A Redo (Sterling Shore 6)

Allie is wearing her T-shirt and a pair of pajama shorts already, so at least she doesn’t have to change. I lie on the bed, and Allie snuggles up to me.

“Take your shirt off. I want to feel your skin,” she says softly, already seeming to be a little sleepy.

I tug my shirt over my head, lifting up just enough to do so, and she immediately curls against me once more. She breathes me in as I kiss the top of her head, and I hold her just like that.

It’s peaceful, and it’s more natural than anything in my life. Allie Thrash is it for me. I finally understand why guys go so bat-shit crazy over the women they love.

Chapter 30

WREN

“Daddy, what are you doing here?” Angel asks as she climbs in bed beside me.

My eyes fling open wide, seeing the bright alarm clock next to the bed. Shit. I never even kissed her goodnight, and now it’s two in the morning. And… fuuuuuck.

Angel’s face is hovering above me, and she pokes a small finger into my chest, as though she’s prompting me to answer.

“I…uh… um… I…”

My stammering tapers off as I look over to see Allie still curled against me, sleeping right through Angel’s words. She said that shit would knock her out, and she was not kidding.

“Are you and Mommy sharing a bed now? Because it’d be easier if you just lived here instead of driving all the time. Aunt Bella says that sharing is caring.”

I almost laugh, but I swallow down the urge.

“Why are you in here?” I ask instead of answering any questions.

“Aunt Bella said Mommy was sick and went to bed early. I had a nightmare. I thought I’d come sleep with her and we’d make each other better. Did you stay to make her better?”

Sure. I can work with that.

“I stayed because I was worried about her. Here, curl up against me. I’ll make you both feel better. I’ll scare away your nightmares and help Mommy’s headache go away.”

She grins like I’m the greatest person in the world, and she tucks herself against me just like Allie. With Allie on one side and Angel on the other, I close my eyes and decide to deal with the fallout tomorrow.

Allie is going to be so pissed.

“I love you, Daddy,” Angel whispers softly before yawning.

My heart clenches in my chest, and I try to slow down my breathing.

“I love you, too, Angel.”

She grins against me, as her little hands grip me tighter, and I drift off into the most peaceful sleep I’ve ever had.

***

WREN

I slowly crawl out of bed, squeezing out from between Allie and Angel. I’ve heard my phone vibrating like crazy for the last forty minutes. It’s not even five in the morning yet. But Allie will be getting up soon.

Angel stirs just barely before sliding over next to Allie, but she does it in her sleep as though she’s searching out a touch. I grin over at the two of them, and my chest tightens. Fucking perfect.

My eyes fall back down to my phone that is lying haphazardly on the floor. I must have knocked it off the nightstand at some point. It starts buzzing again, and I see Rye’s name on the screen. What the hell is he doing calling this early?

Damn prank war.

I sneak out of the bedroom, closing the door behind me. Bella is wide awake in the living room, and she jumps when she sees me as though I just scared the shit out of her.

“What are you doing up so early?” she asks.

“Me? What are you doing up?”

She takes a bite of her cereal before saying, “I don’t sleep much. What’s up?”

My phone buzzes again, and I answer. “What the hell are you calling me so—”

“Big problem, Wren. Your shit has blown the fuck up, and Allie’s name is getting crushed right now. The paper came out this morning. And she didn’t just make the gossip column, she’s on the front page. It’s bad, dude. Brin had to get up early, and she woke me up when she saw the newsfeed on her phone.”

Shit. Shit. Shit. How bad can it be? I fucked her over, not the other way around.

“What’s wrong?” Bella asks.

I pull on my shoes, not bothering to answer. My shirt is still in Allie’s room, but I don’t want to risk waking them up to retrieve it.

“Do me a favor,” I tell Bella, balancing the phone between my ear and shoulder while continuing to pull on my shoes. “Tell Allie I’ll see her later. I have to take care of something urgent. And tell her not to worry.”

Rye starts talking in my ear. “Tell her not to go to work.”

That has me freezing. “What? It’s that bad?”

“Wren, to paraphrase it, they’re saying she’s a gold-digging slut that broke up your marriage. They’re also saying that you never had a paternity test, and that Allie is playing you, letting you get close to Angel so that you don’t want a test to be done. And that’s the nicer stuff. They interviewed her foster parents. Those are some cold as fuck people.”