Page 18 of My Ex-Best Friends

Reaching out, he wrapped his arm around me and tugged me into his chest. “Goodnight, little bunny.”

I nearly choked on a gasp as he let out a little snore before I could even reply. I stretched my neck to be able to look up at hisface and, sure enough, he was already asleep. I shook my head. I’d never seen anyone be able to pass out so quickly.

I didn’t think I’d be so lucky. Sleeping next to him when I was barely a teen didn’t feel quite the same as sleeping next to him when he was a fully grown man with muscles and what felt like miles of warm skin. Still, I curled into his side and rested my head over his heart, letting the steady beat lull me away.

16

***Brooke***

“Daddy! That’s not how you do it.”

I froze outside of the kitchen the next morning. I was already slightly thrown off by waking up to no sign of Logan but hearing a small child just around the corner felt like too much for so early in the morning.

“That’s how Grandma made them for me.” Noah sounded tired and slightly exasperated. “And I happen to know that’s how she makes them for you, too.”

“Who are you?” The little voice was attached to a little girl with the same sandy blonde hair and blue eyes as Noah. She even had the same dimples.

I felt a jolt of shock at how similar she looked to a Noah I’d known decades earlier. She was staring up at me with wide eyes, curious but not concerned at all. I had to shake myself to be able to answer her. “I’m Brooke. And you are?”

“I’m Sinclair. Why are you here?” She inched closer, staring at me like I was an interesting science project.

“Shit.” Noah appeared from deeper in the kitchen with an apologetic look on his face. “Sorry, Brooke. This is my daughter, Sinclair. Sin, this is a friend of Daddy’s, Brooke. She’s staying here with us.”

“Why are you apologizing to me?”

“Why are you saying you’re sorry, Daddy?” Sinclair looked up at me as we spoke at the same time. “Jinx! You owe me a coke.”

I scoffed. “That only works if you say the exact same thing. Plus, aren’t cokes full of caffeine that makes little kids go crazy?”

She scoffed back at me. “Daddy says people shouldn’t try to get out of their ‘sponsibilities. You owe me a coke, lady.”

I found myself grinning down at her. “Fine. I owe you a coke but don’t rush me about giving it to you. I had to take clothes from my crazy aunt yesterday so I’m not exactly in a position to be paying out cokes to little kids.”

“You have a crazy aunt, too? What’s her name? Is it Aunt Patty?”

“Nope. Aunt Karlene.” I eyed her for a second longer. “Why’s your aunt crazy?”

“This is too much for my brain this early in the morning.” Noah gripped the top of Sinclair’s head and turned her back to the kitchen. “I’m making pancakes, wrong apparently, but still edible. In my humble opinion. Feel free to eat any of the dozen Sinclair doesn’t approve of.”

Sinclair rolled her eyes. “Mommy makes them with chocolate chips. She says the chocolate makes you have a good day.”

I followed them into the kitchen and took in the massive stack of pancakes that had been deemed not worthy of the little girl. “Your mom sounds like a smart lady. Chocolate can never be wrong. I, however, will accept these chocolate-less pancakes because I’m going to get my chocolate in other forms this morning.”

She gave me a suspicious glance. “How?”

I went to my purse and pulled two kisses from my secret stash. Coming back to the island, I sat and put them next to my plate. I shot Noah a grin as I stacked my plate with pancakes and drowned them in syrup. I ate my first bite and let out a surprised moan. “Holy shit. Being a dad made your cooking better.”

He leaned against the island and studied me with heat in his gaze. “Made lots of things better.”

Sinclair saved me from answering with an embarrassingly needy response. She sat next to me and stared at my plate. “They’re okay?”

I cut a piece for her and held it out, letting syrup drip on the counter between us. When she reached for it, I shoved the bite into my mouth and laughed. “That’s how good they are.”

She huffed and then slyly glanced behind me. “What’s that?!”

I could tell I was being played but I still looked behind me, exaggeratedly turning all the way around. When I turned back to her, she was trying to shove a whole pancake into her mouth. I gasped. “No, you didn’t! I can’t believe I fell for that!”

Noah sighed. “I’m raising a criminal.”

---