Chapter 23
“Okay, peanut. Time for bed,” Haley says later that evening, the sun having set a few hours ago.
But we still didn’t make any move to go inside, the three of us sitting on the back patio as we talked about everything that popped into Maggie’s head.
She’s definitely an inquisitive little girl. All throughout dinner, she peppered me with questions about the different things she noticed in the vineyard.
I told her all about the owl and bird boxes that keep pests away. I also taught her that the flowers between the rows of vines she saw in the winter are cover crops, and are used to nourish the vines during dormancy. I also told her that the rose bushes planted at the end of each row aren’t there to make everything look pretty but to detect disease brought on by louses eating the vines.
Maggie wasn’t the only one fascinated by everything I shared. I could tell Haley was also impressed.
“But I’m not tired, Mama,” Maggie says around a yawn, her head drooping.
“Sure you aren’t.” Haley pushes back from her chair. “Come on. Time for bed.”
When she starts to stand, I place a hand on her shoulder, stopping her. “I can read to her.”
She meets my gaze. “You don’t have to. She’s not?—”
“If you’re about to tell me she’s not my responsibility again, I’m going to stop you right now. She may not be my responsibility, but I can still help with her. I still want to help with her. So please. Let me read to her.”
She stares at me for several long moments. I half expect her to refuse, like she typically does.
At first, I thought her reticence to accept help was due to her stubbornness. But I get it now. Hell, I should have understood it long before now. I saw firsthand how controlling her parents were. It’s understandable that she’d avoid any scenario that would give anyone power over her.
Knowing what I do now, it’s a miracle she even agreed to our fake marriage.
“Thanks, Beckham,” she finally says.
“Anytime.” I squeeze her arm, then move toward Maggie. “Come on, pipsqueak. You’re with me tonight.”
“You’re going to read to me?”
“Yup.” I lift her off her chair and place her feet on the ground, making sure she’s steady before I release her. “Go on up and change into your pajamas.” I arch a brow. “You don’t need help with that, do you?”
She rolls her eyes dramatically, placing her hands on her hips. “I’m four,” she replies with the attitude of a fourteen-year-old. “I know how to put on my pajamas. I can even brush my teeth.” She marches inside and runs up the stairs, her heavy footfalls echoing even out here.
“I have a feeling we’ll have our hands full with that one when she’s a teenager,” I muse absentmindedly, not having realized what I said until Haley darts her wide eyes toward me, her breath hitching.
It’s not the subject of the statement that catches her by surprise, but that one word… We.
“I mean, you,” I correct. “You’ll have your hands full.”
“I can’t argue with that,” she says with a smile, although it doesn’t reach her eyes.
I grab our dinner plates and bring them inside, placing them in the sink. Haley follows with a few glasses.
“You don’t have to do that,” I tell her as she turns on the faucet and starts to scrub the dishes. “I can clean it up.”
“I don’t have to do anything,” she throws my words back at me. “I want to do it.”
“Touché, Haley.” I playfully nudge her.
God, I love being able to touch her again. I hope the no-touching rule remains permanently erased. I doubt I’ll ever be able to go back to not touching her, even if all reason tells me it’s probably best for both of us.
“Anything I should know about reading to her?”
She turns off the faucet and faces me. “She only gets three books. Otherwise, she’ll have you read every one she owns. Twice. She’s a bit of a bookworm.”
“Three books. Got it.” I wipe my hands on a dishtowel, then start up the stairs.
“Thanks, Beckham,” Haley calls after me.
I glance over my shoulder and meet her gaze. “Anytime, Haley. I mean it.”
She gives a slight nod, then turns around, continuing to clean the kitchen.
I head up the stairs and pause outside Maggie’s door that’s slightly ajar. “Maggie?” I knock softly. “Are you ready?”
“Yup!”
I push the door open, smiling as she slides down her bed. With a blanket and her favorite stuffed elephant in her hands, she heads toward the oversized chaise lounge I bought after I noticed Haley standing beside Maggie’s bed to read to her. This way, they can snuggle together on the chair before Maggie climbs up into her bed.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I ask as Maggie sits in front of the bookcase, pulling book after book out of it and stacking them in a lopsided pile.
“Picking out the books I want you to read!”
I narrow my gaze at her, crossing my arms over my chest. “Your mom said you have a three-book limit.”
She gives me a pleading look that would rival the puppy-dog eyes Monte reserves for when he wants a treat. “Please, Beck. You never read to me. And I want you to read all these books.”
