36. Brie
When I woke the next morning, I found the bed next to me empty, the sheets cool enough to mean Ezra had been up for a while.
After Chloe had gone into labor the night before and the excitement had worn off, we’d settled into a bit of a tense family meal, not wanting to let Ezra’s hard work go to waste. Still, the entire affair was tinged with melancholy. People had babies every day without any issues, but it was different when someone you cared about deeply was giving birth. Logically, I knew something going wrong was a high improbability, but it did nothing to quell the anxiety I had over the whole thing.
Once we finished dinner, Ezra, Hansen, Rik, and I had returned to the Wendts’ house, and Ezra did his level best to distract me with his tongue and hands and cock.
And once he’d wrung every possible ounce of pleasure from me, I drifted off into a dreamless sleep with his arms wrapped tightly around me.
Waking in his bed was disconcerting to say the least, since we’d only spent the night together a few times, and it had always been on my turf.
I loved his house, though. He’d shown me endless before-and-after photos of all the updates they’d done a few years ago, and Rik’s penchant for carpentry and other aspects of home remodeling was evident in how gorgeous the house looked now. Ezra’s room was masculine, with slate grey walls balanced by light oak floors that ran through the entire house, plus his massive king bed with its matte black metal frame. Windows flanked each side, though they were covered with blackout curtains. There was a thick black and white Moroccan-inspired rug on the floor, a matching runner covering the white marble in the en suite bathroom, though the floors were heated, which did wonders for my frozen toes as I padded in to relieve myself before going in search of my boyfriend.
After putting on a pair of sweatpants—which happened to be his—I trotted out into the kitchen to find the three Wendt men in various stages of their morning routine.
Rik sat at the circular table nestled into the bay window, the paper propped up in front of him, his half-moon glasses perched on the tip of his nose. Hansen was at the island, his knees tucked under him on the stool as he bent over what appeared to be a drawing pad. Ezra was at the stove, something sizzling in the pan before him.
“Baker Brie!” Hansen shouted happily when I appeared.
I approached the island and gave him a side hug, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “Morning, kiddo.”
Then I approached his father and repeated the process, though my kiss landed on Ezra’s lips.
“Good morning, honey.”
“What’re you making?”
“Denver omelets,” he said then dropped his voice. “It’s a good way to get Hansen to eat vegetables without knowing it.”
I inhaled deeply. I loved Denver omelets, and truthfully, I was starving.
After filling a mug with coffee, I turned to Ezra and asked, “Do you have creamer?”
He nodded at the fridge. “In the door.”
I opened the stainless-steel monstrosity and found a bottle of my favorite caramel non-dairy creamer waiting in the door.
“You drink Planet Oat creamer?” I asked, arching a brow.
Ezra chuckled and shook his head, padding over to me to place a quick kiss on my forehead before returning to the stove. “I bought it for you.”
My heart swelled in my chest, and I was certain I had hearts in my eyes as I stared at him. “Thank you,” I whispered.
Ezra winked and pointed his spatula at the stool next to Hansen. “Sit.”
“Yes, Chef.”
A grumble emanated from his chest, and I giggled as I moved to sit next to Hansen. To keep him occupied while he cooked, Ezra had given him a pad of paper and a box of colored pencils. I studied the drawing as I sipped my coffee, and Hansen hummed some indistinct tune as he colored in the head of a surprisingly detailed dragon he’d drawn.
“What’s his name?” I asked.
“Balthazar the Bloody,” Hansen said matter-of-factly, and I couldn’t help the startled laugh that left me.
“He’s cool.”
Hansen looked up at me, eyes narrowed. God, he looked so much like his father when he did that. Ezra made the same face when confused about something. “You mean it?” Hansen asked.
“Of course,” I assured him. “I would never joke about dragons.”
His face brightened. “Thanks! I have a whole book full of different ones. Dragons are so awesome.” His expression fell a little as he added, “I wish they were real.”
I reached up and brushed a curly lock of his chocolate brown hair off his face then tapped his temple. “They are real,” I told him. “They just live in here.”
