Page 150 of Undisputed Player
His eyes widened slightly, excitement clear on his little face. He’d gotten less reserved since I started handing him everything he ever glanced at, which was my intention.
His room was a dinosaur sanctuary, filled with toys, books, hisdinosaur bed, a dinosaur framed TV, and now his very own little Dino.
I ruffled his hair before opening a cupboard. "Now, what do you want for breakfast? I can manage some pancakes.”
His face lit up. "With chocolate chips?"
“Is there any other kind?” I winked, and the smile I got in return was that of an Easton’s.
He watched with rapt attention as I mixed batter, adding chocolate chips with a very generous hand.
"Elle never put that many," he said, eyes wide with awe.
“Now,” I started with a grin, “you both have me.” I heated the griddle idly. "So if you want the whole bag of chocolate chips in here, we can do that.”
That earned me a giggle, the sound making my chest lighten with satisfaction.
Luckily, pancakes were one of the few things I learned how to cook. I’d been picking up lessons from Estelle and Elsie since my princess moved into her castle.
Leo colored at the counter as I flipped pancakes. Watching him now, bent over a drawing of what appeared to be a pink dinosaur wearing a crown, I made a mental note to buy more art supplies. The best ones, whatever those were.
"Who’s it for?” I asked, sliding the plate of pancakes in front of him, which were 90% chocolate chips.
"It's a T-Rex for Avery," he answered without looking up. "She likes pink."
"That's thoughtful of you." I cut his pancakes into bite-sized pieces, adding an excessive amount of syrup. "Does she scare you?"
Leo shrugged, picking up his fork. "She follows me a lot. And hugs me. A lot."
The long-suffering tone made me cough to cover a laugh. "Girls do that when they like someone."
He gave me a look that was pure skepticism. "Did Elle follow you and hug you a lot?"
I nearly choked on my coffee. "Not exactly. I was the one doing that, actually."
Leo nodded, as if this made perfect sense. "She doesn’t talk to people a lot. It’s a good thing you did."
A few bites later, he looked up—and I knew what was coming. "And now we live here? Forever?"
I crouched down to his level, meeting those solemn green eyes. "That's the plan. You good with that?"
He scanned the opulent space, then nodded. “The ocean is cool. And my dinosaurs have more space.” He gestured with his fork to the plastic T-Rex beside his bowl.
"T-Rex need at least forty acres of hunting ground."
"Is that so?" I bit back a smirk. "Well, we've got about ten acres of beach, but I'll see what I can do about the other thirty.”
That earned me a cute smile. I checked my watch, designer gold reflecting the morning light. "Time to finish up, buddy. School’s in thirty."
After breakfast, getting Leo ready for school was always straightforward. He dressed himself, picked out his shoes, and packed his backpack solo.
The only hiccup came when he couldn't find his favorite dinosaur eraser, which led to a brief but frantic search that ended when I found it under his desk.
I found myself living for moments like these, when this kid who deserved the world would hit me with his next unpredictable dilemma.
He was different from Avery, cause all the little monster ever had were dilemmas.
Before we left, I slipped into the master bedroom. Estelle was still asleep, curled beneath the covers, her hair fanned across my pillow.