“I tell you what, squirt.” I crouch down to her level. “I’ll talk to your mom and ask if we can take turns reading to you at night. How does that sound?”
Her expression lights up. “For real life?”
I chuckle, pressing a soft kiss to her head. “For real life. Now pick three.”
She scowls, but it only lasts a second before she has three books picked out. And they’re three books I bought for her upon my sister’s recommendation.
I climb into the chaise lounge and arrange Maggie beside me, my heart expanding when she rests her little head on my chest. I’ve spent the past few months living with this little human, but I’ve never held her like this. There’s something so innocent and pure about it.
And something absolutely terrifying, too.
It makes me appreciate everything Haley’s sacrificed for her even more. I’m not sure I would have had the strength to do what she did — continue her pregnancy with no support. It’s further proof of how tough she is. How much she’s changed since everything fell apart. She’s no longer the scared teenager who refused to stand up to her parents and fight for what she wanted.
She’s already done that.
It’s more than I can say for myself.
I snuggle Maggie closer to me as I read her a story about a farting dog who ends up saving his family from a bunch of burglars, thanks to his putrid gas problem.
When Dylan recommended it to me, I questioned whether a book about a farting dog would be appropriate for a four-year-old. But I can’t ignore the message inside — to accept everyone, even if they’re not perfect.
Noticing a movement out of the corner of my eye, I look up and meet Haley’s gaze as she leans against the doorjamb, a heartwarming smile pulling on her lips. I return her smile before continuing to read to Maggie. Even though she’s already asleep, I’m in no rush to finish, savoring the warmth of her in my arms.
When I finally reach the end of the book and place it on top of the pile, Haley starts toward us.
“I got her,” I whisper so as to not wake Maggie.
I can’t help but laugh at the fact that she initially wanted me to read every book she owned, yet she couldn’t even manage to stay awake for the first one.
Carefully arranging her in my arms, I stand and carry her to her bed, easily hoisting her over the railing and onto her mattress. After covering her with blankets, I smooth her auburn curls out of her face and touch a gentle kiss to her temple.
“Sweet dreams, pipsqueak.”
I move toward the lamp in the corner, but Haley stops me. “She sleeps with that on. It’s like a nightlight for her.”
“Right. Sorry.”
I leave the light on and follow Haley into the hallway, closing the door gently behind us.
“She’s a great kid,” I say, still keeping my voice low.
She glances at the artwork adorning Maggie’s door. Hell, there’s even random drawings now taped to the walls in practically every room, including a sign on the door to my office advertising a nail polish store.
“Yes, she is.”
“But that’s to be expected. She’s got an amazing mom.”
Her cheeks flush with a hint of pink and she averts her gaze. “Thanks, Beckham.”
“I mean it, Haley. She’s lucky to have you.” I lick my lips, then add, “We both are.”
She lifts her eyes to mine. “Both?”
“Yes, Haley.” I step toward her, only a fraction of an inch separating us. “I’m lucky to have you, too.”
She searches my eyes for several moments, as if trying to unravel some complicated mystery that’s eluded her for years.
Then she clutches my cheeks and her lips collide with mine.
I still, momentarily surprised by Haley’s unexpected action. After six weeks of purposefully avoiding any kind of physical contact, the last thing I anticipated was for her to kiss me.
And my god, it feels incredible.
Her lips are just as intoxicating as they were on our wedding day.
As they were all those years ago.
Since the first time I kissed her, I knew her lips were dangerous. That they’d eventually be my undoing.
I never could have predicted to what extent.
“Sorry.” She quickly pulls back when I remain frozen. “I don’t know what came over me. I just… It won’t happen again.”
Spinning around, she hurries into the bedroom. She’s about to close the door behind her, but before she can, I press my palm on it. She snaps her wide eyes to mine, surprise and confusion swirling within as we stare at each other for what feels like an eternity.
I know this is a bad idea. That nothing good could come out of this.
But right now, I don’t care about any of the possible ramifications.
All I do care about is finally succumbing to the desire that’s been building since I watched her walk down the aisle to become my wife.
My jaw set in a determined line, I erase the remaining space between us and yank her against me, her body fitting mine like the lost piece of a puzzle.
“Beckham, what are?—”
“If we’re going to get rid of the no-touching rule, may as well make it count. Don’t you think?”
I don’t give her a chance to respond before I slam my lips against hers.