Page 140 of Smitten with the Single Dad

“I wanted to know if maybe you … didn’t want to get one? If maybe you wanted to stay married to me? And stay here. Live here. Love us. Be a family with my boys and I? I don’t know what that means for your job, and I don’t want to stand in the way of that, but … I should have asked you to stay, and I didn’t. So I’m asking you now. Stay. Please.”

Evie crawled across the front seat and poked her head out the open driver’s side window. “It’s impossible not to eavesdrop, obviously, but my brother is an engineer and does a lot of remote work. I think he goes into his office once or twice a week.” She shrugged. “Just saying.”

Vica’s eyes glittered. “You don’t want to get a divorce?”

He shook his head. “Not if you don’t. I like that you’re my wife.”

“I like being your wife.”

“Does that mean you’ll stay?”

Her smile lit up the evening sky as tears filled her beautiful brown eyes, and she nodded. “Yeah. I’ll stay.”

Wyatt whooped, then swooped in and wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her off her feet, and twirling her around before setting her down on her feet, taking her face in his hands, and kissing her silly.

The loud, obnoxious ferry horn startled them both, making them jump and separate.

“I’m glad you came to your senses,” Burke said, slapping Wyatt on the back. “Was worried about you for a second there.”

“I’m a slow study,” Wyatt said, wrapping an arm around Vica. “Some might—andhave—called me an idiot.”

Vica’s giggle was like a bird song. “I do have an apartment, and plants that I have probably killed. So maybe this week we can go over and start getting things organized?”

He nodded and kissed the side of her head. “Anything you want. As long as your answer to staying and being my wife is still ‘yes.’”

She beamed. “It is.”

“And I fully support your career. So we’ll figure that out too.”

“If you’re done with engineering, we could always use another dishwasher in the kitchen,” Burke chided.

Vica’s laugh stitched up the last remaining frayed fragments on Wyatt’s heart. “I dunno, won’t people think I got the job because I’m sleeping with the boss?”

Wyatt pinched her butt. “You’re married to the boss, which makes you Mrs. Boss. You can have Burke’s job it you want it.”

Burke flipped Wyatt the bird, then climbed into his truck, while Wyatt and Vica—along with her duffle bag—started the long climb up the hill back to Bennett’s truck.

With their fingers laced together, both of them vibrating with love and excitement, it took them a while to reach the truck. They kept stopping to kiss. So by the time he opened the door for her, the line of vehicles had loaded onto the ferry and it was twilight.

She climbed into the passenger seat of Bennett’s truck and Wyatt ran aroundthe front of the grill and slid in behind the steering wheel. They held hands the whole way home, constantly looking over at each other and grinning.

It was fully dark by the time they pulled into the driveway on the property, but he hadn’t even turned off the engine before the front door of Bennett’s house flew open, and Griffon and Jake came barrelling out, tripping over each other. They opened the passenger side door and threw themselves onto Vica.

She had tears in her eyes as she embraced and kissed them both.

“You’re here to stay. Right?” Griffon asked.

She nodded. “I’m here to stay.”

“And you’re going to stay married to our dad?” Jake added.

“I am.”

The boys cheered, and Vica and Wyatt both laughed. His face hurt, and he was sure hers did too they were smiling so hard.

As much as he expected their reunion to be a sexy one, the boys wouldn’t allow it. They fell asleep—the four of them—in his big, king-sized bed, snuggled up.

“Thanks for not being an idiot anymore, Dad,” Griffon said with a big yawn, his arm draped across Vica’s stomach. “I love our family.”

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