Page 96 of Sven

Winnie crawled over to him and took the toy.

He leaned back on the couch and swiped his hands over his face. The pull to go to him was strong, and she needed him to know how much she cared about him and how proud she was of the way he stood up for himself and his little family.

She went over and sat on the couch and pulled him into a hug. They were always a pair when they did this because Natalie barely cleared five feet, and Sven was well over six, but he allowed himself to be pulled into a hug and hugged her right back.

“What happened?”

“She signed over custody.” Sven blew out a breath. “So that’s good. And she is on her way to rehab. Hopefully, she can be in Winnie’s life on some level, but for now, that is up for me to decide. We’ll see if she can get clean and stay clean.”

“You’re a good man,” Natalie said as she rubbed his leg.

“Thank you,” he said quietly. “I wish I could believe you... Everything just feels so fucked right now.”

“It’s a lot.”

He nodded and sat back. “Thank you for being here, Natalie. I’m not sure what I would do without you.”

“Well, I’m here, and I don’t plan on going anywhere,” she said like she had this all figured out.

If she was honest with herself, she hadn’t given much thought to the longevity of what was happening with her and Sven. But when she did think about it, it was something she wanted. She liked the idea of being with Sven and Winnie, but this was all so new, and things did not feel very settled.

“What about your dad?”

His head bumped the back of the couch. “I hit him.”

“What?” Natalie sat up, looking at him. Then she saw the slight bruising on his knuckles as she took his hand. “Are you okay?”

“Fuck. I don’t know. I don’t know if I can ever forgive him for what he pulled today. I mean... On some level, I knew he didn’t care about me, but with the way he was just willing to get rid of Winnie, I don’t think I ever want to see him again.”

Natalie turned to face him and ran her hands through his hair. “That’s your decision to make, and there is no rush in making it.”

He blew out a breath, nodded, lay on the couch, put his head in her lap, and closed his eyes. She wanted to make it better, but there was nothing she could do or say that would help this situation. Sometimes, big problems are out of our control, and we just have to wait and see how they play out.

Sven had done everything he could to protect Winnie. All that was left to do was make sure he made the right decision to keep her safe, and she knew he would do it.

And just like he did the night before, he turned into her stomach and buried himself in her. Only for the exact same thing to happen like yesterday. As he laughed, his face was still buried in her stomach. The vibration made her smile.

He pulled back and looked up at her. “Every time.”

She just ran her hand through his hair and smiled down at him.

He sat up. “Your donuts and coffee are still inside. Probably cold. I don’t know if you still want them.”

“Are you kidding? I’ll always want donuts. Why don’t we move this back inside and reclaim our peaceful bed day?” Natalie said.

“Really?”

“What else are we going to do? Let’s take some toys for Winnie and hole up and watch movies.”

“I don’t deserve you,” Sven said as she cupped Natalie’s cheek.

“Well, deserved or not, you have me.”

He leaned his head down and kissed her, and just like that, her panic subsided, and her soul clicked into place.

“I’m going to make you so happy. That way, I can keep you.”

“Just keep being you. I think you’re pretty incredible.”

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