Chapter Seventeen
Emmet
“What is this?” Adam gasps when he pulls the pan of little pizzas from the oven.
Judy giggles. “It was his idea!” She points at me, throwing her head back and laughing.
I can’t help but laugh too.
“Where did you find this?” he asks.
“In the cabinet.” I shrug.
“I forgot that you like pineapple on your pizza,” he comments as he puts the pan on top of the stove.
We made a dozen, all sorts for everyone to try. I know Adam won’t try the pineapple one, but Judy said she would.
“I’m offended,” I joke.
He rolls his eyes. “You are not. Judy, can you get drinks for us, please?”
She skips over to the fridge and pulls out three juice boxes, then hops over to the table. I stifle a laugh. Adam has no idea what she’s done, and I’m sure he’s going to laugh when he sees. Or maybe this is normal for them, I have no idea.
He puts all the pizzas onto a serving plate and grabs paper plates, but I take them so he doesn’t drop the food.
“Thank you,” he says with a soft smile.
We bring everything to the table and sit.
That’s when he notices the drinks. He looks up at me.
“I’m sorry. She—” I raise a brow and he snaps his mouth shut. He sighs and says, “I hope you like…” He picks up the juice box to look at it. “Bloop berry.”
I chuckle. “I’ve never had a bloop berry before, but I’m excited to try it.” I stab the straw into the top and take a sip.
It’s not great. Way too much sugar, and I can’t even tell what type of fruit it’s supposed to be.
“Yummy,” I say with a forced smile.
Adam chuckles, stabbing the straw into his.
“It’s not my favorite. I like Go-Go Grape better,” Judy says.
“That does sound delicious,” I add.
Judy gets onto her knees to reach for a pizza, and that brave girl goes right for the pineapple.
“That’s the wrong one, sweetheart. Cheese is that one,” Adam says.
“Nope, I want this one.”
I smile to myself as I grab a bagel with pineapple and a croissant with pepperoni.
“It’s okay if you don’t like it,” I tell her. “I’ll eat it.”
“Even after I bite it?” she cries. “My germs are on it.”
“I am not afraid of germs,” I say, taking a big bite of my pineapple one.
“Okay, here I go,” she says, staring at the bagel like it’s a bomb she needs to disarm.
She blows on it, then bites right into it, some of her hair falling out of her very messy ponytail. She chews it, sitting back on her knees, and looks at me.
After swallowing, she stares at the pizza and says, “I don’t know…”
I laugh. “Hey, it was awesome of you to try it.”
“He’s right, sweetheart. Trying new things is important.”
“You can have it.” She puts it on my plate, then grabs a plain cheese on an English muffin.
Adam gets up a few times to check on Ian, who is feeling the same—just fine but with a slight temperature. I don’t know anything about kids to know if that’s a big deal or not, but I assume since he feels okay it’s probably fine?
I finish cleaning up the kitchen while Adam puts the leftovers in the fridge.
“You really don’t have to do that,” Adam says.
“Well, I’m not doing anything else.”
“Judy, go brush your teeth and get ready for your shower.”
“Can I take a bath?” she calls from her room.
“Sure, if you want to.”
“I do!”
Adam gets a can of chicken and rice soup from the cabinet and heats it up on the stove while I start the dishes.
This is all so domestic, and way too easy. Doing this with him shouldn’t be so easy. It’s exactly what I was afraid of, so I push the thought from my mind.
“Do you want a beer?” Adam asks as he pours the soup into a bowl.
“Sure.”
He gets one from the fridge and hands it to me, then brings the bowl of soup to the table. There’s hardly any broth in there, but I feel like that’s a typical kid thing.
“Are you going to have one?” I ask.
“Later, when I’m finished.”
I put mine back in the fridge, and when I turn, he’s watching me with a raised brow.
“Then I’ll wait. Tell me what you need help with.”
He’s quiet for a moment, before saying, “You’re my guest, Emmet, you don’t have to do anything.”
I walk toward him, stopping a foot away. My hands twitch to touch him, wanting to show him physically that I’m here for anything he needs. “Tell me what you need help with,” I repeat.
