Page 73 of Forbidden Billionaire Rockstar

Stella and Koen are in a fit of giggles, their faces red, and I quickly dig my hand into the batter before Jace has a chance to rush out of my way. As soon as he turns around, I swipe my palm over his face with a smirk. “You’re right, honey, this is perfect.Justwhat I was missing.”

Clearly we didn’t think this through because our kids rush over to the bowl, dig their own hands inside, and fling the batter at us with squeals of laughter. Jace and I look at each other, eyes wide, then nod and narrow our gazes at the kids.

Stella nudges her brother closer to us, clearly forcing him to fend for himself and give her time to get away, but it’s no use. Within moments, and batter caked all over our kitchen, Jace has both of the kids on the floor as he rubs his face all over them.

These are the moments I live for and why I’ll never regret how Jace and I got here. He’s the best father to our kids, giving them what he wished his parents had given him — unconditional love and support — and I’ve never been more proud to be married to him.

Now, I just need to tell him that he’s going to be a dad all over again and hope that he’s as excited as I am.

***

Jace

Cleaning up the kitchen from our cupcake fight takes about an hour, followed by another hour of getting the kids to bed. As I shower, washing away the remnants of batter and laughter, I'm struck by how full my heart feels. These messy, imperfect moments - they're the ones I'll treasure forever.

When I finally make it downstairs, Mallory's already on the couch, her robe loosely wrapped around her frame, the fireplacecasting a warm glow on her face. Even after seven years, she takes my breath away. Not just because of her beauty, but because of everything she represents - our love, our family, our shared journey.

She’s still the most beautiful woman in the world.

“So, seems like it was an eventful day.”

She glares at me and frowns. “Do not rub it in, honey, it’s unbecoming of you.”

I place a hand over my heart and look at her in shock. “I’d never.”

“Yeah, okay.” The book she’s got on her lap gets tossed onto the coffee and she sits up, eyes pointed at me. “Well, say it.”

“Say what, sweetheart?”

“That you knew I wouldn’t be able to do it.”

Although Mallory has been in a good place since the start of our relationship, her insecurities come back now and then when it comes to the kids. Last week, Koen was excited to get on his new bike, but when Mallory offered to teach him to ride, he said no and pointed to me. His exact words wereDaddy, better.

She hasn’t said anything, but I know it hurts, and she’s been trying harder to accomplish things for the kids.

“Sweetheart,” I say softly while pulling her onto my lap.

Once she’s seated, I place a finger at the tip of her chin and force her eyes to lock onto mine. “Listen to me when I say this, and I meanreallylisten.”

When she nods, I take a deep breath and say, “There are going to be things you aren’t good at. That’s why they have both of us. If Stella needs new clothes, she’s going to come to you for that because my sense of style is severely lacking and we all know it. Koen always goes on and on about the way you brush his teeth at night when I try to do it because he loves the songs you sing to him.”

Mallory’s shoulders deflate with each thing I point out, showing her how she’s better than me at certain things as well.

I rest my forehead against hers and smile. “We’re a team, sweetheart. I’ll never tell you I told you so, and I’d rather die than say you won’t be able to do something.”

She’s quiet for a moment, and I press a quick kiss to her lips. “I told you before, you can do whatever you put your mind to. You’ve just got to stop overthinking.”

“So… what did I do wrong?”

“Did you keep opening the oven while they were cooking?”

She blinks, then frowns. “Am I not supposed to? How else am I going to check that they are done?”

This woman. I love her to pieces, but baking is not her thing. I chuckle and shake my head. “Nothing to worry about, sweetheart. Stella’s cupcakes are made and sitting in the fridge.”

I pull my wife against me, her heartbeat thumping in tandem with my own, and I take the moment to get used to the feeling. It never fails to amaze me that we made it to this point in our lives, even when the odds were against us for a short period in the beginning.

Mallory went through a brief point where she couldn’t even look at her phone because of all the harsh words. The only reason she did eventually was because I had to take action myself and point out that bullying on my behalf was not okay. Other than a few smaller instances, mainly jealous fans, things seemed to turn around for the two of us.

---