Page 138 of To Hate Adam Connor

I nodded. “Yes. She loves them just as much as I do.”

He blinked a few times, his eyes already sleepy. Dan must have taken him right out of his bed.

“I love them, too.” He turned his eyes to his dad. “Daddy, can I watch them with Lucy now? I had a really tough day.”

Adam forced a tight smile on his face and brushed away Aiden’s hair. “It’s past your bedtime, Aiden.”

“Just a little, Daddy? Please?”

“How about we build a fort right here in the living room and watch the movies under it? Maybe if we invite your dad to watch with us, he won’t say no.”

Aiden’s eyes got big and hopeful as he straightened in his dad’s arms. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Adam smile and Dan shake his head.

“But I don’t know how to make a fort, Lucy. I’ve never made one before. Have you?”

“Of course I did, but I don’t think I can quite do it without you. Would you help me?”

“Yes, I can do that.” He touched his father’s cheek to get his attention. “Can we build a tent, Daddy? You can watch with us, too. If Lucy starts crying again, you can help me hug her and tell her she is being silly again.”

Adam laughed and nodded. “Okay. We’ll do that then.” He lowered Aiden down and the moment his little feet touched the ground, he started toward his bedroom.

“I’ll bring my favorite pillow!”

“I’ll get the sheets.” As I was walking past Adam, he grabbed my wrist and stopped me. I raised my eyebrow and looked up at him. “Your fetish again?”

He leaned down and kissed me. The soft touch of his lips, the intimate thank you made my head spin when his tongue sneaked into my mouth. Before I knew what was happening, it was over.

“Thank you for being here, Lucy. Being with us.” he said in a gruff voice. Aiden came running in with two pillows in his hand.

“I brought my other favorite pillow for you, Lucy.”

“Thank you, little human,” I said quietly. He carefully placed the pillows on the couch and reached for my hand.

“Come on, I’ll show you where the sheets are.” He pulled me away from his dad and stopped at the mouth of the hallway. “Daddy, are you gonna help us?”

“I have to talk to Dan before he leaves. I’ll be with you right after that.”

“You don’t want to watch a movie with us, Dan?”

“I have to leave, big guy. You’ll take care of your dad and Lucy for me, won’t you?”

Aiden visibly puffed out his chest and nodded. “I will. I’ll do a good job.”

With that promise, he pulled me into his room so we could choose from his favorite sheets.

After rummaging through various sets, we decided on two light blue ones, one green that almost matched his eye color, one red, and one white with red and black trains on it. We also stole a few pillows from his dad’s bed.

When we emerged with our loot, neither Adam nor Dan was in sight. Aiden dumped everything in his arms on the floor and helped me with mine.

“Can you get the cushions down? We’ll stack them on the couch so we can make it higher. I’ll go and check on your dad.”

“Lucy…do you think he’d let us have ice cream?”

“Hmmm.” I narrowed my eyes to appear like I was thinking very hard about it. “I’ll ask, but I think he’d say it’s a little late to have ice cream.”

Aiden crossed his arms over his chest, mimicking my stance, and tilted his head to the side. “Yeah, I think you’re right. But he wouldn’t say no if we asked him tomorrow! And maybe Mom can come with us, too.”

“Yes. You’re right. We’ll ask him tomorrow.”

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