Page 108 of Stolen Kisses

Opening the screen door, it only takes Em and the boys a second to realize that all of their furniture is here. With wide eyes, she turns to me. “Soyou didn’t see anything?” She hits my stomach with the back of her hand. “Oh, my gawd! I was feeling sick to my stomach thinking all of our stuff was gone.”

I wrap my arms around her, trapping her arms up between us. “Welcome home, Peaches.” I press my lips to hers, licking across the seam, requesting entry. After a few seconds, she finally opens to me, letting me inside. In the far recesses of my mind, I hear the kids calling to each other from their bedrooms, but my sole focus in this moment is Emma. Emma’s taste and the feel of her pressed against me.

Wholly and solely mine.

Pulling back slightly, I smile against her lips. “Surprise.”

She smiles back, pressing her forehead to mine. “You must have worked so hard to get this all done. Thank you,” she whispers.

“I had help. I couldn’t have done it all on my own. I wanted you all here, in our new home sooner rather than later. I hope you don’t mind.” I kiss her again, only stopping when we’re interrupted by the kids looking for their afternoon snack.

As the kids enjoy their snacks on the back deck, I take Em through our new addition to the house. “This is incredible, Theo. I’m so impressed by your skill,” she comments as she runs her hand over the built-in shelving in her home office. I’ve got a desk in here as well, for when I have to do the paperwork for my business. I have visions of us both working in here once the kids are in bed, her catching up on her planning, me doing my books, and ordering supplies online.

I can’t see a future without Em and the boys in it. I know Kenny’s completely in love with her and the boys. She’s ecstatic that our living arrangement is going to be permanent. As she surveys our bedroom and the bifold doors that open out onto the deck, she steps into my body, wrapping me in her arms. My arms automatically come up to hold her tight. She looks up to me, with eyes a thousand different shades of green capturing mine. With a soft smile touching her lips, she whispers, I love you, Theo. This is all so perfect.”

I lean down, pressing my lips to hers. “You’re the perfect one. Perfect for me. I love you, Peaches.” I press my lips to her forehead for long seconds. Thinking how lucky I am that she gave me a second chance after I was such an asshole. “Thank you for giving me a second chance. I promise to work hard every day to be the man you deserve.”

She looks up at me. “You already are the man I deserve, Theo. You already are.” She presses her lips against my heart. “You’ve got the best heart a girl could ever ask for.”

–epilogue–

–emma–

Theo and Kenny have thebiggest matching smiles as we leave the courthouse. I took a personal day off work so I could be with them at their adoption hearing. Even though Anna named Theo Kenny’s legal guardian, he wanted to make their relationship more official. It was a reasonablystraightforwardprocess once Theo got all of the paperwork in order.

“Let’s go celebrate with lunch at the restaurant,” Theo suggests.

My tummy grumbles in agreement with his suggestion. “Sounds perfect. You can tell your dad the good news. I think he was disappointed he couldn’t make it to the courthouse today.”

Theo leans across, laying a playful kiss on my lips. “Thanks for coming with us today.”

“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. I’m so happy for you guys.” I’m pretty sure my smile matches theirs.

“Thanks for all of your support throughout the entire process, Peaches.” He winks at me, picking Kenny up to nuzzle her cheek.

“Daddy!” Kenny squeals in delight. “You’re being silly.”

“I can’t help it. I’m so happy that I’m officially your daddy.” He nuzzles her a little more. “Love you, Munchkin.”

Theo opens the passenger door for me, then helps Kenny get situated in her booster seat.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I need to make a quick stop.”

“No problem.”

After a few moments, he pulls into a parking lot, turns off his truck, then leans across to kiss me. “Back in a few minutes, ladies.” He hops out of the truck, so I turn the radio up a little so Kenny and I can sing along to the songs to fill the time. Kenny and I often have dance-offs in the living room, much to the boys’ amusement.

We’re both dancing in our seats, singing at the top of our voices when Theo’s door opens and he hops in. “You girls having fun in here?” He smiles at us as he puts on his seatbelt.

“Yeah, Daddy! We’ve been dancing to all the best songs.”

“That’s great, Munchkin. Let’s go get something to eat.”

“Yeah, I’m hungry.” Kenny rubs her tummy to make her point.

Walking into the restaurant, Theo’s hand in mine, it takes a moment for my eyes to adjust to the dim lighting. When I can finally see properly, I’m surprised to find my boys and my entire family here. I guess Theo wanted everyone to join in the celebration.

“Congratulations!”Everyone cheers at once.

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