Chapter 32 Greyson
Chapter thirty-two
Greyson
Single and ready to mingle.
~ Two Weeks Later~
Okay, I’ll admit it. The nanny, Sam, is really good with kids. When we sat down for dinner, I introduced myself properly now that I knew I had nothing to fear with him being around Bunny. He seemed like a pretty decent guy, and from what I saw, he’ll be good to Gracie and Dante.
I don’t know what the girls were thinking hiring a man instead of a woman, but whatever, he’ll do the job fine. Plus, the guy can cook. Holy shit. I don’t even know what he made, but it was an orgasm to the mouth.
This coming weekend is Gracie’s first birthday party, and I’m pretty excited. We rented out a whole indoor playground and told the team to bring their kids along, even nieces and nephews if they wanted.
We also invited Nadia and Gracie’s grandparents from her biological mother’s side. And last I heard, my parents will be making it down from Toronto as well. The place will be packed with family and friends.
Nadia has been by a few times over the past months, most of which I wasn’t present for. But Emma tells me they get along great, and Gracie always seems happy to see her. For her grandparents, Simon and Claudia, this will be the first time Gracie meets them as well as us.
When I reached out to ask if they would like to come to her birthday, they said it was time they met their grandchild and would be happy to come. I’m not sure what to make of them yet, but I guess we’ll see how things go.
The doorbell rings as Emma cleans Gracie’s mouth from eating her lunch. Emma looks up at me with a questioning gaze, to which I simply smile before heading for the door.
“Lance, come in.” I move aside, letting Em’s father into our home. “Thank you for doing this.”
“Please, there’s no need to thank me. I enjoy spending time with my little flower.”
I look down at the gift bags he holds and shake my head with a smile. My daughter is way too spoiled. I guess that’s what happens when you’re surrounded by people with money. “Emma’s going to have something to say about that.”
He stands proudly. “I know.”
We head for the kitchen where Em is just taking Gracie out of her highchair. “Daddy? What are you doing here?” She looks from me to her dad, waiting for an answer.
“I’m here to babysit my granddaughter.” He sets the two gift bags on the table and plucks Gracie out of Em’s arms.
She opens her mouth to say something or protest, but no words come out, not until she looks down at the bags.
“Dad,” she scolds him. “You need to stop buying her things. We already have a toy room full and the living room. Plus, it’s her birthday in a few days.
You can’t keep buying out the whole store every time you see her. ” She folds her arms over her chest.
“I can, and I will buy out the whole store if I want to. Heck, I’ll buy the store altogether if it makes my grandchildren happy,” he tells her. I don’t doubt he would.
Em huffs out, knowing she won’t win this fight. Her eyes turn to me next. “And why exactly do we need to have Little Tulip babysat?”
“Well, my beautiful Bunny, we still have a few gifts to get and some decorations for the party. And I thought we could go buy a cabinet at the same time.”
She looks at me confused. “Why do we need a cabinet?”
I walk up behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist. I spin us around so we face the kitchen counter. “See all those mugs on the counter? They can’t stay there forever. I think it’s time we get something to store our growing collection.”
We now have a total of fifty mugs, fifty-one if we count the one Emma will undoubtedly be getting me by the end of the week. And that excludes her sunflower mug and the ten I already had. There are twenty-eight from her birthday trip and twenty-two as gifts for me.
Who the hell actually needs sixty-two and counting coffee mugs? But I love every single one of them. I mostly love our little morning routine where she picks my mug of the day, and I pick hers. Except for Fridays, which is dedicated to her sunflower mug.
She giggles. “You’re right, they really are starting to take up space.”
“Good. So go get your things so we can leave.” I kiss the curve between her neck and shoulder before letting her go.
Twenty minutes later, Bunny skips down the steps wearing white and black gingham capris with an off-the-shoulder black half-sleeved top that’s tucked into her waist. A pair of black Jimmy Choo flats are on her feet.
The whole outfit looks like it was sewn on with how well it molds to her body, hugging her curves in the most delicious and glorious way. Her hair is down in waves from having it braided all morning. She’s a fucking goddess.
“You have a bit of drool there, son,” Lance snickers from beside me, pointing at the side of his mouth.
“Ha-ha, very funny.” I wipe my mouth just in case he’s right.
