Page 88 of Sweet on You
“Everything’s fine, everything’s fine!”
He put a hand to his heart and squeezed Olivia to his chest. “Jesus, you scared me. What’s going on?”
I beamed, unable to contain my excitement. Hell, I hadn’t even put shoes on… But he’d already missed so much in Olivia’s life—I couldn’t let him miss this moment. “Olivia,” I said carefully, “Who’s this?”
“Dada!”
Lex gasped, seemingly frozen before his slack jaw shifted, lifting into a smile. His turquoise eyes filled with moisture and he sniffed, kissing Olivia’s forehead. “That’s right,” he said, his voice cracking. “I’m your Daddy.” He blinked, looking at me. “How… when did she say that?”
“I told her she was lucky to have you as a daddy and she just… she just said Dada! Then she asked where’s dada, and I showed her your picture, and she pointed and said dada again.”
Lex barked a laugh, holding Olivia up and swinging her playfully in a circle. Some moments, it sounded like he was laughing, and others, it sounded like he was crying. But either way, it was the sound of total and utter joy.
“Thank you,” he said and wrapped his hand around the back of my neck, pulling me in for kiss. It started slow, but soon, our lips lingered over each other’s.
“I told you she’d get it. She’s a smart little girl.”
He kissed me again.
“Lex,” I whispered, pulling back from the kiss. I fought against the tears in my eyes and my heart was so achingly full that I thought it might burst right out of my chest, cracking a rib in the process. “I’m falling in love with you,” I said, grinning. I bit my bottom lip to stop it from trembling as a tear slipped down my cheek.
“I know,” he responded and curved his hand around my jaw. “And I’m honored to have your love, Ronnie.”
It was fast… in some ways. But in other ways? It had been a long time coming. Two years in the making.
Someone behind us cleared their throat, and for the first time since I came running down the stairs, I remembered we were in Lex’s café. His veryopencafé. I turned slowly around and caught a glimpse of three people in the café. Granted, three people wasn’t a whole lot… but in Maple Grove? That was enough that everyone in town would know Lex and I were in love by lunch time.
And what was even worse? One of those three was Cam.
His face split into a grin, and I had to hand it to Lydia… since she entered his life, he’d been a different man. The sight of his little sister kissing a man and clearly having slept over at his house normally would have catapulted him into protective, big-brother mode. But now? His sheepish smile lifted and he tapped his credit card to the counter.
“We’re all really glad you two are in love… but some of us need our morning coffee, ya know.” I rolled my eyes, taking Olivia from Lex’s arms. “Also, pretty sure that’s a health code violation,” Cam added, pointing at my bare feet.
I stuck my tongue out at him before heading back upstairs. Lex caught my hand just as I reached the door, stopping me. “Dinner tonight? To celebrate?”
I groaned. “I can’t. I have dinner plans with Callie.”
He kissed me gently. “Cancel,” he whispered.
“I would, but I’ve already canceled dinner with her twice.”
He pulled back, smiling. “Oh, okay. It’ll just be us tonight! Just Daddy and Liv, isn’t that right?” She giggled against him and I smiled. That smile reverberated down to my belly. I was happy. So damn happy in a way I don’t think I’ve ever been in my life.
