Page 15 of Lilly

She shrugs. "Why not? They're good movies."

Sometimes Lilly acts like a little girl and I forget that's she's an adult. Until I see her with her boyfriend, holding his hand, kissing him. That's when I have to remind myself she's not a little girl, and as much as I want to, I can't kick Reed's ass for holding her hand. Or doing other things with her, which I choose to pretend don't happen.

"Daddy, when's lunch?" Hannah asks.

"I don't know. I haven't figured that out yet. I was taking care of your brothers. Now they're taking their nap. I feel like I need one myself."

Lilly laughs. "Missing Jade?"

"I can handle it. At least you took care of these two." I kiss Abi's head, then Hannah's as I set her down. "Go get in the shower and get dressed."

They run off and I say to Lilly, "Can you keep an eye on them? I'm gonna go make some lunch. Any requests?"

She stops to think. "Grilled cheese and potato chips. And fruit punch."

I smile. "You're as bad as Jade. Do you ever eat a vegetable?"

"I drink fruit punch. The bottle says it has vitamins in it. Hey, have you heard from Mom and Dad?"

"I got a text from Mom saying they're flying back later today. Grace is staying behind."

"How's William?"

"He's back home now. Jade called last night and said the doctors think he was just overworked. He's supposed to take some time off." I hear giggling coming from Abi's room. "Would you go check and see what that's about?"

"They're probably looking at cute boys on the Internet." She walks past me.

I grab her hand. "Are you serious? Have they been looking at boys? Because if so I'm taking that computer out of their—"

"I'm kidding," Lilly says, laughing.

I let out a breath. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack? It's bad enough you're out there dating. I'm not ready for those two to start."

"That reminds me. I need to call Reed." She takes out her phone. "He called this morning when I was asleep."

"Just send him a text. I need your help with the girls." We go down to Abi's room where the giggling continues. "What are you guys up to?"

They turn around and I see makeup spread all over their cheeks. Jade bought them some play makeup to put on their dolls, but today they've decided to try it on themselves. Hannah has blue eyeshadow smeared on her cheeks and Abi has hearts drawn all over her face using pink lipstick.

"Look, Daddy!" Hannah points to her cheeks.

"Yeah. I see it. Now get in the shower and wash it off so we can have lunch."

"You're no fun," Lilly mumbles as she goes past me.

"I'm all kinds of fun."

Lilly goes over to Abi. "You should draw pretty hearts on your daddy's cheeks too."

"Okay!" She runs toward me, holding the tube of lipstick.

"Maybe some other time," I tell her, glancing at Lilly. "Or maybe wait until the next time Reed's here. I'm sure he wouldn't mind a few lipstick hearts."

"Very funny, Garret," Lilly says as I walk away.

While I'm making lunch, the twins wake up from their nap. I take them into the kitchen and set them up at the table with some crackers to snack on. That holds their attention for about a minute, then they're climbing off their chairs, preparing to make a run for it.

Lilly's right. I need Jade. Taking care of twin toddlers by myself is too much. I can do it for a few hours but it's been over a day now and they're wearing me out. Usually one of the girls will help out but they've been too busy with Lilly.

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