Page 138 of Single Teddy
“I love you, Teddy. I love you with the entirety of my being,” I declared, and yeah, maybe it sounded cheesy or rushed or whatever, but I didn’t care.
For once, I didn’t care.
Funny how almost dying can change your perspective.
He smiled, and it was as if he were fine. As if he’d never been hurt. As if we were all alone.
“I love you far, far more,” he said and pulled me in to kiss me.
I was no fool. I let him. I locked lips with him and kissed him with all my strength and might. With my entire soul. And boy, it felt good.
Some coughed. Autumn chastised them. Maria giggled. Azrael whistled, but it was only when Wyatt huffed that we pulled apart.
They were all staring, of course. My cheeks went warm.
“Sorry,” I said.
“Don’t apologize. You did nothing wrong,” Autumn said.
“In fact, you did everything right,” Donovan said, only to get elbowed by Autumn.
“Maybe a little more tongue next time,” Azrael suggested, and Teddy scoffed.
“You’re children,” Wyatt grumbled, and I laughed.
“The children,” Teddy said, making me pause. “Where are the boys?”
“In the kitchen with Joey,” I told him, patting his knee.
“What are we going to do about them?” Autumn asked.
“The right thing, of course,” Wyatt said. “We need to get them into the system.”
“No, we don’t,” someone said, and we all turned to look at Joey bursting through the kitchen.
“What do you mean we don’t?” Wyatt asked.
“It means I’m not letting those kids go through the foster system. The system sucks. They’ve already been through enough. They need a safe home.”
“I realize that,” Wyatt said. “But we can’t just take them. That’s not how it works.”
Joey bit his lip.
“I don’t care how it works. I’m not letting them suffer any longer.”
He looked really angry. Angry and protective. Like a real father.
“How about we apply for emergency protective custody first and take things one step at a time,” I suggested, and when Joey looked at me, I didn’t know how, but I could tell.
It was as if he were born for this moment. Born to be here and now so he could claim those kids as his own. And even though I barely knew him, I knew he had a heart of gold and would be a great father to the twins.
“Shit,” Slade cursed, and everyone’s attention turned to him.
“What happened?” Wyatt asked.
Slade didn’t answer him. He slowly looked at Teddy with a frozen, sunken expression and bit his lip.
“What happened?” Teddy growled.
