Eight | Avery
Eight
Avery
I was never leaving Sam’s house.
Correction—I was never leaving his guest room.
Not only were the rooms big compared to the guestroom at Cassidy’s apartment but they were also joined by a Jack and Jill bathroom, which allowed me to keep an eye on Kennedy with the doors open. And if that wasn’t enough, Sam had gone out and purchased a baby monitor with a camera so I could keep an eye on her while she was sick.
We had stayed up to watch The Grinch , but she fell asleep during the last twenty minutes of it. Sam graciously carried her to bed for me, and I almost cried when I saw the handful of new stuffed animals he had added when I wasn’t looking.
He had gone above and beyond for us without anyone asking. It wasn’t just him giving us a safe place to stay; it was him making sure we had all of the little extras that would make us feel special and comfortable.
When I got to my room, I found five different pillows waiting on the bed with a note about how he didn’t know what level of firmness I liked, so he bought them all. I was pretty sure he was certifiably crazy for doing all of this, but that didn’t make my heart love him any less—as a friend—because deep down, I knew that’s all we could ever be.
I laid down and felt my body melt into the plush pillowtop mattress and closed my eyes. Not only had he bought me new pillows, but he’d also gotten me the softest throw blanket, a warm robe, and some cute house slippers that he insisted I needed because the hardwood floors got cold at night.
I hadn’t felt this pampered or cared for in so long that I allowed myself to relish in it for the night before facing reality in the morning.
Knowing that Kennedy was safely asleep in the room next to me, I closed my eyes and drifted off into the most peaceful sleep I’d had in years.
The next morning, I was woken up by the heavenly aroma of coffee and bacon floating through the air. There was a chill in the room, so I grabbed the robe he’d left out for me and slipped on the house slippers.
When I got to the kitchen, I found Kennedy sitting at the island, laughing as Sam flipped a pancake in the air before catching it in the pan.
“Again! Again!” she squealed, pure happiness on her face.
I stood beside her and grinned as I watched Sam repeat his trick for her. I bent down and kissed the top of her head, gently touching my hand against her forehead to check for a fever. Thankfully, she didn’t feel warm, and the color on her face made it look like she was feeling a lot better.
“Sam flips pancakes high in the air, Mom!” she exclaimed, her blue eyes wide as they looked up at me.
“I see that,” I replied happily. “He’s really good at it.”
“You don’t want to see how many are in the pile for Jake,” he said, glancing over his shoulder as he placed the pancake on top of the stack on the plate.
“Who’s Jake?”
“The neighbor’s dog.”
“You feed your neighbor’s dog?” I asked with a giggle as I sat down beside Kennedy.
“Yeah, I bribe him with treats every now and then. He’s old and crotchety, just like his owner. I’ve found that sweets tend to keep me on both of their good sides.”
“Good to know.” I nodded my head, wondering what kind of dog it was and whether I needed to keep Kennedy away from it. She was obsessed with dogs, which meant she would now be obsessed with this one.
“What kind of dog is it?” she asked around a mouthful of pancake. Called it .
“He’s a pug. Ugly little thing that likes to drool all over, but cute once you get to know him.”
He winked to let her know he was playing.
“I checked her temperature this morning, and she was fever-free. I hope you don’t mind that I started breakfast. We didn’t want to wake you, and she promised me that you give her pancakes and bacon for breakfast every day.”
I raised an eyebrow and looked down at my daughter as she looked up at me with the cutest grin.
“You’re such a sucker, Sam,” I said with a laugh. “She loves pancakes and bacon, but we limit it to like once a week.” I reached over and gently tickled her sides, loving how she giggled.
“You tricked me?” he asked with his hand over his heart as if he’d been shot. “The betrayal.”
“Sorry,” Kennedy sang as she happily chewed the piece of bacon hanging from her mouth.
“I don’t think you are. You just use me for pancakes and bacon,” he whined, pretending to cry. “Then convince me that your mom said it was okay to have hot chocolate for breakfast while watching cartoons!”
