Page 33 of Stepping Up

As I tucked Ella into bed and pulled the covers up to her chin, Carly took a step back, metaphorically and physically. She left me sitting at the edge of Ella’s bed and decided to watch from the doorway instead in a kind attempt to give me this moment. Now I had to mouth a silent thank you to her, and she waved it off. I turned back to Ella, who yawned sleepily, her eyelids drooping with exhaustion. Still, she had some fight left in her, and she asked, “Can I have a story, Doctor Ben?”

“I’m… not sure I know any,” I admitted, feeling my pulse pick up with the pressure of this request.

“Give it your best shot,” Carly encouraged me. “Just make it up. Ella’s a tough critic, but she’ll be nice, since you’re new to this. Right, Ella?”

“Right,” the girl echoed.

Alright. Here goes nothing, I thought.

I cleared my throat, gathering my thoughts as I prepared to spin a tale fit for a princess. "Once upon a time, in a faraway kingdom, there lived a beautiful queen named… Carla."

Ella's eyes widened with excitement at the mention of her mother's name, a delighted giggle escaping her lips. "Hey, that's like Mama's name!"

I nodded with a smile. "Our queen was the kindest and most compassionate ruler the kingdom had ever known. She was loved by all who knew her, and her heart was as big as the sky."

I glanced up to see Carly's cheeks were flushed pink at the praise, but she didn't interrupt, her eyes lit with amusement as she listened.

"Now, Queen Carla lived in a magnificent castle atop a hill, and she spent her days happily, pursuing her passion for art and caring for her people," I continued, my heart pounding. "But the queen longed for something more. She dreamed of finding true love and starting a family of her own."

Ella's gaze flickered between me and Carly, her expression one of rapt attention as she hung on my every word. "What happened next, Doctor Ben?"

"Well," I said, adopting a dramatic tone, "one day, fate intervened and brought a noble king into Queen Carla's life."

Carly's eyebrows shot up in surprise, a soft chuckle escaping her lips. "A noble king, huh?"

I grinned. "Of course. And this king was none other than King Benedict."

Ella's eyes widened in excitement, her giggles filling the room as she clapped her hands together. "You're the king, Doctor Ben?"

I shrugged, playing along with the story. "Maybe. King Benedict was brave and kind. And when he met Queen Carla, he knew she was the one he had been searching for."

Carly's cheeks flushed even brighter, her gaze meeting mine with a mixture of amusement and affection. It was clear that she was enjoying the story just as much as Ella was.

"Together, Queen Carla and King Benedict embarked on a grand adventure, exploring the kingdom and forging a bond that could never be broken.” I paused, thinking back on the night Carly and I had first met and internally laughing at myself. More like they embarked on a grand one-night stand. That wasn’t very fairy tale. "And before long, their love blossomed into something truly magical."

Ella snuggled deeper into her blankets, her eyes sliding closed. "What about the princess, Doctor Ben? Did they have a princess?"

"Yes, Ella. They had a princess named… Eleanor. And Princess Eleanor was the most precious gift of all," I murmured, my voice growing quiet as I watched Ella's breathing even out. "With her laughter and her love, she brought light and joy to the kingdom, filling the hearts of all who knew her."

As I finished the story, I leaned in to press a gentle kiss to Ella's forehead, tucking the covers snugly around her sleeping form. "Sweet dreams, Princess," I whispered.

Carly strode over and placed a hand on my shoulder, her touch warm and reassuring. "Thank you, Bennett," she said softly, her voice filled with gratitude. "That was beautiful."

I met her gaze, a silent understanding passing between us. As I stood up to leave Ella's room, Carly followed me out into the hallway. My pulse was sprinting ahead at lightning speed, my mind racing with all the things I wanted to say, to do, with the gorgeous mother of my child. But before I could consider a single move, Carly glanced at Ella’s room for reassurance and then came up on her tiptoes to meet my lips with her own.

She kissed me softly at first. A gentle thanks, just as warm and velvety as I remembered her lips were back in college. It was like no time had passed between that one life-changing night and now. I kissed her back, surer of this choice than any other I’d made in a while, and I wrapped my arm around her waist to hug her close to me. My other hand found its way into her hair, gently cradling her head behind her ear.

Even though this kiss felt new and sweet, innocent, my body responded easily to Carly’s lush form so close to mine. Remembering the night we’d slept together, the night Ella was conceived, I yearned deeply to taste and touch her again, to slide myself easily into her wet heat, to come home. But there was Ella to think about, now. We were more than just roommates or co-parents. We were a family, bound together by love and a shared journey that was only just beginning.

And to complicate things further, there was the fact that Carly had slept with both of my foster brothers, and neither of them seemed particularly interested in giving her up for the sake of the fantasy nuclear family I wanted. Who could blame them? I was just kissing Carly, our tongues barely coming into play as we tried to keep it slow, and I was dying to take her to bed. And it frightened me how badly I wanted to do that despite everything, how little I cared in this moment whether I had to share her with two or three or eighty other men. Any piece of Carly might be enough for me, I realized. Whatever it took to keep her with me, to make her happy, to make her mine.

But I couldn’t give in right now. It wasn’t the time. Instead, after a brief deepening of the kiss, a farewell to this feeling, I pulled away. Carly tried to follow me with her lips, but then her eyes slid open, and she met my gaze.

“Goodnight, Carly,” I whispered to her as I headed off to my bedroom. I wasn’t sure if I actually heard or imagined her own, tiny “Goodnight.” But one thing was for sure. It was a good night. The best yet.

20

CARLY

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