Page 60 of The Sweet Spot

But did everything go smoother than I expected? Thankfully, it did.

Brynn presses her hands against my chest as her soft scent wraps around me. “I think it went very well. And I think Winnie was our little superstar. Kennedy and she are going to be inseparable, just you watch.”

I pull her in against me and rest my chin on her head. “You’re a damn rockstar, you know that, wife?”

“You think?” She laughs and drags her hands down to the front of my jeans. “Because I can think of a few ways you could show me just how much you appreciated that rockstar status.”

This woman... She’s fucking perfect. “Oh, I already have plans for you tonight. And they start with you coming on my cock after you’ve come on my tongue.”

Her body trembles against mine, and my cock presses against her ass, anticipating everything that’s still in store.

“Deacon... Kennedy is here, and she’s going to be sleeping across the hall.”

“Yeah, baby. She is.” I bend my head down next to her ear. “And her room doesn’t have access to that balcony. Do you think you can be quiet for me?”

She shakes her head slowly, then brings my hand up to her lips and kisses my fingers. “If I get too loud... you may have to find something to shove in my mouth, husband. Do you think you could come up with something?”

Fuck me. She’s going to kill me. But I’ll die a happy man.

Finally getting to read a chapter of Harry Potter with my daughter in my house is something I’ve looked forward to since negotiations with the Revolution started. Having her in her own room under my roof is a small luxury I hope to never take for granted because man, it feels good.

I kiss her forehead and pull her pale purple comforter up around her, then close our new copy of The Goblet of Fire and place it on her nightstand. “No reading ahead without me. Okay?”

“I won’t,” she promises, then looks down at Winnie on the floor. “Why can’t she sleep in my bed?”

“Because she’s small. If she falls off your bed, she could get hurt. She’s safer on her dog bed.” I walk across the room and rest my hand over the light switch. “Do you want them on or off?”

“Off. But Dad . . . ?”

I stand, waiting for her question, wondering if she’s going to keep fighting this fight.

“Do you think Brynlee likes me?”

Shit. I might as well have taken a stick to the face for as hard as that just hit. I stay where I am, conscious of not crowding her since she waited for me to be on the other side of the room before asking. “I know she likes you, kiddo. She liked you before she met you.”

“But she didn’t know me then. How could she like me?” she pushes back.

“It might be hard to believe, but she knew you before she met you because I never stop talking about you. Brynlee is the kind of person who pays attention to everything. She wants to know everyone, and she wants all the people in her life to know how much she cares. I’m not completely convinced she didn’t get Winnie as much for you as she did for herself.”

Kennedy’s face beams. “I think I like her too. You smile when you look at her.”

Out of the mouths of babes.

“Yeah, kiddo. I guess I do.”

“Why didn’t you have a big wedding?” she questions, and I wish she’d asked this earlier when Brynn was around to help me out.

“I’m not really sure, to be honest. We knew what we wanted, and we didn’t want to wait.” When all else fails, go with the truth. I wait to see if she asks anything else before shutting off the light. “Love you, kiddo.”

“Love you, too, Dad.”

Brynlee

There’s a comfy lounge chair on Deacon’s balcony that I make myself at home in as storm clouds roll in across the lake. I’ve got my iPad in my hand and my new book pulled up, but considering I’ve read the same chapter at least five times and haven’t retained a word of it, I decide to give up for the night and just enjoy the view.

The covered roof gives enough protection that even when the storm from this morning starts back up again, I’m not getting wet. Everything about it is cozy and peaceful. And there goes that word again.

I haven’t felt much peace since I found out my biological mother was gone.

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