Chapter 24
Alice
Ever since Sutton kissed me, I've been in a fog.
The memory of that moment lingers, clouding my thoughts and coloring every interaction with a new, unspoken longing.
While I recognize, and can even appreciate, his quick thinking in a moment of panic, I’m left with a quiet but constant reminder of how much that single kiss has changed everything between us.
And nothing all at once.
For starters, he’s still sleeping on the living room couch after refusing to claim his prize two weeks later.
“Morning,” he grunts, hunched over the coffee pot as if it contains the answers to the meaning of life. The percolating slows to a drip, and he fills the two mugs in front of him.
“Thanks,” I murmur, accepting the hot porcelain from his hands. I pour in a splash of heavy cream before placing the carton back in the fridge. Sutton doesn’t use any. He only started buying it after I began sleeping at his house.
I rest my hips against the counter and scratch the back of my bare calf with my opposite foot. “What’s your schedule today?” I ask, glancing over at Sutton as the morning sunlight filters into the kitchen.
Sutton covers a yawn with the back of his hand. “Technically, eight to eight, but I sense some overtime coming this week.”
I lean over the paper planner I keep in the corner, and scribble down his hours. “Okay. Nellie has dance this afternoon, but that’s it until soccer starts next week,” I note, trying to keep track of everyone’s commitments.
Now that school is out, the schedule change has thrown us all for a loop. I no longer have my days free. I’m now a full-time, live-in nanny, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I get to spend my days with the best girl on the planet.
“What day is that again?”
I check the planner. “Tuesday. Ten o’clock.”
“Got it. I’ll be there.”
I glance up. “You’re going to her soccer practice?”
His smile is lopsided. “It’s the first one.”
I can’t lie. The doting single father thing is incredibly cute.
Sutton tosses back the rest of his coffee and rinses his mug in the sink. He runs his hands over his short, salt-flecked hair. “I have to get ready.”
“I’ll get started on breakfast,” I offer, already reaching for the pans.
His warm gaze flickers across my face. “Thank you.”
“I don’t know why you’re thanking me as if I’m not here every morning making your eggs.” The pans rattle as I dig out the biggest one from the cupboard.
“I’ve told you that you don’t have to do that.”
“I know. But Nellie needs to eat too, so it only makes sense.”
He dips his chin and finds my eyes. “Hence the thank you.”
I roll mine, fighting a blush. “You’re welcome, Sunny.”
He flashes me a rare smile and disappears down the stairs.
I fight my own smile as I duck my head into the refrigerator. The egg carton feels light as I pluck it from the shelf. There are only a few strips of bacon left in the package, and the milk is nearly gone. I guess I’ll be making a trip to the grocery store once Sutton leaves and Nellie wakes up.
The bacon spits and splatters in the pan ten minutes later when both Sutton and Nellie bound up the stairs. Her hair is a rumpled mess, flattened on one side and sticking up on the other. She rubs sleep from her eyes as she drops into a kitchen chair, lavender nightgown swishing around her ankles.
Sutton looks impeccable in his uniform. The deep blue fabric fits him perfectly, accentuating the strength of his muscular build underneath.
This version of him always catches me off guard.
He always looks good, but when he’s on duty, it’s as if I’m transported back to the first day we met, when I was unable to stop myself from mentally swooning over his mysterious, commanding presence in the back of his police cruiser.
Now I have a totally different reason altogether to swoon. I swear, if I lick my lips, I can still taste him there.
“Good morning, sweet girl.” I gently brush Nellie’s hair back from her face, moving away from my wayward thoughts. She leans into my hip. “Do you want some eggs this morning?”
She nods sleepily. “With toast,” she croaks, her voice barely above a whisper.
“I can do that. Do you want to come to the store with me this morning or should I bring you to Auntie Whitney’s house to play with Lucy?”
She tips her chin back, meeting my eyes. “Is it okay if I go play with Lucy?”
“Of course. I’ll give Whitney a call as soon as we’re done with breakfast.” I trail my fingers through her hair, untangling a few knots.
She smiles up at me and, in the softest voice, says, “Thanks, Mamma.”
I swear my heart stops, skipping a beat before it picks up in double time. “Oh, I-I’m not your mamma, honey.”
