Chapter 41
FORTY-ONE
COLSON
Me
Sophie
Awww, she’s the cutest. I can’t wait to see her outfit. Abbi’s in a costume too. The girls are going to look adorable together.
Tell me, why am I so nervous? I shouldn’t be, right?
Me
It’s a huge day for us, baby. It’s okay to be nervous.
Sophie
Put me in front of the most difficult judge in the state, and I won’t even blink an eye. In fact, I’ll welcome the audience. Put me in front of my daughter, where I have to confess something I’ve been hiding from her … and I can’t breathe.
Me
That’s not the only place you like an audience.
Sophie
Colson!
Me
You do know the girls are going to be so fucking excited, don’t you?
Sophie
But what if they’re not?
Me
They’re best friends. Why wouldn’t they be happy over this news?
Sophie
They were best friends with Abby with a Y, too, and look what happened there. She turned into a bully, and our kids hate her now. They’re kids, Colson. We can’t predict how they’re going to react. Now or in ten years.
Me
I fucking love when you go deep into the future with me.
Sophie
You’re not helping.
Me
Hey …
Sophie
Yeah?
Me
I love you.
Did that help?
Sophie
Yep. I just melted.
“Abbi, can you believe we’re going to see all the princesses in the whole world?
” Ellie faced her best friend, her small hands pounding the air as the excitement moved through her tiny body.
“They’re all coming to California, and they’re gonna be on the ice, and no one else is going to see princesses like we are ’cause they’re going to be with us! ”
“I knoooow!” Abbi squealed.
I laughed at the two little ones, who were still screaming in the third row of my SUV, their enthusiasm so over the top that I could almost use a set of earplugs.
And I reached across the seat, caressing the outside of Sophie’s hand as it lay flat against the leather. That little touch was all it took for her to glance at me.
From her texts earlier, I knew she was in her feelings about today.
I understood the concern—Abbi never had to share her mother, whereas Ellie had already learned how to share hers—but I still didn’t think there was any reason to worry.
The plan was to take the girls out to dinner and then to the princess show on ice, ending the night at my place, where we’d tell the girls we were dating.
When the princess show had been announced a few weeks ago, a couple of days after Sophie and I returned from our boat trip, I’d brought up the idea to Sophie.
Since The Weston Group owned a box at the arena, the rink where Beck’s NHL team played, I thought it would be the perfect place to take the little ones.
They loved princesses; I knew they’d be enamored with the performance.
Sophie agreed, and the countdown began. And during the wait, there had been two more sleepovers for the girls—one at Sophie’s place and one at mine.
But even though the girls had spent time at each other’s houses and Sophie stopped in to have dinner with us when she picked up Abbi, and I did the same when I went to get Ellie, this was the first time the four of us were going out together.
It was getting harder to keep the secret; it was time to confess.
Now that we were only minutes from our first destination, I turned in my seat, facing our princesses. “Hey, Abbi.” I waited for them to calm down before I continued, “Did your mom tell you where we’re going for dinner?”
She shook her head, and little pieces of blonde hit the corners of her bright blue eyes. “Nope.”
“Do you want me to tell you, or do you want it to be a surprise?” I glanced at Sophie, and she was hiding her smile.
“Tell me!” both girls shouted simultaneously.
I chuckled. The amount of glitter between the two of them was next level. Abbi had pink sparkles under her eyes and across her nose, over the top of her hair, and even her earrings shimmered. Ellie had on just as much, if not more.
“Well, I heard you have a favorite food. Something you love more than anything in this world. Is that true?”
“Sushi!” She looked at Ellie. “Don’t you love sushi so much? Like, sooo much?”
“It’s my fave!” Ellie shouted.
“So, Abbi, would you be happy if that’s where we’re going?”
Her eyes lit up. “Yes!”
I laughed again and reached for Ellie’s cheek, which I held in my hand. “Sounds like you’re going to be very happy then, Abbi.”
“We’re going for sushi!” Abbi announced.
“I know you’re happy about it, baby,” I said to Ellie.
“Yes, Daddy!”
I didn’t think they could get any louder, but as soon as I turned my back, they did.
“Sorry, Paul,” I said softly as I leaned toward the front seat.
He smiled. “Doesn’t bother me one bit.”
While more cheering erupted from the back, I kept my voice at a whisper when I said to Sophie, “I booked us the private room.”
“What?” She tucked her hair back. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“And it might be decorated in a princess theme.”
Her jaw dropped. “Tell me you’re joking?”
“And don’t worry, the drinks you’re going to see on the table, served in champagne flutes, are a special concoction our bartender has been working on for me. Mocktails, of course, and the glitter is edible.”
“I cannot believe what I’m hearing right now.” She squeezed my fingers. “I understand spoiling—trust me, I do. But this is beyond that.”
It was a special evening for all of us. I was going to make sure none of us forgot it.
“Baby, Ellie only flies private. A princess-themed dinner at one of our restaurants is nothing compared to jet fuel.”
Her eyes went wide. “I don’t even know what to say …”
I lifted her hand, and when I was sure the girls weren’t looking, I kissed the back of it. “Just wait until you move in. It’s going to get worse.”
“No.”
“Yes.” I winked.
Paul pulled into the back lot of the restaurant, and once he came to a stop, I climbed out of the SUV, helping Sophie to the ground before I assisted the girls.
The hostess was already at the private door, holding it open for us. “Mr. Weston, it’s a pleasure to see you.”
“And you,” I said, holding my arm out so the three ladies could walk in before me.
The hostess took us through a short hallway and halted at the doorway of the closed-off room, gazing at the two little ones.