He grinned. “I like that. You’re smart, Baker Brie.”
I smiled in response. “Thanks, kiddo. You’re pretty smart too.”
And the only one I’d let get away with calling me Baker Brie. It was how Ezra had introduced me all those years ago, and while he may not remember the details of that meeting, it had been important enough— I had been important enough—that he hadn’t forgotten who I was.
“Did you know Dad has been reading me this super cool book series about dragons?”
“Really?” I asked, surprised. I hadn’t known that, but it was just like Ezra to do something so sweet for his boy. I knew Hansen was quickly learning how to read, but the fact that Ezra wanted to keep him close and do something so special for him made my heart melt. “Which series is that?”
“It’s called Eragon ,” Hansen said proudly. “It’s about this poor farm boy who discovers a dragon egg, and when it hatches, he realizes he was meant to be a dragon rider, and she belongs to him.”
“Wow. That sounds amazing. ”
“Have you heard of it?” he asked me.
“In fact, I have,” I told him, easily picturing the blue dragon on the cover of the first book. “The dragon is blue, right?”
“Yes!” Hansen cheered excitedly. “My favorite color.”
It cracked me up that this kid was barely six years old and knew his favorite color so matter-of-factly. I loved his zest for life, how everything around him was magical and full of possibilities. I sincerely hoped he never grew out of it, and while I was around, I’d do everything in my power to ensure every day was filled with things that would make him smile like he was right now.
“Her name is Saphira, right?”
“Yep!” he said, coloring the dragon on his sheet of paper the same as Saphira’s scales.
“Did you know there’s a reason for that? A deeper meaning behind her name?”
Hansen canted his head to the side, considering. Then he looked at his dad and said, “You never told me that.”
“It’s good for other people to teach you things,” Ezra said, plating a perfectly constructed omelet and walking it across the room to Rik.
“So what does it mean?” Hansen asked me.
“Well, a sapphire is a type of gemstone,” I said. “Can you guess what color it is?”
“Blue!”
“Exactly,” I told him, grinning widely. “So Saphira is just a play on that.”
“That’s so cool,” he breathed, glancing down at his drawing and studying the blue scales he’d given the dragon. He glanced back up at his dad and said, “I want a whole room full of sapphires, please.”
He said it so calmly, so confidently, that Ezra and I shared a look before bursting into laughter. From across the room, even Rik chuckled softly as he shoveled his food into his mouth. Hansen’s forehead creased in confusion.
“What’s so funny?” he asked. “Did I do something wrong?”
“Oh, of course not, bud,” I said, pulling him into my side and dropping a kiss atop his head. “It’s just that sapphires are very precious gemstones, which means they’re pretty expensive. But how about this? I’ll search online to see if I can find you some imitation gems that are as big as baseballs? You can keep them in your room and pretend they’re the real thing.”
“You’d do that for me?” Hansen asked, voice full of awe.
I softened. “Of course. I’d do anything for you.”
“Are you my new mommy?” he blurted.
Ezra was so startled by Hansen’s question that he dropped his spatula, and it clattered loudly to the floor in the now-silent room. Slowly, he spun to his son, moving around the island to set a plate of breakfast in front of Hansen then turning him and settling his hands on Hansen’s shoulders.
I was stunned stupid, my mouth gaping like a fish as I tried to find something to say. But there wasn’t anything I could say. I would never delude myself into thinking I could replace Shannon, and truthfully, I didn’t want to. That woman had caused this family untold amounts of pain, but for all her faults, she was still Hansen’s mother. Without her, he wouldn’t exist. I knew I’d never meet her, and while I wanted to hate her for the way she treated my man and his boy, I couldn’t, because without her, they wouldn’t be here with me now .
“Do you like Brie?” Ezra asked Hansen.
His eyes darted to me then back to his dad. “I love my Baker Brie,” he said quietly, and my heart squeezed painfully.
“I love you too, kiddo.”
“And I love you both,” Ezra said. “I know your mom’s not here anymore, and it’s okay if that makes you sad. But I think, if you’re okay with it, we’ll keep Brie around for a while?”