My eyes widened even more as I looked down at Kennedy, not believing my ears.
“Kennedy!” I hissed, wondering what had come over her. Being cheeky was fine, but telling lies to get what she wanted wasn’t something I tolerated.
“I’m just kidding,” Sam rushed out, holding his hand up to stop me. “She didn’t ask for any of that. I was just getting back at her for her tricking me with breakfast.”
I narrowed my eyes, looking from him to her. They were going to be trouble together, I just knew it.
“I don’t know who to believe,” I teased. “It seems like there’s lots of fibbing happening in here.”
“Well, technically, she started it,” Sam said, pointing a spatula at Kennedy and causing her to giggle again.
“That doesn’t surprise me one bit.”
“Mama, can I be done?” she asked, tugging on the arm of my robe to get my attention.
“Is your tummy full?” I had no idea how much she had eaten since she’d started before I came out.
“Yep.”
“Alright. You can be done. Please ask Sam where you can clear your plate.”
She hopped down from her chair and I handed her the plastic plate he had given her with her food. He showed her where the trashcan was and then helped her load the plate into the dishwasher.
“Can I watch The Grinch? ” she asked, eyes hopeful as she looked between us.
“We just watched it last night,” I said softly, not wanting Sam to go out of his mind with having to watch the same thing over and over.
“Yeah, but I missed some of it because I was sleeping.”
“I know, but we don’t want to bore Sam with watching it again.”
“I don’t mind,” he said softly, his eyes locking onto mine.
“Okay. But just once. Then, after that, we’ll take a shower and get cleaned up.”
“Okay, momma.” She smiled and then bounced into the living room, clearly feeling better.
I was going to get up to go turn on the TV, but Sam beat me to it.
“Do you want your hot chocolate with green marshmallows?” he asked her as he headed back to the kitchen.
My jaw dropped open, knowing she had been trying to convince him to give her hot chocolate after all.
“Yes, please! And whipped cream!”
I shook my head at him as I tried to keep the smile off my face.
“Oh, you are in so much trouble,” I teased.
“What?” He shrugged while sporting the cutest ear-to-ear smile. “I want to be the fun, cool uncle. Gotta get those brownie points in somehow, or I’ll never beat Cassidy.”
“You’re in a competition with Cassidy over who Kennedy likes more?”
“Yeah, but she doesn’t know it yet, so don’t say anything. Okay?”
“First, you lie to me about my kid conning you into a breakfast filled with sugar, and then you ask me to lie to my best friend?” I gasped and clutched my hand to my chest. “Talk about betrayal.”
“Hey, I bought you five new pillows—you should’ve seen the bribes coming.”
“And here I was, foolishly thinking you just did that because you’re such a good guy.”
“I am. But I also want to win.” He winked, and it immediately sent jolts of electricity through my body in a way I hadn’t felt in years.
“I can’t believe what I’m hearing. If Cassidy knew what you were doing....” I pointed my finger at him and tsked. “And so close to Christmas!”
He leaned forward on the island and held my gaze.
“Would a peppermint mocha be enough to change your mind this morning?”
“Now you’re bringing lattes into the mix?” I leaned back and folded my arms over my chest. “Sam. Sam. Sam.”
“Alright. Alright. You drive a hard bargain.” He picked up the towel that was sitting on the counter and tossed it over his shoulder. “How about a gingerbread latte? Final offer.”
My stomach growled loudly before I could answer, which made Sam’s eyes light up. He spun around and grabbed a plate before quickly piling it with bacon and pancakes.
“I’ll even add in breakfast,” he teased with a flirty smirk.
I tipped my head back and sighed heavily as if all of this was too much of a burden.
“Fine. But when Cassidy unfriends me because I succumbed to her brother’s crazy competition, I’m going to blame it on the lattes.”
“Hey, I only offered one. You can’t blame it on all of them.”
“If you want me to keep your dirty little secrets, there will be unlimited lattes in my future.” I waggled my brows, but when he licked his lips, I knew I was in trouble.