“I hear there’s a very special occasion we’re celebrating.
” She ducked her head so she could be more eye level with them.
“And it has something to do with princesses. Is that right?”
“Yes!” Abbi sang. “We love princesses! And pink!”
“My God,” Sophie groaned to me. “They’re such girlie girls.”
I slipped my arm behind her, rubbing soft circles across her lower back. “They’re perfect.”
“Look at how beautiful you two look,” the hostess continued. “And since you’re the most gorg princesses ever, it’s only appropriate that you eat dinner somewhere extra-extra special, am I right?”
“Yesss! Yes! Yes!” Ellie chanted.
The hostess separated the paper arches that hung over the opening of the door. “Welcome to your castle, ladies.”
The moment they peeked inside, they started screaming. That was when Sophie reminded them that they were in a restaurant, and I backed up her statement, requesting inside voices only.
The lowering of their tones did nothing to curb the shock and awe on their faces as they took in the transformation of the room.
My crew had covered every inch of the space with tapestries over the walls that depicted the outside of a castle and a shaggy rug on the floor, which didn’t resemble the appropriate time frame but played into the age of the girls.
The table was pink with high-back chairs and place settings that matched.
“Is this the same room we had dinner in?” Sophie asked.
I chuckled. “Yes.”
I felt her eyes on me as she said, “How am I ever going to throw my daughter a birthday party that can compete? For the rest of her life, when it comes to anything, she’s going to compare it to this. Because this is …” She went quiet. “Colson, I don’t even have words.”
“You don’t have to throw her a party alone. We’ll be doing it together.” I locked eyes with her. “And as you can see, I’m a pretty solid planner.”
She found my finger and tightened hers around it. “Together.” I could hear the emotion in her voice.
“We’re going to do everything together, Sophie. It’s not all on you anymore.”
It wasn’t just a promise of a partnership. It was a promise that I was never going anywhere. For the rest of my life, as long as I could help it, Sophie would never feel abandoned again.
“Come on,” I whispered. “Let’s go enjoy some sushi.”
She smiled as we separated, and we joined the girls at the square-shaped table, Sophie and I next to each other with Abbi at her side and Ellie at mine.
“Abbi, did you see what’s in your glass?” Sophie was holding hers up in the air. “It’s a drink for a princess.”
Abbi’s mouth widened so large that she looked animated. “That’s a wow.” She turned it in her hand. “Mommy, it sparkles. Everywhere.”
“Uh-huh,” Ellie agreed as she lifted hers.
“What should we toast to?” I joined my glass in the center to meet theirs. “How about … to our very first adventure together?” I couldn’t hold it in. I fucking couldn’t. “As a family.”
The girls giggled and clinked their flutes together while Sophie stared at me, clearly understanding my statement far more than the little ones did.
While the girls pointed to different things around the room, the urge to tell them became too strong. I saw no reason to wait until tonight, especially because I knew it was eating at Sophie. The sooner we got this over with, the faster she could relax.
So, I made the decision.
Under the table, I reached my leg toward Sophie’s, hooking my foot around her calf, and said, “Abbi, can I ask you something?”
She wiggled in her pink chair, smiling. “Yes!”
“When it comes to Ellie, when she wants to do something a little extra, she’s been taught to ask for permission. Do you do the same with your mommy?”
“Mommy has to say yes to all the things, but sometimes, she says no.” Abbi’s shoulders slumped.
I laughed. “That’s why I want to talk to you—because this is one of those things where you either need to say yes or no to me. Okay?”
“Okay!”
My focus was on Abbi, but I gave Sophie a quick peek. Her smile was there even if it was faint, and I could tell she knew what was coming. Her fear was preventing a full grin, but I swore that would change.
“Do you know how much you love your mommy? Well, I also love your mommy very much. I love her so much that I want to spend as much time with her as possible.”
Abbi’s lips formed an O.
“But I want to know if that’s okay with you. Because that means that you’ll be spending a lot of time with Ellie and me. And there will be a ton more sleepovers at both of our houses, and maybe even one day soon, we’ll all live together.”
“We will?” Abbi asked.
I rubbed the toe of my shoe up the back of Sophie’s leg. “What do you think of that? Is it okay if I love your mommy? And if the four of us spend a lot more time together?”
“As long as you love her this much.” She spread her arms out wide and smiled.
I extended my hand across the table and replied, “I promise you, Abbi, I will love her even more than that.” I shook her tiny fingers.
“Miss Ellie,” Sophie said, “are you okay if I spend more time with your daddy? And if I love him this much?” She imitated the way Abbi’s arms had spread.
“You love him ’cause my dad’s the best,” Ellie said.
Sophie and I laughed.
“Yes, he is,” Sophie admitted. “There’s no one better than him.”
Once I released Abbi, I took Ellie’s hand. “What do you think of all this, baby?”
Every time she blinked, I could see the glitter had spread to her eyelashes.
“Are you getting married like Mommy and Daddy Matt?”
“Not yet,” I told her. “But one day, we might. Would you be okay with that?”
Her entire expression changed, and she swung her head toward Abbi. “That makes us sisters!”
Abbi shouted, “I have a sister!”
“You’re not sisters yet,” I clarified. “But if you were, I’m assuming you’d be happy about that news?”
“Yesss,” they both replied.
The two little ones immediately started chatting, so I turned toward Sophie. “The bosses approve.”
“Thank God.” She released a breath. “I think they’re most excited about the sister part.”
I found her hand, which was resting on her thigh, and linked our fingers together. “Maybe we should give them another one.”