Page 40 of 7+Us Makes Nine

But I knew why Jace wanted to stay. He’d never admit it, but he loved animated movies as much as his children did. Fifteen minutes turned into another ten, and ten turned into thirty, and soon we were halfway through the movie and Jace was totally engrossed. His eyes were glued to the screen and his emotions were worn on the edges of his sleeves.

I loved watching him watch movies like this.

It always showed a softer side to him.

We sat there with snoring kids as the movie came to a close. Jace dabbed at the corners of his eyes, trying to conceal how emotional the movie actually made him feel. I gathered Michaela up in my arms, hearing him grunt as he stood with both of the boys. We made our way upstairs and tucked them in, and none of them moved an inch. I brushed Michaela’s hair from her face and kissed her forehead, then dipped into the boy’s rooms and did the same thing.

Even if they were asleep, I didn’t want to put them down for bed without kissing each of them.

I wanted them to know that, even in their most vulnerable states, they’d always be treated equally with me.

“Another Friday night down,” Jace said.

I let out a massive yawn as I leaned against the hallway wall.

“Yikes. Sorry,” I said.

“Looks like someone else could use some sleep.”

“I’m fine. I’m fine. I just…”

But another yawn peeled from between my lips and I knew it would put a damper on the plans Jace had for us tonight.

“I’m sorry. Let me get some coffee and I’ll-”

Before I could get the words out, however, he silenced my plea with a small kiss. His hands fell to my hips and he pressed me into the wall. I felt my body surging with electricity. But when my eyes closed to kiss him deeper, I felt sleep tugging so deeply at my core that it made my knees weak.

“I got you. Come on,” Jace said.

He scooped me up into his arms as if I weighed nothing and carried me down the stairs. My head fell to his shoulder, my body trying to drum up the energy for him. I wanted to feel him like I had so many other nights. I wanted to paint another room of his house with our memories. I wanted to know what kind of surprise he may or may not have had in store for me.

But with each step he took towards my room, I felt myself sink deeper and deeper into sleep.

I remembered my back hitting my mattress. I remembered my body being covered with the blankets of my bed. But I didn’t remember anything else. Sleep claimed me as the silence of the house soothed me to sleep, and I woke up the next morning to birds chirping and the smells of breakfast wafting up my nose.

I loved Saturday mornings with Jace’s family.

Fourteen

Jace

“Hi Mom, it’s me,” I said.

“Jace! Honey. How are you doing? I haven’t heard from you in weeks.”

“I know. I’m sorry, Mom. Things have been busy with the theater and with press conferences on Anya’s latest stunts.”

“I’ve seen her on the news. She looks worse than she did going into rehab.”

“That’s not why I’m calling,” I said. “I actually wanted to see if you’d want to take the kids tonight.”

“Now you know I’m always up for seeing my grandchildren. Something going on with the theater?”

“Actually, no,” I said.

“Something going on with that nanny of yours?”

“How could you possibly know about that? You’ve never even met the woman.”

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