Page 89 of My Secret Bandit

Without my usual bacon-making uniform of long sleeves and gloves, I opted for a kitchen mitt and hoped like hell that the rest of me remained grease splatter free.

“Good morning, baby,” Mateo drawled as he climbed the fort. He groaned as his long body stretched even longer. “¿Necesitas ayuda?”

“Nope. Um…Lo tengo.”

“That’s my girl,” he whispered as he leaned across the counter. I smiled under our kiss.

“I’m gonna go shower and get ready for treatment. Tytus is usually there so I was gonna take Mill to keep him company. That okay?”

“Yeah. That’ll give me time to clean that up.” I pointed my spatula to the massive fort made of too many sheets, blankets, and pillows to count this early in the morning.

One kiss later, Mateo jogged up the stairs. I finished breakfast. Pancakes and scrambled eggs for Amelia. Spinach and bacon egg white omelets for me and Mateo.

Back from his shower, Mateo groaned again as he lowered onto all fours. “She’s lucky she’s cute and there’s an entire treatment room waiting for me.” He crawled into the fort to wake Amelia with a soft, soothing voice. “Despierta, bebita. We’re gonna go to the training room.”

Not seconds later, rustling sounded inside the fort and the sleeping beauty emerged, rubbing her eyes with the backs of her hands and a mess of curls laying every which way.

After breakfast, a shower, and a set of braided pigtails, I waved Amelia and her uncle off from the front door.

Since the first time I stepped through the front door, Mateo’s house provided nothing but comfort. There was something about the way his scent filled in the rooms and his warmth and energy lingered even after he left that made it feel like home.

Everywhere I looked, I could picture him.

Cooking in the kitchen, laying on the couch watching TV or reading, down in the gym getting in an extra workout, coming to bed with damp curls and snuggling in close to me.

And as I picked up the blankets of our fort and found a little sock, I saw children beside him while he cooked, laughing as they ran through the house and waving their goodbyes as they excitedly followed their dad out of the door.

Suddenly Mateo’s master plan shined crystal clear. Bright and beautiful.

Show Jameson what she’s missing.

Show her the life she’s always wanted but never let herself dream of having.

Show her exactly how it would look with me always by her side.

Sweatcoveredmyforeheadwhile my internal voice did a bang-up job cursing my procrastinating ass out.

Why did I decide to wait until the day of the party to buy decorations, set up said decor, and make a cheesecake? No idea, but I did, and I regretted it. But instead of letting my inner bitch get the best of me, I decided the time to delegate had arrived.

I finished the cheesecake while Sierra took over streamer duty. John and Derek worked to hang lights, banners, and backdrops around the house. Jeffrey volunteered for food and balloon pick up, and Xander was on strict orders to “Keep. Mateo. Occupied.”

An hour and a half before the party, Sierra banished me upstairs. Apparently sweaty was not sexy. Who knew?

A knock on the bathroom door grabbed my attention as I finished the final touches of my almost too much ensemble Sierra brought over for me.

Where in my closet she found the lace bodysuit was beyond me, and I had a sneaking suspicion she made a pit stop. She paired it with black high waisted jeans and a lavender silk robe-styled cover up to hide most of the exposed skin. Part of me really loved the outfit, and the other was scared shitless it’d be too revealing for his parents’ tastes.

Deep breath in, I opened the door to find my favorite little seven-year-old in her own purple outfit.

“Well, aren’t you the prettiest thing I’ve seen all day.” I dropped to my knees to pull the girl into a hug.

“My mommy is home!” she exclaimed with an enormous smile as she bounced up and down in front of me. “I got to pick her up at the airport. We had balloons and a sparkly sign! It was awesome!”

“I heard! You’re super excited, huh?”

The enthusiastic nod of her head left my heart fluttering with happiness.

“Amelia. Where—Oh, there you are.”

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