ELEVEN
Colby
The kids were sick for two straight days, so instead of going into the office and working, I stayed home and helped Rip. Both of us were so exhausted by Friday that we weren’t even arguing with each other anymore. We were just ships passing in the night, our only focus getting the kids better. We’d tuck them in their beds and then crawl into our own, only to find that kids are creatures of habit—which meant we’d been all four of us sleeping in the same bed for three straight nights.
I’d been sleeping in the smallest guest room after Rip had chosen the biggest one for himself, of course. And now… now the kids wanted us all together.
The new sleeping arrangements meant I’d been sleeping next to Rip for the last few nights. At first I’d tried to inch away from him, and then I’d realized that no matter how hard I tried to do just that, I always woke up with my face plastered against his neck, sometimes with drool coming out of my mouth.
This morning he just looked at his wet shoulder, then back up at me, then went back to sleep.
Exhaustion apparently made him less fastidious, like he didn’t even have the energy to tell me to move or stop slobbering on him.
When Friday morning came, the kids’ fevers had been gone for twenty-four hours and they were finally looking like themselves again. As much as I didn’t want to leave them, I was excited to get back to the office and finish my next post, about Edinburgh. I was writing about all the best places to eat in Scotland, and I couldn’t wait to dive into the research I hadn’t been able to do when I’d been there two years before. I’d had another trip planned before the accident, but I’d had to cancel it, of course, and I honestly hadn’t thought about it since.
All my thoughts these days were centered on the kids. And trying to figure out how the hell I was supposed to learn to be a mother overnight.
And getting along with Rip so we didn’t add any more trauma to these already-traumatized kids.
“Don’t forget that Ben has his jujitsu match today at four.” I choked down the rest of my coffee, then groaned when I looked down and noticed that I’d spilled on the white wrap dress I was wearing.
Rip sighed. “Do you have a calm bone in your body?”
“No.” I shrugged. “Not really.” I grabbed his keys again.
“Wait.” He rushed past Viera, who was already coloring her soon-to-be masterpiece. It looked like two demons haunting a smiley face, but she’d very proudly announced she was drawing us. It was low-key terrifying. “Aren’t you going to change?”
I looked down. “No, I’ll just put on a cardigan.”
Rip and I groaned in unison as Viera started belting out “Cardigan” by Taylor Swift. I’d completely forgotten about the trigger word.
Once Viera started, it was hard to get her to stop.
Rip shot me a look of betrayal while I tried to hide my smile behind my hand. “Payback’s a bitch,” he said under his breath. “And why not just take the time to change real quick?”
I shrugged. “Why bother? I mean, I’m not at your office to impress anyone.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Oh?”
I quickly recovered. “Banks likes me coffee stains and all!”
Rip’s eyes narrowed. “He like-likes you?”
“Well, I haven’t officially sent him a circle-yes-or-no note, but I have a strong feeling he’d put a heart next to the yes with a red pen,” I said sarcastically.
Rip glared. “He’s a player, he could be using you.”
“Ooooh, let him use me away, then,” I teased.
Rip’s eyes narrowed further, and from the deep breath he took I could tell he was about to launch into another lecture. Thankfully, Ben chose that moment to speed around the corner and throw himself into Rip’s arms. “I brushed my teeth for the whole ‘Happy Birthday’ song!”
“Good job, buddy!” Rip smiled, genuinely proud of Ben, and my heart did a little flip-flop as I watched them.
Good-looking men shouldn’t be allowed to do things like hold babies or smile at kids, it just makes a woman’s ovaries go, It’s time! Pick us!
“Aunt Colby, why are you smiling like that?” Ben asked.
I probably looked possessed, my smile wide, my eyes even wider to drink in the scene in front of me. I recovered as quickly as possible and willed myself not to blush when Rip’s gaze fell to mine. “Aunt Colby was probably thinking about her food apps again.”