Page 65 of Inked Craving

Paige, however, cackled before she set Emery down in the crib and followed me.

“She’s just going to rest in there for a bit since she didn’t sleep all that many hours last night.”

I rubbed the back of my neck and raised a brow. “I remember. How the hell did you do that for the first couple of months alone?”

Paige shook her head and then pulled the Italian sausage and ground turkey out of the refrigerator. “I didn’t do it on my own. Not completely. My parents were here, and then one of my siblings, and you were here practically every day. You might not have stayed the night at first, but you were here. I didn’t have to do it alone.”

“I’m not going to mention the C name. However, I’m still pissed off.”

“I will always be pissed off when it comes to him. There will always be anger that I can’t get rid of, and yet I know that he gave me Emery even if he walked away. He’ll be the one to feel the pain of it. And a little part of me feels guilty about that.”

I nodded and held her close. “Because we’re not going to have to worry about visitation or holidays or splitting up the family.”

“You saidwe,” she whispered, and I nodded tightly.

“Of course, I did. You’re not getting rid of me anytime soon. Don’t you get that?”

“I do. Completely. And I’m going to brush over that subject for one second only so I can say that, yes, that’s why I feel guilty. Because I don’t want to share her. And that makes me a horrible person. And I know that on top of all of that, I hate that Emery will never get to know Colton. That Colton will never get to know her. There’s no coming back from that, and it will always be an issue that we’ll have to deal with. Yes,we, including my family. But Emery will know that she’s loved. Completely and utterly by so many people.”

I let out a slow breath, gathering my anger at the man who had walked away from everything I hadn’t known I craved. “And when it comes to a time when she has questions that may well happen, we’ll figure it out. Together.”

“Let’s just hope that is what happens, and I don’t burst out into tears or rage.”

“If you burst out into a rage, baby, you’re more than welcome to. It’s your right.”

“I don’t want to be angry. I don’t want to be sad or guilty or feel like I’m not doing the right thing. I just want to find happiness.”

I kissed her soundly. “Well, let’s start tonight with these lasagna roll-ups.”

Paige scrunched her nose. “Mom said the regular lasagna might be easier, but these look cuter. We can do it.”

I rubbed my hands together. “I hope so. Now, we’re supposed to brown the meat first?”

“From what my mom said, you cook all of the ingredients and then put it together. Some people cook lasagna raw, but that takes longer in the oven, and I don’t trust us without at least watching it cook a bit.”

“Exactly. And how are you supposed to roll the pasta if it’s hard?”

“I’m not going to make athat’s what she saidjoke because I don’t think that works with that.”

I snorted and kissed the top of her head. “We’ll get better at the dirty jokes, Paige. However, I am a little surprised. You have three brothers, and Annabelle is great with the dirty jokes.”

“I know, I know. It’s like I have forgotten how to do those. I’ll do better. For you.”

“That’s all I ask, babe.”

“We’ll figure it out. It can’t be that hard, can it?” she asked, and I winced.

“That’s literally the worst thing you could’ve possibly said. You’ve jinxed us.”

She rolled her eyes, and then we got to work. It took a little bit longer than expected to make the sauce as we kept stopping to press each other against the counters, kissing and licking. It felt normal, as if we had been doing this for years rather than a few weeks, but I didn’t want it to end.

I had spent the night at her house every night that week and even had a drawer in her dresser now. I had a feeling if I said the word, she’d invite me to move in, but I also didn’t want to pressure her. So, we were taking our time. In our own way. But I loved waking up every morning with Paige pressed against me, the two of us making love before we quickly rolled out of bed and went to Emery.

It just felt right.

An unexpected everything.

“How’s your new project?” Paige asked as we frowned at the ricotta cheese and the egg that was apparently supposed to go inside it.

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