“I didn’t expect Ian to be sick, and—”
I put my hand on his shoulder, liking it way too much. But this isn’t about that. “Stop making excuses for them, and tell me what I can help with.”
His eyes fall closed, and he takes a moment to breathe.
“Well,” he says, opening his eyes and looking over his shoulder. “I guess if you could get the bath going for Judy, that would be helpful. Then maybe coax Ian into eating while I help her in there?”
I smile, so badly wanting to kiss him. “You got it.”
I make my way to his bathroom, which is around the corner from the kitchen, and figure out how to get his tub going after flipping up the stopper for the drain.
I have no idea how hot she likes the water.
Instead of bothering Adam with it, because he’s with Ian, I knock on Judy’s door. She opens it and smiles up at me.
“So, how hot do you like the water?” I ask.
“Hm,” she says, tapping her chin. “Warm like tea.”
I hold back my laugh, nod, and thank her for telling me. Then I go back to the bathroom and figure out what the hell that means.
An hour later, Ian ate half his soup, Judy is fresh and clean, and they’re both ready for bed. Ian’s temperature hasn’t changed, so Adam gives him medicine just in case something is bothering him that he isn’t able to verbalize.
Once the kids are settled in bed, I grab two beers and follow Adam into the living room that’s in the back of the house.
“I should have done the pizza thing for lunch. I wasn’t thinking.” He sits on the couch, grabbing the remote from the coffee table. I sit on the other end, one cushion between us, and hand him his beer.
“Are you like this with everyone, or just me?” I ask as I crack mine open.
“Like what?” he asks carefully, turning toward me.
“Constantly apologizing for your kids and their routine.”
“I, uh…”
“You’re a dad, Adam. I know what that means. I didn’t come here and expect all the attention to be on me. I didn’t expect to be treated like royalty. I don’t have kids, but did you forget how I grew up? I know what taking care of them means.”
He sinks into the couch, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You’re right. I’m not used to this.”
“Used to what?”
Shaking his head, he says, “Friends? People being here? I don’t do this. I’ve never had anyone here, other than Leslie, and that was only to pick the kids up.”
“I don’t care who it is, Adam, don’t apologize to anyone for being an amazing dad and caring about your kids.
” His lips turn into a small smile, eyes on the can of beer in his hand.
“If anyone ever gives you shit for what you just did, you tell me because I’ll punch them in the face. ” He huffs out a laugh.
“Thanks, Em.”
My chest floods with warmth.
I haven’t heard him call me that in years.
It brings back more memories than it should.
“You’re welcome,” I say, my voice raspy.
His attention goes to the TV, and he scrolls through movies.
“You still like Indiana Jones?” he asks.
“Do I still—are you kidding? You don’t outgrow Indiana Jones, Adam.”
I get a full laugh from him this time, and he puts on the movie. We drink our beer, sit back, and watch as Indiana travels through India to find some missing magical stones.
Adam gets up a couple of times to check on the kids and only apologizes once, so that’s progress.
When the movie is done, I don’t want to leave.
I have the urge to go into his bedroom, get under the blankets and cuddle with him until we both fall asleep.
I’d wake in the morning and make breakfast for everyone, and check on the kids so he could sleep in late. I bet he never gets to sleep in late.
But I can’t do any of that. So, I get up from the couch and say, “I should get going.”
Something passes over his eyes, like maybe he doesn’t want me to go either. Of course he doesn’t say that, so maybe I’m making things up in my head.
Wishful thinking.
He walks me out and down the stairs.
“Where did you park?” he asks as I step onto the porch.
“I left my car at the bar.”
He pops his head out. “Good thing it isn’t raining.”
“For the moment.”
His smile is slow. “Yeah.”
“Thank you for this,” I say. “It was great.”
“It was fun. I liked having you here.”
“So, I’ll get another invite then?”
“You can come by whenever you want.”
I asked jokingly, but his tone… it isn’t the same. His words are a little raspy, and dare I say suggestive?
“I’ll remember that,” I say, pushing the thoughts from my head and taking a step back. “Good night, Adam.”
“Good night, Emmet.”