
Throwing his head back, he laughs.
“I guess I love you too, you know? Except, I have for a long time, and I’m so fucking glad I can finally tell you. I love you, Maddison.”
“I love you, Briggs Wilson. Thank you for choosing me and Olive.”
“I’ll always choose you, baby. You and Olive are my always girls.”
His words penetrate my heart, and I almost lose it in his embrace. Right here, I almost break down and tell him everything I’ve been holding inside, but I can’t tell him something like that after what just happened with his parents. Not after how hard it must have been for him to have his father treat him that way.
“Let’s go home.”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
After we’re home and Olive is bathed and I’ve rocked her to sleep, I find Briggs in our bed, shirtless with his laptop. He’s staring intently at the screen with his brow furrowed.
Truthfully, a sight that feels too good to look at. His hair is still damp from his shower, and when he looks up and sees me walk into the room, his blue eyes seem to flare.
“Come here.”
I crawl into the bed next to him and slide under the plush, thick blanket, nestling into his side. His arm comes around my shoulders, and his lips press to the top of my head in a sweet kiss.
“I’m sorry that you had to hear that today,” he says against my hair.
Pulling back, I look up at him and shake my head. “Don’t you dare apologize for him.”
“Honestly, that happening… it gave me a sense of closure. Things between us always felt unfinished, and now, I know where he stands. And that’s okay. If there’s anything that I’ve learned through all of this, Mads, it’s that family is who you choose. It’s not just who is blood.”
His thumb runs absentmindedly along the flesh of my arm while he talks, and I just listen.
“I appreciate you being there.” Reaching over to his nightstand, he turns the bedside lamp off. “Get some sleep, baby, because tomorrow… I’m taking you and Olive somewhere for the weekend. A surprise getaway. One that includes a babysitter.”
That causes me to sit upright.
My eyes are still adjusting to the dark, but I lift a brow. “A surprise? A babysitter?”
He nods. “Yep. So go to sleep.”
“You can’t just tell me about a surprise and then go all alpha-y and tell me to go to sleep.”
Briggs laughs, pulling me gently back down into his arms, snuggling me against his side. “I can, and I did. Go to sleep. You’ll need all your energy for what I have planned.”
Hmm. I glance over at the baby monitor and see all of the correct things lit up, signaling it’s on and working for the night.
As I begin to drift off to sleep, I decide that this weekend, when we’re away and Olive isn’t with us, that’s the time I’ll tell him who I am. Not that there will ever be a perfect time to tell him, not knowing how hurt he’ll be, but at least we’ll be alone when the truth comes out.
The next morning, I wake up to pink and orange hues of sun, shining through the open curtains in our bedroom, acutely aware that I slept the entire night, which makes me shoot up from the bed.
I rub at my sleep-filled eyes and glance over at Briggs’s spot, finding it empty, and when I reach out, the soft sheets are cold.
Okay, I was obviously much more tired than I realized, which is basically my life every day now, but so tired that I fell asleep in the matter of minutes. I barely remember falling asleep, only that Briggs had me tucked against his body.
I swing my feet over the side of the bed and head down the landing to Olive’s room. Empty. Realization hits me. Briggs must have gotten up with her last night to let me sleep.
For someone who’s love language is affirmation and sleep… he nails it. Every time.
The smell of bacon hits me, and my stomach growls noisily. When I get downstairs, I find Olive and Briggs in the kitchen. Briggs has her set up in her bright pink Bumbo seat and he’s feeding her what looks like… banana? I can’t be sure since she appears to be wearing more than she seems to be eating.
He’s got a kitchen towel slung over one shoulder, music on the radio, and bacon and eggs on the stove.
No man should make multitasking look this effortless.
“Good morning, beautiful.” He grins and does another noisy airplane toward Olive with a spoonful of banana. She babbles so happily, my heart twists with an overpowering feeling of love.
I can’t believe that she’s our girl.
“Good morning.” I walk over and stand on my tiptoes, giving him and Olive each a sweet kiss.
Yep, banana.
“Are you judging me right now?” he says, brow lifted.
I can’t stop the smile that spreads on my lips. “Not at all. I just couldn't help but observe that sweet Olive seems to be wearing more banana than she has actually gone in her mouth. How about I take over and you can focus on the bacon?”
“Or, how about you go pack you and Olive a bag for a couple days? Me and my girl have this under complete control.”
As he says this, Olive spits out the glob of banana he just fed her, giggling and babbling.
“Okay, it’s fine, I can clean it up. You, upstairs. Pack you a bag.” He swats my ass playfully. “When you’re done, you can eat breakfast and we’ll head out. Your surprise, remember?”
I nod. “As if I could forget. Fine. I’ll be back in a few.”
I leave Briggs and the mess in the kitchen, then head upstairs and quickly pack a bag for both Olive and me. You never know how much stuff you have until you’re forced to pack for “a few days.”
I have no idea where we’re going, so I make sure to pack a variety of outfits for each of us, and then, I roll it back down the stairs and into the kitchen. This time, Olive is mostly cleaned up, cradled in Brigg’s strong arm as he plates breakfast with one hand and holds her in the other.
“Just in time,” he says, noticing my presence. I take Olive from him and give her another sweet kiss, then get her situated on her play-mat so we can eat breakfast.
Briggs sets the table with our plates and pours us each tall glasses of orange juice while I watch. Pulling my lip between my teeth, I stifle a grin.