“Hey, just saying it like it is. There’s no denying she’s a beautiful woman.” He shrugs. “Her mother always looked for ways to be perfect; what she never realized was that she had created it.”
I look back at Emma, who beams at me as she walks over. “That she did,” I whisper before taking a few steps toward my girl, meeting her halfway.
I bend slightly, my arms wrapping around her thighs, and pick her off the floor, twirling us around. Bunny throws her head back and laughs, then lowers her face when I stop spinning, pressing her lips to mine with a contented sigh.
I bring her down to the ground and let her say goodbye to Gracie.
“Bye, my Little Tulip. We won’t be long, I promise.
Be a good girl with Pops.” She kisses the top of her head, then turns to her father.
“Are you sure you’re going to be okay? We can bring her with us if it’s too much.
” She chews on her lip while her hands play with her fingernails, a worried look in her eyes. She hates leaving Gracie.
“Of course, Sunflower. I promise we’ll be just fine. We have new toys to play with, don’t we, Little Flower?” he says, trying to reassure Em.
Emma observes them for a while, then finally nods.
“Okay, but if there’s anything, anything at all, you call us and we’ll come right back.
And don’t forget to put her down for her nap soon.
She can have a small snack when she wakes up.
There’s a drawer in the fridge with her name on it and a shelf in the pantry, but not too much, or else she won’t eat her dinner.
And her sippy cup is on the counter. Water only.
She already had a little juice earlier. She doesn’t need more,” Emma rambles on with orders, like this is her dad’s first time with a child.
“I’m serious, Dad. Don’t make her hyper,” she scolds her father when he chuckles, pointing at him with her finger and a hand on her hip.
“Okay, okay, I get it. Nap, snack, no juice. Don’t worry, everything will be fine. And if it’s not, I’ll call.” He looks past his daughter directly at me. “You can take Mama Bear away now, Greyson. I think she needs a little push.” He laughs, only making Emma frown at him even more.
I grab my girl by the waist and drag her out of the home as she calls over to Gracie, telling her how much she loves her and will miss her, as well as giving further instructions to her father.
Jesus, we’re only leaving for a few hours.
The way she’s talking makes it seem like we’ll be gone for weeks.
I bring her to my truck, open the passenger door, throw her inside, and slam it closed, cutting off the rest of the orders she was giving her father.
She gapes at me through the window in shock, watching me as I walk around the front of the truck and wave goodbye to Lance and Gracie before climbing into the cab.
Emma still hasn’t said anything as I pull out of the driveway and down the street, just staring at me with daggers in her eyes. Finally, she sits forward and buckles herself up, folding her arms under her chest and looking out the windshield with an angry pout.
“You know, I’m thinking of revoking your ‘best boyfriend’ title. Silas never throws Cecilia like that in his car, and he always buckles her in. Now that’s a good boyfriend,” she says, lifting her head high.
“Would you like us to switch places? Do a little wife swap?” I chuckle while focusing on the road.
After a few seconds with no reply, I quickly glance her way and instantly know where I fucked up. Shit. As good as our relationship is going, Bunny still has little moments of insecurity that pop up. Sometimes it will be something I’ll do or say without thinking, like in this case.
I place my hand on her thigh. “Baby, that’s not what I meant. I was just joking along with your comment. I wasn’t thinking.”
She nods but doesn’t say anything and won’t look at me, but her fingers won’t stop playing with her nails like she does whenever something bothers her.
I grab onto her hand closest to me and intertwine our fingers. “Stop, Em. You don’t have anything to worry about. There’s no one I want in this world but you. I’m yours and you’re mine. That’s all that matters. My Bunny. Your Wolf.”
She finally turns to me while we’re stopped at a red light, so I take the time to show her through my eyes how much I mean every word. She’s my world. Her and my daughter.
“My Wolf,” she whispers with a deep sigh.
I lift our joined hands to my lips, kissing the back of hers. “My Bunny.”
It takes us all of three hours to do our shopping and come back home. And the minute we step through the door, Em runs over to Gracie and showers her with affection. I love how crazy Emma is about my daughter. It simply makes me love Em more.
Lance helps me carry everything into the house while Bunny fusses over my baby girl. “How’s single life treating you, Lance?” I question as we take out more bags from my truck bed.
“It’s pretty good. I forgot what it was like to get out there and mingle,” he says smiling, but it’s one of those smiles that hides a story.