Page 102 of Stitches

I smiled, OK with that.

“Stitches! Sirena!” Ashes’s voice sounded out somewhere downstairs. “Dinner!”

“I want to stay right here with you,” I murmured.

She let out a contented sigh, and I rested my head against the top of her head while holding her.

“Hey,” Ashes said, coming into her room. “I made dinner.”

“Sorry,” I said, kissing the top of Sirena’s head. “I just…”

Ashes smile. “I get it. I can bring it up for you guys.”

“What is it?” I asked.

“Grilled cheese sandwiches.”

I chuckled. “You went all out, huh?”

“Well, technically, they’re also hamburgers.”

I crinkled my brows at him. “What?”

“I thought I’d try something different. I took my like of grilled cheese and combined it with my like of hamburgers. The grilled cheeseburger was born. I have waffle fries too.” He looked smug as he leaned against the banister.

“How did you make it?”

“Easy. I made grilled cheese, then I made hamburgers. I put the patty between two grilled cheeses. Then we had waffle fries in the freezer.” He gave me a winning smile. “It looks like a complete mess, but I bet it tastes amazing.”

I let out a laugh that made his eyes light up. Sirena nuzzled deeper against me.

“OK. Can you bring it up to us and we can all eat in here? Maybe watch a movie? Would you like that, angel? If we all cozied up in your bed and watched something while we wait for Church to get home from his run?”

She hugged me tighter.

“Cool. I’ll be right back.” Ashes darted back downstairs, leaving me and Sirena alone.

“Do you want to get ready and settle in bed? I’m going to go grab my pajamas.”

She released me and got to her feet. I watched as she went to her dresser and got her pajamas. Slowly, I got up and went to her, placing a gentle kiss atop her head.

“I’ll be right back.”

She said nothing, but she didn’t need to use words. She was able to tell me everything with just her presence. I had no idea how she did it, but she did.

Quickly, I went all the way to my room and got into my pajamas before going to the kitchen to help Ashes who had been smart enough to already put his on.

“What’s this?” I looked at the cheesecake on the counter.

“I made it out of one of those no-bake boxes. It might be complete ass, but I wanted something sweet to smear on her body.” He winked at me, making me laugh.

“You’re optimistic.”

He shrugged. “I try.”

“Here.” I took the cheesecake and paper plates along with one of the grilled cheeseburgers he’d made. He stuffed some bottled water in his pajama pockets and grabbed the other two plates and followed me upstairs to her room where she was already settled in bed, awaiting our arrival.

Her pretty eyes lit up as we brought in the food, and I couldn’t help the smile that touched my lips as she clasped her hands together when she saw the cheesecake.

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