“Why did you call her that?” Sutton asks, voice as gentle as ever from across the room. When she doesn’t answer right away, he prompts, “Eleanor.”
Her spine straightens. She looks between us, worried she might be in trouble. “I want her to be my mom. She’s really nice, Daddy, and she takes good care of me, and she’s around all the time,” she pleads with Sutton as if he’s going to grant her wish.
“Would you give us a minute?” Sutton asks me tersely, but it’s less of a question and more of a demand.
Noticing the stove is still on, I cut the heat, lest we have another burnt bacon mishap, and excuse myself downstairs to get dressed.
Searching through my loosely packed duffel, I find a pair of wide-leg dark wash jeans.
These will pair nicely with a flowy short-sleeved white top.
The soft fabric hugs my chest comfortably while remaining loose around my waist, promising cool comfort for the warm day ahead.
“Alice,” Sutton’s voice carries down the stairs, beckoning me back to the kitchen.
I run a brush lightly over my waves and pull my hair into a messy bun as I ascend the steps.
My heart rate increases the closer I get, not sure what I’m about to walk into.
I’m incredibly touched by her wishes, but I hope Sutton cleared things up.
She’s just confused by having a caring woman in her life.
An outsider. One who isn’t already married to one of her uncles for probably the first time ever.
I enter the kitchen and find a solemn little girl with a plate of eggs and toast untouched in front of her. Sutton stands nearby, his expression unreadable as he wipes down the stove, the tension in the room palpable.
“I’m sorry, Miss Alice,” Nellie says, her tearful gaze fixed on her breakfast.
“You don’t need to apologize, sweetheart.” I kneel beside her. “I understand why you feel the way you do.”
She meets my eyes, breaking my heart with her watery blues. “You do?”
I take a deep breath, hoping I’m not overstepping. “I grew up without a dad, so I know what it’s like to only have one parent.”
Nellie turns toward me, curiosity flickering across her face. “Did you ever get a new one?”
I shake my head. “No, I didn’t. But that’s okay. Do you know why?”
“Why?”
“Because the number of parents doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is that you have someone who loves you very much. And I know for a fact that your dad loves you enough for two parents.”
She picks up a triangle of toast, a sign that her heart is lightening as she considers my words. “He does love me a lot.”
“I know. But do you know what else makes you special? Something you have that a lot of other people don’t?”
“What’s that?”
“Well, let’s see.” I tap my chin thoughtfully. “How many uncles do you have?”
Her lips purse in concentration as she ticks off her fingers. “I have… seven!”
“How many aunties do you have?”
“Um… six!”
“Right, so that’s thirteen. Plus, you have two grandmas, so that’s—”
“Fifteen!” Nellie’s excitement grows as she realizes the number.
“You have fifteen people, not including your dad, who love you so very much.” I tilt my head and smile. “And you also have me. I might not be able to be your mamma, but I love you too, sweetheart.” My voice wavers with emotion at the admission.
She sits uncharacteristically still, absorbing what I’ve shared. She drops her toast onto her plate. “That’s a lot of people. Plus you and Daddy, that’s seventeen people. I didn’t even know I knew seventeen people.”
I laugh lightly, regaining my feet. “Now you do. And they’re all rooting for you, kiddo. You’re a very lucky girl.”
She beams at me, dunking her toast into her egg yolk. “Thanks, Miss Alice.”
“You’re very welcome.”
Crisis seemingly averted, I cross the kitchen to my forgotten coffee. Sutton stops me with a tight grip around my elbow.
“Thank you,” he murmurs, voice deep and gruff. “For loving my little girl.”
“I hope I didn’t overstep.”
“Love doesn’t overstep. If you feel it, you let them know so they can feel it too.”
With that, he lets me go.
“I have to get to work. I’ll see you both tonight.”
He kisses the top of Nellie’s head on his way to the door, melting my heart and provoking a longing in my chest.
Because I realize right then I wouldn’t mind if he kissed me goodbye too.
I survey the neat kitchen, finding nothing left to do. Sutton cleaned it all up.
“Okay! You finish breakfast, and we’ll get ready. Auntie Whitney and Lucy are waiting for you.”