“A while?” I asked, quirking a brow.
Ezra shushed me, though he winked before refocusing on Hansen.
“I want her around all the time,” Hansen said with a shrug.
Ezra reached out for me, and I laced our fingers together. “I think we can make that happen. What do you say, honey?”
“All the time works for me.”
Ezra swallowed audibly, his eyes going a little glassy as we sat there, hands clasped, the three of us connected. Such a quiet, early morning moment, and I knew it would become one I looked back on fondly and frequently.
Though the spell was quickly broken by Rik clearing his throat from the breakfast nook.
“Don’t I get a say in this?” he asked, rising from his seat to bring his empty plate to the sink, rinsing it then loading it in the dishwasher.
“I guess,” Ezra said with an overly dramatic sigh, letting go of me and Hansen to return to cooking.
Rik looked at me, grinning, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “You know I adore you, Brie, and I’m happy to have you become a part of this family. ”
“Thank you—”
“But…”
Ezra groaned, and my cheeks heated. I should’ve known it wouldn’t be that simple.
“Dad,” Ezra warned. “Brie is our guest and my girlfriend. Tread carefully.”
It was the first time he’d called me such, and I flushed with pleasure under my anxiety over whatever Rik was about to say.
“It’s nothing bad,” Rik said, waving a hand to dismiss his son’s protests. “I was just going to say that if you’re going to engage in… adult playtime …maybe you could be a little quieter about it? Or do it somewhere else.”
I felt all the blood drain from my face as I slapped a hand over my mouth.
“Fuck,” Ezra breathed.
“Dad, you said a bad word!” Hansen piped up. “Swear jar!”
My blood roared in my ears as I thought back to last night, to the hours Ezra and I had spent tangled around each other in his sheets, of the ways he’d played with my body, strumming on my clit and pounding into me with his fingers and cock until I was boneless with pleasure and completely spent. Being with him had always unlocked something in me, a confidence and inhibition I’d never found with anyone before. And while I’d tried to be quiet, there was no guarantee I’d succeeded…
What could Rik have heard?
“I love you, boy,” Rik said to his son. “But there are some things a father just doesn’t need to know about his son. I let it slide those months you guys were doing…whatever on those late-night phone calls, but I draw the line at having to hear both of you under the roof I’m trying to sleep under. ”
“Oh my god,” I whispered, burying my face in my hands. I’d never been more mortified in my entire life. In that moment, I wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole and pretend I didn’t exist.
Reasonably, I understood Rik knew Ezra had sex. Obviously, Hansen’s existence was proof of that. But he was right—there were certain things a father shouldn’t know about his son, and the way he sounded when he came, or the noises he elicited from his girlfriend while he drove her to climax, were definitely on that list.
“Wait a minute,” Ezra said, his face pale, eyes comically wide. “ Months ?”
Rik chuckled in disbelief. “The walls in this place were paper thin before we renovated.”
Ezra covered Hansen’s ears as he said, “Fucking hell. Do you think he heard?”
“Daaaaad!” Hansen wailed, attempting to shove Ezra away.
“Nah,” Rik said. “His room is on the opposite side of the house. I’m the one unfortunate enough to share a wall with you.”
“Jesus,” Ezra breathed. “I’m…so sorry.”
“It’s fine,” Rik said. “We all have urges.”
“Gross. Don’t say urges.” Ezra sounded like such a petulant teenager with that comment, I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Just…keep it down,” Rik continued, unperturbed, before he winked at me and disappeared from the room.
When he’d gone, Ezra looked at me and let out a disbelieving snort. “What the hell?”
“I can never show my face in this house again,” I said into his chest as Ezra gathered me into his arms.
“You think I’m ever letting you leave?” he asked, pulling away and placing a kiss on the tip of my nose.
“You really want this?” I asked quietly.
“You? Always, in all the ways you’ll let me.”
I grinned as he captured my mouth with his, but before the kiss could get too deep, Hansen said, almost conversationally, “What’s adult playtime?”
