Protecting the Boundary (LA Wolves #8)

Chapter 34

THIRTY-FOUR

A few days later, Romel comes down the stairs with his suitcase in hand. He sets it by the front door and then comes over to the kitchen island where Kay and I have playdough out and are making food shapes.

“I gotta head out, Sweetie. You be good for Miss Mere, okay?”

“Okay, Daddy.” She stands on her chair, which I know Romel only allows because he’s right there to catch her if she falls. She hugs him tight and pooches out her lips for a kiss. He gives her a quick kiss and I just barely catch him murmuring, “I love you.”

He waves at me, and I can see the tension in his eyes. We kissed and said our goodbyes this morning before Kay woke up, but it’s a struggle to keep my body still instead of running over to him and hugging him one last time before he takes off.

Kaylee grabs some of her red playdough. “You kiss Miss Mere too?”

We both freeze and stare at each other in mild panic before Romel grabs the back of her chair with one hand and the counter with the other and leans forward, so he’s face-to-face with her. “Why would you ask that?”

“Cuz you kissed in the pantry.” She doesn’t say the word “duh” after her sentence, but her tone is so straight to the point that she might as well have.

So much for thinking we hadn’t been caught. I should’ve known better. Kaylee is one of the most observant kids I’ve ever met. I swear she never misses a thing.

My breath gets uneven as panic starts to fill my veins, and I brace myself to hear him deny it. We haven’t discussed how we would tell Kaylee, because we didn’t plan to tell her any time soon. I honestly wasn’t sure we’d ever tell her because I’m still not certain he’ll be able to move on from Sydney enough to make this a real relationship.

Sure, we’ve been kissing for nearly a week now, and the orgasms he’s given me with his mouth and fingers are better than any I’ve ever had, but physical stuff doesn’t mean this is a relationship. And we haven’t had the conversation defining what exactly “this” is.

Romel glances at me, his expression thoughtful, and then he faces his daughter. “Would you be okay with that? With me kissing Miss Mere?”

She turns her face to him, her expression open and curious in the way only little kids can be. “Like Uncle Ty and Auntie Lexi?”

“Yeah, kind of like that.”

She shrugs and goes back to her playdough. “Sure.”

My mouth drops open at how easily she’s accepted this—hell, how easily he was willing to be honest with her about it. He looks at her for a moment, a subtle smile on his face before he stands back up to his full height and walks around the counter .

Despite just watching their interaction, my eyes go wide in alarm. “What are you doing?” I whisper.

He smiles, and damn him, it’s that adorable smile that shows off his dimple and instantly makes me weak in the knees. “I’m kissing my girlfriend before I leave for my game.”

My heart races as I stare into his eyes, trying to gauge how he’s really feeling. “Are you sure about this?” I ask, keeping my voice low. “Because we don’t have t—” I’m cut off by his lips on mine. It’s not a deep kiss or even a passionate one. It’s a familiar kiss like he knows he can come back for more later.

“I’m sure,” he says against my lips, kissing me one more time before walking toward the front door, grabbing his suitcase, and walking out the door with one last goodbye.

I lean my hip against the counter as I stare at the door he just walked out of. Did that really happen?

“Are you my mommy now?” Kaylee’s voice pulls me from my conflicted thoughts. She’s pressing the green playdough into a pickle mold, not even looking at me.

“Uh, no, KayBear.”

She pauses and frowns at me. “Why not?”

Oh boy. Forget conflicted feelings because now I’m just annoyed that Romel would drop that bomb and leave me to answer the million and one questions I’m no doubt going to get over the next day and a half that he’ll be gone.

How do I explain to a nearly four-year-old the complexities of this situation?

Leaning my elbows on the counter, I decide to dumb it down but also be real with her. She’s a smart kid and I won’t lie to her. “Your daddy really misses your mommy.”

“I know,” she says, her voice getting sad.

“And sometimes when we miss people that much, we have a hard time letting new people come into our lives. I really like your daddy. He’s one of the best men I’ve ever met, but we need to take things slow so he doesn’t feel like he can’t still miss your mom. Does that make sense?”

Her little brows furrow and then she shakes her head. “Nope.”

Alrighty then. Take two. “How about this. Your daddy and I like each other, and we might kiss, but I’m still mainly your nanny first. You come first, okay?”

“But what if I want you to be my mommy?”

This kid is killing me. I grab her hand. “I’d be so lucky to be your mommy, but let’s be happy with what we have right now, okay?”

“Okay,” she says sullenly.

“So, what are we making here?” She immediately lights up and starts talking so fast, I can only understand a handful of words as she makes up some story about her playdough food.

What a simple life it must be to move through feelings so quickly without letting them weigh you down.

If only adults had that ability, the world might be a much better place.