“We’re not going to let them get too far.” He leans down, pressing his mouth against mine, and I slide my hands up his chest to wrap around him. Going back to bed might be a good idea.
“Can’t you two make out on your side of the house?” Celeste teases me. She’s got a bright smile on her face, and I’m thankful all the bruises and scratches have faded.
“Sorry.” My face flushes with heat because I’ve been caught making out by my own daughter. I’m too old to blush, aren't I? Celeste knew I would lead men on, but she also knew I never crossed a line and brought men into her life. There had never been any to bring.
I thought I was too old for a lot of things, but Rory is making me second guess that. I suppose I’m only thirty-five, but I still have an eighteen-year-old daughter. That will put some age on anyone.
“Why don’t I make you girls breakfast,” Rory offers.
“I can make my girl breakfast.” Apollo steps out of his bedroom behind Celeste. He’s got both of their backpacks in his hand.
“I can make my family breakfast.” Rory pushes right back, taking the bags out of his hand. “You're still on light duty, Lo,” he reminds him.
Celeste might have been the initial big scare in the accident, but Apollo’s had some lasting effects with his injuries that will take a few weeks more to heal. Celeste is all but healed at this point, but we have to make sure they both take it easy.
“Fine.” Apollo takes Celeste by the hand and leads her down the hallway to the kitchen.
“It’s only going to be us soon.” Rory kisses me again, and suddenly I wish he hadn’t promised everyone breakfast. I want to pull him back to our bedroom and finish this. “It will be bittersweet, but I won’t mind having you all to myself.” He tugs on the tie of my rope, and I know he’s thinking about us being naked all around the house.
“You have a house staff,” I remind him as we head toward the kitchen.
“I can give them weekends off,” he grumbles. “We need to soak up our free time before grandkids come along.”
“We have time.” At least we better have time.
Family has never been big for me since mine was crap. Both of my parents were addicted to drugs, and I honestly have no idea where they are today. Nor do I care. My mom used her body to feed their habits, and my childhood had not been a good one to say the least.
I guess the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. I used my body to my benefit too, but I didn’t only target men. I targeted anyone with money. Telling people their fortunes hasn't been hard for me. All you have to do is read a room. People give away more than they realize with their own questions and comments. Oftentimes I told people what they needed to hear. I’d learned to read people early in life, and it helped keep me safe at a young age.
My Celeste is different. She longs for family and to be a mom. I want her to have that, but there’s no rush. I put her on birth control when she turned sixteen and she promised she’d talk to me if she ever thought it might be time to have children. I’ve never been a traditional mom, but I hope she waits until she tries the whole college thing and walks down the aisle to get married. There is no reason to rush.
But there’s a little part of me that knows it will be exciting to see what kind of grandbabies Apollo and Celeste will make. It will be amazing because they will be a part of Rory and me.
A sudden thought hits me, and the idea of breakfast makes my stomach turn. What if I got pregnant? I almost want to smack myself because the thought never crossed my mind. I’m only thirty-five.
“Waffles?” Celeste asks when Rory and I enter the kitchen. Apollo is already making her a cup of coffee, and Rory heads to the fridge to get me some juice. Coffee has never been my thing.
“Waffles it is,” Rory says, handing me my juice before he starts breakfast.
I think back to my period as I try to remember the last time I had one. I don’t keep track because there’s never been a reason for it.
“You okay?” Rory asks after the kids are fed and out the door.
“Yeah, just thinking of some errands I need to run.”
“If you want to wait a little while I'll come with you. I need to make a few calls and one of them is to the movers.” He smirks about his last comment.
“Do we really need to hire movers? We don’t have a lot of stuff.” Arguing about moving in is a moot point now. We'll never leave. “Most everything is here already.”