We broke apart as we devolved into a fit of laughter, and Ezra moved away from me, ruffling Hansen’s hair on his way back to the stove.
“Something you’ll learn about when you’re older.”
Hansen harrumphed but didn’t press the issue as he continued forking eggs into his mouth.
Ezra set my meal in front of me, and as I lifted a bite to my lips, my phone pinged.
My heart rate kicked up when I realized it was a text from Logan to my entire family.
Logan Daniels: Aleah Iris Daniels made her debut at 6:22 this morning. She’s 7 pounds, 4 ounces, 21 inches long. Chloe is doing well and said you guys can come down and meet her whenever you want.
Mama: Such a beautiful name for a beautiful little girl! Grammy and Papa can’t wait to meet her!
Delia: God she’s gorgeous! Congratulations, you two. QB and I will be down in a few hours. We love you 3
Ella: Omg look at all that hair!
Amara: Well now I’m ready to kick my little tenant out. Can’t wait to meet her!
Me: I’m coming down ASAP. Congratulations, guys! Love you!!!!!
I looked up at Ezra and grinned. “I have a niece.”
“Chloe had the baby?”
“Yes!” I cried happily, flipping the phone around to show him the picture Logan had attached to his message.
Aleah was cuddled up to Chloe’s chest. My sister looked exhausted but wore the most blissed-out smile I’d ever seen on her face. My niece was a tiny bundle in her arms, wrapped in one of those standard white hospital blankets with teddy bears and balloons on it. She had a full head of Delatou dark hair, and I loved her so much already.
“When are you going to go see her?”
“As soon as I run home and change,” I said with a laugh, already moving off my stool.
“Not so fast, missy,” Ezra said, coming around to block my path before I could get further than a few steps. “Eat first. Then I’ll take you into the city.”
“Oh, you don’t have to come with me.”
“Your sister just had a baby,” he said, sliding his arms around my waist and bending to nuzzle my neck. Goosebumps erupted across my skin, and I sucked in a sharp breath as he nipped at my earlobe. “And your family is my family now, right?”
I was having difficulty thinking straight with his hands on my body like this, and I shoved him in the chest until he yielded a step, not wanting to get carried away with Hansen right next to us.
“Yes, my family is your family.” I angled my head and glanced over my shoulder at Hansen, who was licking the leftover syrup off his plate. I couldn’t help but giggle. “And yours is mine?”
Ezra pulled me back in to plant a chaste kiss on my forehead. “It’s all yours, honey.”
A few hours later, we walked into my sister’s hospital room to find my entire family already there. Amara, who was nearing her own due date, and Cal, who looked both terrified and awestruck at the idea that he’d have his own little bundle of joy soon. Ella, who was looking better than I’d seen her in weeks—basically since the breakup. The dark circles under her eyes had all but disappeared, and she was smiling widely and cooing at baby Aleah in her arms. Delia and Owen stood at Chloe’s bedside, chatting with her and Logan, and Mom and Dad hovered over Ella’s shoulders, already completely enraptured with their first grandbaby.
I didn’t know where to begin, so I settled for giving Ezra’s hand a squeeze and moving to Chloe’s side.
“Baby Bee,” she said softly as I approached, her expression wary but content in equal measure.
I leaned over her to give her a hug, careful of the tube still snaking from her right arm.
“Hi, sissy,” I said when I pulled away, my eyes filling with tears. “ Or should I start calling you ‘Mama’ now?”
“Nah,” Chloe said, her gaze going misty. “We’ll save that for the little one. I’ll always be your big sister.” She pulled me close to whisper in my ear. “I’m sure this isn’t easy for you, but just know I’m happy you’re here. We love you so much, and I understand if you need to take a minute.”
My heart melted into my stomach at the care she was showing me, this woman who had just given birth and had a tiny, helpless baby to worry about.
In truth, I had been nervous coming here. I loved my sisters so much, and I was so excited that Chloe and Amara were starting their own families, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t bittersweet. I should’ve brought the first Delatou grandchild into the world, and it gutted me to know that baby never got to live, that I never got to meet him or her.
