Page 62 of Moonlit Kisses

“Oh yeah, I remember Em’s boys used to stink when they first switched over to solid food. It’s not pleasant. I was never too keen to change their diapers once that happened.” I take the turn into Emma and Theo’s driveway and turn off the engine.

She turns to me with wide eyes. “We’re here already?”

“C’mon. It’ll be fine. I promise.” Leaning across the console, I give her a chaste kiss, then climb out of my car. I know the second Mom lays eyes on me with Molly, she’s going to know that I’m head over heels in love with this woman. My only hope is that she doesn’t embarrass me too much.

With Molly’s hand secure in mine, we make our way up to the porch. Sarah’s standing inside the door when we enter and, knowing her, she saw my car pull up and made sure she would be the first one to greet us. She’s probably annoyed that Emma has already met Molly.

“Max. It’s great to see you.” She wraps her arms around me, pulling me in close. I refuse to release Molly’s hand, so I return her hug with my free arm, whacking her in the back with the gift bag I’m carrying for Lachlan. “Oh my gosh, she’s so freaking pretty … and tall,” Sarah whispers in my ear before pulling back to greet Molly. “Hi, I’m Sarah. I’m Max’s favorite sister.” She leans forward to embrace Molly. “It’s nice to meet you, finally.” Molly gives Sarah her full smile, dimples and all. Sarah’s eyes widen as she chuckles. “I can see why Kenny thinks you’re a Disney princess.”

Molly laughs. “Hi, Sarah. It’s lovely to meet you.”

“Uncle Maaaaax! Aunty Mollyyyyyy!” Kenny comes running from the back of the house, leaping at my body. “You came!” She squeezes my cheeks in her tiny hands and lands a kiss on my nose. “And you brought me a princess to play with.” Molly, Sarah, and I chuckle at our niece, who stole our hearts from the minute we first met her.

Molly tickles Kenny under her arm. “Hi, Kenny. I washed my hair, especially this morning, so you could do a special braid for me.”

Kenny reaches across, smoothing her hand down Molly’s long hair. “It’s so silky.” Her eyes go wide. “I collected all of my best hair ties and ribbons together and I’ve got my special brush and comb. It’s gonna be so much fun.” She wriggles her body, so I place her on her feet. Molly chuckles as Kenny runs back to where she came, shouting. “Mommy. Daddy. Uncle Max’s princess is here!”

Molly’s eyes widen and her cheeks flush prettily. “Oh my gosh. I’m so far from being a princess.”

Sarah turns to her. “Are you sure about that? With your pretty eyes, gorgeous platinum hair, and dimples. Not to mention,” she waves her hand up and down Molly’s form, “your stunning figure. You’re like a real-life Disney princess.” She moves closer to Molly and motions for her to lean down. “Is my big bro being good to you?”

Molly smiles widely as she nods. She looks at me as she answers Sarah, “He absolutely is. He’s the best.”

My hand tightens around hers and my chest puffs out a little, knowing that I’m giving her what she needs. “Uh, Sis, do you think you can let us into the house?”

We’re still standing inside the front door, for fuck’s sake. She pokes her tongue out at me and spins on her heel, leading the way to the back of the house. I lean down slightly and steal a quick kiss from my girl.

“Ewwww, Uncle Max is kissing Aunty Molly.” Austin’s voice rings out, breaking the moment. I drop my forehead to Molly’s and we share a laugh. When I pull back to study Molly’s face, she’s flushed, and her eyes are sparkling with happiness. I love this look on her. It’s one I hope to keep on her face for a very long time. I love that the kids are already calling Molly, aunty. It’s like they’ve been inside my mind.

It’s all I can think about.

How I can make her mine forever.

We step into the kitchen, and I place my gift for Lachlan on the counter and drag Molly forward to meet Mom. I wrap my free arm around the woman who made me the man I am today and pull her in close, kissing the top of her head. “Hey, Mom.” I pull Molly in beside me. “This is my girlfriend, Molly.”

Molly freezes momentarily, her mouth partway open as she glances up at me. “Hi, Mrs. Stanfield. It’s lovely to meet you.” She holds out her hand for Mom, but Mom pushes through, wrapping her arms around Molly and drawing her in tight. Molly awkwardly returns the hug one-armed, Lachlan’s gift bag dangling from her forearm, because I refuse to let go of her hand.

“Oh, my dear girl. Thank you for joining us today. It’s all Kenny could talk about.” She rolls her eyes light-heartedly. “But please, call me Sally. Or Mom.” She smiles at Molly, then her face goes ashen, and her smile drops. Her hand rises to her necklace, and she fidgets with the chain. “Oh my, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean that … I mean … oh dear.” Mom’s flustered as she tries to recover, looking to me for guidance.

I wrap my arm around her shoulder. “It’s okay, Mom.”

Molly grins and waves her off. “Please don’t feel you have to watch what you say with me, Mrs. … I mean, Sally. I promise I won’t break down.”

Mom nods and I can tell she’s holding back what she would really like to say. Knowing Mom, she wants to wrap Molly up in a warm hug and tell her everything will be okay. That she’s got us now and that we’ll take care of her. It’s exactly what I want to do, but I know Molly’s extremely independent and likes to stand on her own feet.

Dad comes in from the back deck, which Theo extended when Em and the boys moved in. It was already big, but now it’s huge, with doors that open onto it, giving us the feel that the kitchen and deck are one space.

“Son!” Dad walks straight toward me with a slight limp, and we embrace.

“Dad. How’s your knee?” He was jumping on the trampoline with the kids last weekend and fell as he was climbing out, twisting his knee.

“Oh, it’s fine. I’ll be back to trampolining in no time.” He pats my arm and finishes with a squeeze. “And who do we have here?” He turns to Molly.

“Hi, Mr. Stanfield. I’m Molly.” She holds her hand out to shake and Dad treats her to the same fierce hug that Mom gave her. I’ve told my family a minimal amount about Molly, which included why she moved here. You can imagine how that went down with Mom and Dad. Mom was a sobbing mess and Dad wasn’t too far behind her.

“Call me John. Mr. Stanfield is my father.” He chuckles at his own joke.

Molly chuckles too, as she looks at me with a raised brow. “Sounds familiar.”

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