Page 118 of Mr. Hook-up

I set my overnight bag on one of the barstools, and that was when I heard“Draaake!”

Heavy, clunky footsteps came barreling out of the living room. Belle’s head barely exceeded Easton’s high counter, her pigtails bopping just above the edge of the stone, her ringlets finding flight as she sprinted toward me.

“Belle,” I sang back, kneeling on the kitchen floor so I could give her a hug. “What are you doing here?”

As she circled her small arms around my neck, I immediately got a whiff of chocolate chip cookies. A dessert, I was positive, Easton had fed her.

Although Belle’s nanny often brought her by the office, those stops were quick. The most time I spent with her was during occasions like this, when Holden needed to speak to Easton and they were here when I arrived.

“Daddy and Uncle Gray and E had to talk. We stayed extra long to see you!”

“Is that so?” I gazed past her shoulders, catching eyes with Holden and Grayson in the living room. They stood from the couch and made their way into the kitchen. “Well, I’m glad they did because that means I get to see you.” I pulled away but stayed low, Belle’s hands instantly moving to my hair, which she began to play with.

“Uncle E says he made something extra spicy for dinner and I can’t have any ’cause it’ll hurt my tum.”

I straightened her purple glasses, which were crooked from our hug. “Then I think you should tell Uncle E that he needs to cook you something special. Like some mac and cheese. Wouldn’t that be—”

“Uncle E is tied up for dinner,” Easton said to the both of us.

He gave me wide eyes, a look that told me what he had in mind didn’t mesh with the presence of a five-year-old.

“What’stied up?” Belle asked.

“It means Easton is busy, baby,” Holden replied from where he and Grayson leaned over the counter, watching us.

Belle laughed. “I thought he meant he’s tied like when MissSmall walks her little doggy and we see her in the elevator, and she lets me hold the leash.”

“That istied, baby, but a different kind oftied,” Holden told her.

“Or not,” Grayson said. “Leash play, I wouldn’t put that past him.” He nodded toward Easton.

“Hey there,” I called out to Grayson. “Little ears are tuned in.” I stood but stayed close to Belle, looking down at her to say, “Since Uncle E isn’t making you dinner, I think you should ask Uncle Gray to take you somewhere extra fancy to eat and spend lots of money on you.”

“Sushi!” Belle yelled.

Grayson walked around the counter, making us a trio. “Is that what you want?”

“It’s what she always wants,” Holden added.

When Belle agreed, the tails of her hair fell into her face. “With ’mame.”

“And edamame?” Grayson clarified. “I don’t know if I can handle that—it sounds like an impossibly difficult order to fill.”

The only time I ever saw Grayson soft, without his edge, was around Belle. It was adorable to see him caving to her mere smile.

“I think you should tell Uncle Gray that he needs to step up his game,” I said to Belle, curling one of her locks around my finger. “Nothing is too difficult for our girl.”

She put a hand on her hip, tilting her body with sass. “Step it up, Uncle Gray!”

Everyone in the kitchen laughed, even Easton as he came up behind me, handing me a glass of wine, his palm going to my stomach once I took the drink from him.

“We’re going to get going,” Holden said. “I just wanted to stay long enough so my daughter would stop begging to see you”—he winked at Belle—“and to tell you I took a peek at the designs before I left the office today.”

My chest clutched and I took a sip of the wine. “You did?”

My assumption was that tomorrow, when I presented the concepts to the executive team, that would be the first time anyone would see them.

“Drake, they’re incredible,” Holden said. “I was blown away.”

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