Page 37 of Ash

“Wow, Jelly Bean. You look gorgeous,” I complimented my daughter when she walked into the living room.Damn, how did she get to be sixteen?

“Mustyou call her that?” Deidre whined. Nora’s mother had mellowed over the years, but she still made me want to toss her out on her ass sometimes.

Jennalynn and I rolled our eyes at each other, then grinned.

“Thanks, Daddy. But…do I have to wear it?” She glanced down at the puffy pink princess dress and screwed her face up in disgust. It was completely wrong for my “rocker-chick”—her words—daughter’s style.

“Of course not, Jelly Bean.”

Diedre gasped. “You agreed to let her have a debutante ball when she turned sixteen!”

“Yes, Mom,” Nora sighed as sashayed into the room. “Jen agreed to the party.” I winked at her and held out my hand, beckoning her to come to me. She smiled and sauntered over, letting me pull her down into my lap. “But we didn’t commit to a particular kind of dress, or the guest list you gave me, or the decorations you picked out.”

“Did you learn anything from our wedding, Diedre?” I drawled. “You push…”

Nora grinned. “We push back.”

“Or run away,” Jennalynn snickered, then huffed, “Don’t get me wrong, that’s sounding really freaking great right about now.”

I turned my wife’s face toward me and pressed my lips to hers, only pulling away when Jennalynn muttered, “I’m right here, guys. Cool it on the making out.”

“Yes,” Diedre snipped. “Mustyou do that?”

“Yes,” I told her matter-of-factly. “Woulda thought you’d get over it, considering it’s how you got four kick-ass grandbabies.”

Diedre sniffed, but her face softened when she looked at Jennalynn. “You do look beautiful, my dear.”

“I look like a cupcake, Grandma,” Jennalynn snorted.

“You look perfect. Don’t you want to catch the eye of your handsome prince?” Nora’s mom asked with a slightly dreamy tone.

Nora, Jennalynn, and I all burst into laughter.

“Nah, Grandma. I’m lookin’ for the guy up the road who has tattoos and rides a motorcycle.” She winked at me adorably, so I didn’t comment that she would never be dating.

Nora tilted her head, studying our daughter with a secretive smile. “Why don’t you show your grandmother the dress you picked out?”

Jennalynn’s face lit up, and she bounced out of the room.

“Honestly,” Diedre huffed. “Whatareyou teaching that girl, Nora?”

“To be herself. No matter what anyone else thinks.”

I fucking adored my wife.

“Daddy!” Vivienne screamed. A second later, our four-year-old came barreling into the room with a terrified expression and chocolate all over her face.

“Vivi! You are in so much fucking trouble!” Garner—our twelve-year-old son—shouted.

I winced as Nora and Diedre gasped like pearl-clutching old ladies. It was me who was gonna be in a shit ton of trouble.

Vivi ran over and threw herself at Nora, burying her face in her stomach.

When Garner burst into the room, he glared daggers at the little thief and stalked across the room. He stopped in front of us and shoved his hand onto his hips. “That was the last of my Halloween candy!”

Vivi turned her head—leaving a smear of chocolate on Nora’s T-shirt—and blinked her big blue eyes at him as giant tears rolled down her cheeks.

She was a master at puppy dog eyes and heartbreaking tears, which was why she had every man in this house wrapped around her little fingers.

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