So while I was ecstatic for my sisters, seeing baby Aleah was also incredibly bittersweet.
“I love you,” I told her. “And I appreciate you thinking of me. Now that you mention it…I think I will take a second.”
Chloe gave my hand a squeeze and nodded in understanding. “Take all the time you need.”
I turned from her side and crossed the room to Ezra, grabbing his hand and pulling him into the corridor.
Chloe was right—I did need a minute, but not for the reasons she thought. Being here, in this place, surrounded by my family and the new life Chloe and Logan had brought into the world, reminded me that Ezra and I needed to have a serious conversation.
One I wasn’t sure how he’d handle, but a desire I needed to get off my chest nonetheless.
“What’s going on?” he asked when I led us away from the room and into a quiet alcove. “Are you okay? I know this can’t be easy—”
“I want kids, Ez.”
I would’ve laughed at the way his face slackened in shock had I not been dead serious. Blurting it out probably hadn’t been the way to go, but the only way I was going to get this out was by ripping off the bandage.
“Okay…”
“I lost our baby,” I said matter-of-factly. “And it’s killed me inside ever since. I was so young when it all happened, but I’ve always wanted to be a mother, and the last few years hasn’t changed that. If anything, the fact that I’d been so close to making that dream a reality only reinforced the desire. I’m telling you this because, while I know we’re just getting started, you also deserve complete honesty from me. You’ve already got Hansen, and I love that little boy. But I want my own children, Ezra. I want to experience being pregnant and bringing life into this world. I want to take on that adventure with you, but if that’s not something you want, I need to know now. Otherwise, we’re just wasting our time here.”
The last sentence gutted me to speak, but Ezra needed all the facts. He deserved to know where I stood, and while it would kill me if he wasn’t interested in having more children and chose to walk away, I’d understand. His last baby mama hadn’t exactly been in it for the long haul.
But I wasn’t Shannon, and I could only hope he loved me enough to realize that, and that maybe our desires for the future lined up in a way so I could have my cake and eat it too.
When I finished, I was breathing heavily, having used all my air to get the words out before he could interrupt me or I lost my nerve. But my gaze stayed locked on his face; I forced myself to resist the urge to look away in case I didn’t like what I’d see in his chocolate eyes.
A thousand emotions I couldn’t name flitted across his face until finally, his gaze softened, and a small grin graced his perfect mouth.
Backing me against the wall, his hands came up to cup my cheeks. His touch was gentle, reverent, as though I was a treasure that needed to be handled with care. I appreciated him—loved him—so much more in that moment. Because I was fragile in that moment, and that he understood that and comforted me instead of running spoke volumes about the kind of man he was.
“Listen to me very carefully, Brie Anne Delatou,” he said slowly, punctuating each of my names with a light kiss to my lips. “Shannon and I didn’t work out for a number of reasons, the least of which being she just wasn’t cut out to be a mom. But you are going to make an amazing mother one day, and the fact that you’re choosing me to be the man to give you those babies? I’m fucking honored . I love you more than anything in this world except for Hansen, and I’ll get you pregnant as many times as you want.”
My eyes watered and spilled over, and I let free a sound that was something between a laugh and a sob. I settled my hands over Ezra’s on my face. “You mean it?”
He nodded emphatically. “I’d give you the world if I could. Whatever you want, honey. All you have to do is ask. ”
I was full on sobbing now, and he pulled me into his chest to muffle the worst of it. They were tears of joy, sure, but also of relief—and a little bit of mourning. Mourning the loss of the child we could’ve had together, but relief and joy over the fact that he was willing to try again with me. Exactly as we’d given our love story a second chance, we’d give ourselves a second chance to be parents together.
He pulled away and swiped the tears from my cheeks. Then his mouth kicked up at the corner in a little smirk. “You wanna start trying right now?”
I barked out a laugh and shoved him away, lifting the hem of my shirt to dry my face before we went back into Chloe’s room.
“Not yet,” I said, and he hooked his arm around my shoulders, pressing a kiss to my hair as he led me back down the corridor. “But soon.”