Page 48 of Stolen Kisses

“You and Kenny wouldn’t mind?”

“Not at all. We can get organized for our camp out.” I tug her close, leaning forward to press a chaste kiss to her lips.

She nods in return with a relieved smile. “Thanks for understanding.”

“Anytime, Peaches.”

“Why do you call our mommy, Peaches? Her name is Emma.”

Em looks at me with raised brows, challenging me to answer Lachlan’s question.

I pull away from Emma, so I can give Lachlan my attention. “Well, you see … I love peaches. They’re sweet just like your mom.” I pull Emma back in close to whisper for her ears only, “They both taste delicious, too.” Emma chuckles, dropping her head to hide her face.

“But Mommy is nothing like a peach.”

“It’s a nickname. Like I call Kenny, Munchkin.”

“Whatisa munchkin anyway?” Lachlan seems quite puzzled by the whole nickname thing.

“It’s a word used to describe a short person or a small child.”

Kenny stops in her tracks, slamming her tiny fists to her hips. “Hey. I’m not short!” The incredulous look on her little face is enough to crack me up.

“You are short, Kenny. But that’s partly because you’re four years old. You’ll grow taller.” Lachlan states in his matter-of-fact way without realizing he’s added fuel to Kenny’s fire. “You’ll probably stop growing when you’re between fifteen and seventeen years old.”

I look at Emma who shrugs at my unasked question. “I don’t know how he knows the stuff he knows. He retains facts and figures like you wouldn’t believe.”

“Oh, I believe it. His recall of facts blows me away.”

I pick Kenny up and land a smacking kiss on her cheek. “All the best things come in small packages, Munchkin.”

She crosses her arms, pouting at me. “I don’twannabe called Munchkin anymore.”

“Too bad. You’re my one and only Munchkin.The name stays!” She smiles.

“I’m your one and only?” A hopeful expressiononher face.

“Absolutely. Forever and always.” I kiss her forehead. Her little body relaxes against mine as we make our way through the crowds back to the parking lot.

–emma–

Could I fall for this guy any more than I already have? He’s too sweet, andto think I thought he was an asshole when he first moved in. The boys are so excited to spend the night camping—even Lachlan who values his set routine. The entire tent floor is covered in mattresses, pillows, andlight cottonblankets—making one big bed for all of us to share. I know it’s wrong, but I’m so looking forward to being able to snuggle with Theo. It’s been too long since we spent the afternoon and night together.

What that man did to my body.

The way he cherished me—every single inch of me. I’ve never experienced attention like that before in my whole life. He really loves my curves and the extra pounds seemed to turn him on, not off.

Standing on Theo’s upper back deck, we manage to catch the higher fireworks. Every time I turn my head and catch sight of Theo’s bed, my body heats remembering everything we did together. Lachlan’s hand squeezing mine brings me back to where my mind should be. Looking down at him, he smiles at me before turning back to watch more of the display. Austin hasn’t torn his eyes away from thefireworksat all and Kenny’s equally mesmerized by the colorful explosions as she sits up high on Theo’s shoulders; his hands holding her legs securely—keeping her safe. He’s so protective of her, there’s no way he would ever put her in a situation where she may get hurt—physically or emotionally. He feels she’s already suffered enough with the loss of her mom.

As the fireworks come to an end, Theo and I round up the kids so we can make s’mores over the fire pit. Something my boys have never done—Preston was never one to do outdoorsy-type stuff and the people-pleaser that I was, went along with whatever he liked and didn’t like.

“C’mon kids, let’sgodownstairs to make our s’mores.” Theo places Kenny on her feet and we all make our way downstairs.

“This is so exciting.” Austin’s almost bouncing down the stairs. “Mommy, what’s a s’more?” He asks.

I ruffle his hair. “It’s something that’s yummy. You’ll see.”

On the way to the fire pit, we collect the marshmallows, milk chocolate, and grahamcrackers. Austin and Kenny are just about bursting out of their skin with excitement. The small smile on Lachlan’s face and the pace of his stride tells me he’s equally excited for this new experience.

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