Getting Her Back

Clara is zooming down the hallway toward the living room, and I let her go. I can see her and I like giving her freedom—though I’m willing to admit that it’ll probably bite me in the ass later. The front door to the apartment opens and Christian steps inside. She changes course when she sees daddy and his face lights up. “Hello little explorer!” He swoops her up into the air and her perfect little giggle makes my heart hurt because it’s so beautiful.

I sometimes can’t believe that this is my life. It seemed not so long ago that I’d never get here. There was too much pain and too much baggage and it just looked impossible. But seeing Clara and Christian together, my eyes start to tear. It’s my family. My perfect, beautiful family.

I wipe my eyes, and Christian sees, coming close and pulling me in to his side. All three of us are cuddled together and he presses a kiss to my temple. “Hey beautiful,” hey says softly. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” I say, tucking my face into his neck. “I’m perfect.”

His free hand entwines with mine and pulls me all the way into the living room and onto the couch. Clara was happy to be held by daddy for a few minutes, but now she’s squirming again, ready to be on the floor. He puts her down next to her toys and she scrambles over to the nearest one.

“Now for a proper hello,” Christian says, pulling me in for a kiss. I could get lost in that kiss, and for a couple of minutes, I do.

“I like that kind of hello,” I say, leaning into him, relaxing for a couple minutes.

Christian’s arm is around my waist, and I just love the casual way he’s touching me. We’ve fallen into this routine, him coming home and us taking just a couple minutes to be with each other. “How was your day?”

“Great. Exhausting,” I say, laughing. “She’s awesome but she has more energy than I do.”

He smiles at her. “I think she’s going to have more energy than us…forever.”

I laugh. “I know.”

“How would you like it if I took care of dinner and bedtime and you got to take a nice long bath.”

The moan that escapes my lips isn’t entirely appropriate. “That sounds wonderful.”

Christian kisses me again. “Halfway through your bath you’re going to tell me that you miss her.”

“I will miss her.”

“I know.” He strokes his hand through my hair, and we’re both quiet as we watch her play for a minute. “Speaking of that, you might have to miss her a little more this weekend.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“I may have booked us a house out on the island. On the beach, actually.”

I twist to look at him. “What? Why?”

“Because it’s been awhile since the two of us had a night alone,” he says. “That, and your mother keeps texting me asking when she’s going to see Clara. And when she starts texting me I know she’s desperate. So we can drop her off on the way to the house, pick her up on the way back.”

As good as a night with Christian sounds, my heart already hurts at the prospect of leaving her. “But—”

Christian silences me with another kiss. “She’s going to be okay.”

“I don’t want to leave her.”

He chuckles. “Neither do I. I never want to leave her, and coming home to you two is my favorite part of every day. But I also know it’s time. I need a couple of days on the beach with my wife.” He leans in and whispers in my ear, “Filled with as much fucking as I can manage.”

I shiver. Christian and I have plenty of sex, but the idea of having two days not having to worry if we’ll have to stop is tantalizing. “Okay,” I say.

“I’ve already told your mother,” he says.

“She didn’t tell me. How’d you manage that?”

“She’s getting Clara for the weekend, she gladly kept the secret in exchange.” He leans forward and picks Clara up off the floor, bringing her favorite toy too. “And just think,” he says, grinning at me. “Maybe this weekend we’ll get a head start on the next one.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Do you want another baby or do you want an excuse to have more grown-up play time?”

Christian grins at me. “Can’t it be both?”

Leaning over, I kiss him, and squish Clara in-between us for a hug. “It can definitely be both.”