Chapter 34 In Every Way That Counts
In Every Way That Counts
MILLIE
One month.
That’s how much time is left until the custody hearing. It was originally supposed to happen later, but Haley got it moved earlier.
Gabriel and I are still getting married on the twenty-first despite the hearing now being on the first of December.
I’ve thought a lot about Haley. I won’t pretend that I’m not nervous about the hearing—about what she may say, about what her lawyer might throw at us.
I don’t talk about it much, but every time I look at Aura, that anxiety comes forward in my thoughts.
How will it feel if we are forced to share her?
How will we handle it if we lose our girl?
Every scenario plays out in my mind, and the hardest part is the unknown. What if we’re not enough? What if her birth mother decides she wants to try again… and the biggest one of all—what if the system chooses her over us?
It’s easy to feel like I’m being selfish—like I’m just scared of losing my little girl.
But I’m also scared for her. She’s so little, so full of joy and wonder, so utterly trusting of the world around her.
She has no idea how fragile her place in our lives could be, how easily everything could be taken away.
That thought gnaws at me more than anything else.
Haley is Aura’s birth mother, and I think of her sometimes, but not in the way I imagined I would.
I don’t feel anger or resentment—just a quiet ache.
She’s a part of Aura’s story, a part of who she is, but she’s not her mother.
I have been the one to feed and love her for the past eight months.
She is mine in every way that counts, and I am hers.
Nothing in the world can change that.
But I know the courts don’t see it that way. There’s a paper trail, a birth certificate, a name on a file, a legal fight to determine who gets to raise her. A legal fight that we’ve been preparing for all month.
We are meeting with our lawyer this morning, and I feel like I’m walking into a battlefield.
I’m dressed in something professional but comfortable—something that says I’m here to do what needs to be done.
Gabriel’s beside me, as always, but his reassuring presence can’t quell the sense of unease twisting in my stomach.
We’re sitting in the waiting room of the lawyer’s office when I realize just how much this is all weighing on me.
My fingers are fidgeting, drumming against the armrest of the chair.
The smell of coffee from the nearby cafe booth doesn’t even register.
The air feels thick, like it’s pressing down on my shoulders, and I can’t stop the anxious thoughts from swirling.
Gabriel, as usual, picks up on my restlessness. His hands slip into mine, his grip steady and firm. I look over at him, and the warmth in his eyes settles something in me, even if it’s just for a moment.
“You’re not alone in this,” he says softly, his thumb brushing over the back of my hand.
I nod, squeezing his fingers back. “I know. But sometimes it feels like the world is so much bigger than us, and I just—I don’t want to mess it up. Not for her.”
Before I can say anything else, The lawyer walks in, his briefcase in hand and his expression all business. “Let’s get this over with, shall we?” He offers us a tight smile, but there’s a fire behind his eyes.
The meeting feels like it takes forever.
The lawyer goes over all the details with us, making sure we’re prepared for what the other side might argue and for the possible angles they could try to undermine us.
There’s talk about Aura’s birth mother and her history—things that make me squirm in my seat.
Every time her name comes up, it’s like a knife twisting in my gut.
I know it’s part of the process. I know it’s necessary, but I don’t have to like it.
“Her history won’t matter if we focus on the here and now,” the lawyer says, glancing between Gabriel and me. “What matters is the life you’ve created for Aura. You’ve given her stability, love, family, and everything she needs. That’s what the court will see. That’s what we’re going to focus on.”
I look at Gabriel, his jaw set with that quiet determination he’s had since we first met. His eyes are unwavering, and for a moment, I don’t feel the weight of the world on my shoulders. I feel…grounded. Secure.
“Just a little longer,” he murmurs, kissing my head. I nod, trying to hold onto the peace he’s offering me.
A few weeks later, the stress starts to settle in my bones.
I try to distract myself by focusing on the cafe, but the fear lingers.
Even Gabriel, who’s usually the most calming presence, seems a little on edge these days.
We’re both waiting for something to happen, and it’s hard to keep pretending everything is okay when it feels anything but.
The hearing is in a week, and one evening, after a long day of running the cafe, I’m in the kitchen, washing dishes. The sound of Gabriel’s footsteps startles me, but then his arms slide around my waist, pulling me against him. He’s always so steady, so present, and I need that grounding right now.
