“Is she going to have to quit school?” I ask. I know Emily is in college at Julliard.
He shrugs. “I have no idea, but they’ll work it out. Sometimes I think she went to college just to prove she could succeed. And she has. She’s satisfied. All she wants to do is play music.”
“She should be playing huge venues with a voice like hers,” I say. It really was amazing.
He shakes his head. “She has no desire for fame. She just really loves music. And she loves my brother. So, I love her.”
I walk over and wrap my arms around his waist and then lay my head on his chest. My cheek rests over his heart. “My little family fits into your big family pretty nicely,” I say quietly.
“Yep.” He sets me back from him with his hands on my shoulders. “Were you worried about that?”
I shrug. “Maybe a little.”
“Talk to me,” he says.
“You guys are just so tight,” I admit. “I’m envious of your bond.”
“You’re part of our bond, now. You know that right?” he says. The hair on my arms stands up. “Just like Emily and Reagan. You’re part of the family.”
I nod against his chest. Seth walks into the kitchen and hitches his hip against the counter. “Would you mind if I have a friend over tomorrow night while I’m babysitting?” he asks. He doesn’t meet my gaze, and he avoids Matt’s, too. Hmm.
“Who’s the friend?” I ask.
He shrugs. “I don’t know yet. I was just thinking it would be fun to have someone over to talk to.”
“Talking?” Matt asks. “That’s what you’re planning to do?”
Seth’s face flushes. “Well, we might play Xbox or something, too.”
What would his mother do? “Why don’t you come back to me in the morning with the name of a person you want to have over, and we’ll discuss it?” I say. “Will that work?”
He scowls, but he nods. He sits down at the kitchen table and starts to flip through a magazine. Matt jams his hands in his pockets and rocks back and forth on his heels. He raises his brows at me. Then he sits down across from Seth and flips open the newspaper until he finds the crossword section. He and Seth start to work it together. Seth laughs when Matt gets a word wrong. And Matt goads Seth incessantly about his penmanship. They look happy and comfy together, though, so I go into the bedroom to shower and get into my jammies.
Matt
I watch Sky’s ass as she walks toward her bedroom without a word. I heave a sigh. I want to follow her and grab her ass and lift her shirt and bite the sensitive skin on her side, just above her hip. I want to undress her slowly. I shift in my chair and adjust my jeans. Seth snorts.
“What?” I ask, trying to look innocent.
“Dude, you’re so transparent,” Seth says. But he’s grinning. He’s not mad.
“What’s transparent?” I ask. How much I love her? I hope that’s transparent. How much I respect her? I hope that’s obvious. How much I want her? That might be better left between the two of us.
He closes the magazine. “Sorry I cockblocked you,” he says.
That hits me in the gut. “Don’t talk about your aunt that way,” I snap.
Seth’s brow furrows. “I didn’t say anything bad.”
“Don’t talk about her like I’m hanging out trying to get in her pants. It’s not like that.”
He nods his head slowly. “If you say so.”
“Seth,” I warn.
“What?” he bites out.
I can’t think of what I should tell him, so I have to go for the truth. “I love her, Seth. I love her a lot. And yeah, I want to get in her pants. But I also want to marry her, and I want to get to love her forever. I want to live with her and share all her ups and downs.” I drum my thumbs on the table, trying to figure out what else to say to make him understand. He’s a walking hormone, which is what he should be at his age. He’s not thinking long term. But I am. “So, when you talk about cockblocking me, it makes me worry that you might think that’s all I’m after. It’s not. I respect her. And I want to be sure you know that.”
Seth does that slow nod again, like he’s thinking it over.
“Would it bother you if I asked her to marry me?” I blurt out. No idea where that came from, but there it is.
Seth’s brow rises. “You really want to marry Aunt Sky?”
I nod. I do. I so do.
He looks around, and a little muscle tics in his jaw as he grinds his teeth. “What happens to us if you get married?” he asks.
Huh? “What do you mean?”
“I mean if you and Aunt Sky get married, she’s going to be your wife. We were just getting used to her being our mother.”
Oh, I get it. Shit. “Can’t she do both?”
He shrugs. “Can she?”
“The only difference I see is that you’d have two parents at home instead of one.”
Seth’s eyes narrow. “Two parents.”
I nod. “Seth, I know I’m not your father, and I never will be. But I want to be part of your life. In whatever way you’ll let me.” It’ll probably be in some ways he doesn’t appreciate, too, but that’s what dads do. It’s not always Father’s Day and Little League fun. “I don’t want to take Sky away from you. I promise.” It’s important for him to get that last part. He needs to feel safe with her and know that she’ll always be there, no matter what. Hell, in two years, he’ll be going off to college. I won’t have long with him at all, not like Joey and Mellie.