Sophie (The Boss 8)

I laughed at that. It was so Emma.

"I don't fault Amal for not opening her heart to us the moment we broke the news to her. And she's coming around. I don't have any expectations that your girls need to meet." Neil paused. "That's not true. I do expect Rashida's room to improve in the cleanliness department."

"Good luck."

I felt like an outsider with nothing to offer them. This wasn't a moment I could understand. I'd stood on the other side of the divide from them, two parents who'd gone through the same anxieties of dating as my mom had. I'd been her Amal, her Emma. But I'd driven off her prospective partners. Amal was far more mature than I had been at her age.

Maybe it wasn't maturity. Perhaps it was a kindness that I wasn't giving her credit for. That made her even more Emma-like in my mind.

"I think a nap sounds awesome," I announced. It gave me an excuse to leave the two of them in their shared experience of fatherhood. Just as Neil and I had bonds that El-Mudad couldn't relate to, he and Neil also had theirs. Sometimes, that was the most challenging part of our relationship. Other times, like now, it struck me as so beautiful and tender that it seemed as though my ribs would crack under the weight of the emotions trapped behind them.

And times like that proved that we were worth fighting for.

Chapter Ten

After dinner, Mariposa took Olivia to their adjoined suites for milk and warm chocolate chip cookies, while Amal, Rashida, El-Mudad, Neil, and I remained seated around a silent table.

Amal looked between the three of us and rolled her eyes. “You know, we can tell something is going on when you’re like this.”

“Like what?” I asked, my hand flying up so I could chew my thumbnail.

Rashida’s wide, pleading eyes went to Neil. “What’s happening? Are you breaking up?”

“No, my sweet girl,” Neil promised. “Never.”

“We wanted to discuss another change to our family—”

Amal lunged for her water glass. “No baby!”

“A baby?” Rashida’s face lit up. “Sophie, you’re having a baby?”

“The fuck I am,” I exclaimed, and Neil groaned in exasperation.

“Only one person can speak at a time,” El-Mudad raised his voice to scold us all. “It should be the man who has practiced what he planned to say.”

“Then tell us,” Amal demanded, breathless from chugging a full glass of icy water.

“Neil and Sophie and I have decided to make our family official. In the only way we can. I’m planning to adopt Olivia.”

“Oh.” Rashida sat back in her chair, crossing her arms. “Is that it?”

“Is that—” El-Mudad paused, taken aback.

Neil shifted cautiously in his chair. “You don’t think this is rather a large step?”

“She’s basically our little sister, anyway,” Amal said with an elegant shrug. “My least annoying one."

Rashida whined something in outraged French, to which El-Mudad barked a sharp, "This is not the time, girls!"

"Sorry," Amal said, rolling her eyes so hard they appeared white for a flash of a second.

How did she do that?

"Why are you so serious?" Rashida asked, holding up her hands. "This isn't bad news."

Neil nodded and crossed his arms as he relaxed against the back of his chair. "We didn't know how you would react. Because it is a serious subject. And a serious step for all of us."

The table fell silent for a long moment, and my heart crawled up my throat. What if, upon reflection, they found the idea horrible? What would we do, then?"

"Neil?" Rashida asked, barely looking up at him.

"Yes?" He responded.

She had some difficulty getting the words out. "Are you going to adopt us?"

"Oh, I..." He looked helplessly to El-Mudad.

Thankfully, one of us knew what to say. El-Mudad shook his head and said gently, "The circumstances are different with Olivia. I'm adopting her so that if something happened to Neil and Sophie, her grandmother wouldn't be able to keep her from us."

"How is that different?" Rashida asked, her gaze flicking nervously over our faces, searching for any sign that we might be lying or keeping something from her.

"Because Mama would never keep us away from Neil and Sophie," Amal supplied for us. I appreciated that; Rashida would probably doubt anything we said, but her sister would never lie to make her feel better. To antagonize, yes.

"Exactly," El-Mudad said. "Your mother has only your best interests at heart. While we may not always get along, your mother understands and supports your relationship with Neil and Sophie."

Neil and I exchanged a glance. This was new information to us. It embarrassed me to realize that I had never thought of what might happen with El-Mudad's girls should something happen to him. We'd been so hyper-focused on Olivia.

But Neil probably worried about it.

The shock my brain got from that jolted to my heart. Neil wouldn't be able to stand losing the girls.