“Come here,” he murmurs, his lips brushing against my ear. “I’m tired of worrying about next week. Let’s just be right here, right now.”
I turn in his arms, my heart fluttering in my chest. He doesn’t say anything else—he doesn’t need to.
I’m lost in the warmth of his embrace, the feel of his lips as they meet mine, slow and soft, like we’re the only two people in the world.
He pulls closer, and I melt into him, letting the tension in my body slowly slip away.
This is what matters. Not the hearing, not the paperwork, not the fear of the unknowns. Just us. Just our little family.
I break the kiss, resting my forehead against his. “I don’t know what I would do without you,” I whisper, my voice thick with emotion.
He smiles, his thumb brushing over my cheek. “You’ll never have to find out.”
Gabriel starts walking backward, pulling my hand as we walk from the kitchen to our bedroom. When his legs hit the back of the bed, I give his chest a push and he falls back. I lean over him, his hands land on my backside, a grown escaping as he kneads my cheeks.
“I love this ass,” he says, leaning up to swirl his tongue around my nipple. “These too. I’m so glad I have them in my life.”
I laugh. “They’re yours.”
He smiles, and I kiss him, all the worry about the hearing wiped from my thoughts.
I kiss down his neck and stomach and keep going, my chest hovering over his cock.
I lean in and slide him between my breasts, and his breath hitches.
He perches up on his arms to watch. Cursing quietly when I push my breast closer around him.
His head falls back as I rub against his leg again.
He flips me so he is on top of me. He slides his tip over my wetness.
“More,” I gasp.
He gives me more, little by little, pausing with something between ecstasy and pain in his expression.
I feel every sensation.
I lose my breath and all restraint and pull my legs up around him, wanting him deeper, all of him.
“You feel so good,” he whispers.
“Nothing has ever been better,” I tell him.
I flutter around him.
“Bumper, don’t make me come yet, baby,” he groans.
I smile, but he kisses it off me, playful nips until he starts to move, and his kisses begin to feel more like what he’s doing inside me.
I can’t take it. It’s too good.
“Gab,” I cry out.
He looks at me, and my eyes fade as he pulls slowly out and back in.
“You were made for me, we were made for each other,” he says, the veins in his arm trembling with his restraint.
“So perfect,” I whimper.
I gasp his name between the bliss he’s giving me, and his eyes take me in. Watching his reaction does the same for me as he’s doing to me with his body, and I start to fall.
He looks so delighted as I fall over the edge, and I cling to him, pulling him deeper. It makes my orgasm ride on forever.
“Oh,” he moans.
His head falls into my neck, and he stiffens inside me before the pulses rock through him. I arch into him, praying this never ends.
When we both fall onto the bed, catching our breath, he lifts his head and kisses me. Slow and sweet.
Our tongues tangle together, and I gasp when he jerks inside me. Desire kicks in, and I’m ready for more. His hand slides up my neck onto my cheek, and when we break the kiss, we stare at each other.
“Hello,” he says.
“Hey,” I whisper.
He kisses me again, and I feel complete.
“I’ll be right back, he says, kissing my lips before he climbs out of bed.
He returns a few moments later with a damp towel, he gently daps it at my bare legs.
My God.
He pushes a stray piece of hair from my face. “You look absolutely stunning freshly fucked, Bumper.”
We fall asleep wrapped up in each other.
The next morning, I’m at the cafe, trying to keep my mind occupied.
Both from what happened last night and what’s to happen in less than a week.
The familiar faces of my regulars provide a sense of normalcy, a reminder that life, even in all its uncertainty, goes on.
Grace and Tom Banks sit at their usual table by the window, and I make my way over to them, coffee pot in hand.
“Good morning!” I say, smiling as I refill their mugs.
Tom chuckles. “How’s Aura? She’s getting big, isn’t she?”
I nod, a proud smile tugging at my lips. “She’s growing like a wildflower. I swear, she was just a little baby, and now she’s almost one.”
Grace laughs, sipping her coffee. “Ah, that’s the joy of parenthood. You blink, and they’re in high school.”
I’ll be lucky if I get her through toddlerhood in one piece,” I joke, shaking my head.
Grace leans forward. Her voice is soft but full of wisdom. You’ve got this, Millie. Don’t doubt yourself. You and your handsome man are exactly what she needs.”