Page 141 of Test the Ice
“What are you doing?” I ask, pulling my boxers and pants on.
She shrugs sheepishly. “If you’re sleeping in Charleigh’s room, so am I.”
My lip hitches.
“Plus…” She walks over to the door and glances at me over her shoulder. “I sleep better next to you anyway.”
“Da!”
I peel one eye open and immediately lock onto Charleigh. With her wild hair, she grips the edge of her crib and smiles at me. I grin and sit up slowly.
“How are you feeling, Charleigh-girl?” My voice is hoarse from lack of sleep, but I don’t regret last night's escapade at all.
The spot next to me on the floor is now empty, nothing but Reese’s pillow there. I climb to my feet and pull Charleigh out of her crib. I gently brush her hair out of her face and survey her stitches.
She remains still and lets me look. After I’m convinced they look okay, I let her hair go. Her soft hand touches the side of my face, the rough stubble scratching her palm.
“Ma?” she asks, pulling her hand away.
“Should we go find her?” I ask.
She bucks in my arms, and I chuckle. “Looks like we both look forward to seeing your mommy in the morning, huh?”
After checking our bedroom and finding it empty, we head for the stairs.
I lecture Charleigh the entire way down, forbidding her to ever climb them again unless I’m there to catch her. I also inform her that I’m installing a baby gate.
“No ifs, ands, or buts,” I say. “No more stairs for you.”
The scent of something sweet fills the air the closer we get to the kitchen.
At first, I wonder if Reese has broken into another pack of Skittles, but instead, there’s an entire buffet of breakfast food waiting on the island.
French toast sprinkled with powdered sugar, bacon, sausage, fruit, and of course, a jug of apple juice sits in the middle, next to a stack of plates.
Reese is bent over at the waist, wearing my shirt from the night before. It rides up, revealing her ass, and I have to forcefully pull my gaze away.
I clear my throat. “Good morning.”
She jumps up and spins. Powdered sugar is sprinkled across her cheek, and it immediately makes me grin.
“Good morning.” She smiles at me and then to Charleigh.
Her gaze moves to Charleigh’s stitches.
“They look great,” I say, moving her hair out of her face again to show Reese.
She comes over, a spatula in her hand that Charleigh steals right away.
God, I could really get used to this. Charleigh in my arms, her mom standing in the kitchen with my shirt on, making breakfast.
Reese angles her face up to Charleigh and nods. “You’re right. They aren’t even red.”
I stare at the stripe of sugar on her cheek and reach up to swipe it away. My thumb rubs against her skin, and she blushes.
I show her the sugar on the pad of my finger. “Powdered sugar.”
“Oh,” she laughs, and then I do something I shouldn’t.
