“I will never, ever lie to you. It still hurts. I don’t think I’ll ever not hurt over this, but I’m okay. I have so much, and I can either let this take over or I can learn from it. I’m going to be a better father to our children than my father was to me. I’m going to be a better husband to you than he was to my mother. She was betrayed too.”
I smile down at him. If he didn’t mean those words, he wouldn’t say them. “That’s my man,” I say, sighing with relief. I kiss the tip of his nose before I slide off his body.
“Hey!” he says in protest. “Come back here.”
“I have a meeting. I’ll let you sleep while I catch up on some work I need to do today.” He huffs. I know he would love it if I left my human resources position at Paradise Construction and focused solely on the Foundation, but I can’t do that. I love my job, and I told my husband I can do both.
“What am I supposed to do while you work?” he pouts.
“Rest, and when you wake up, Carter will be home, and we’ll spend the rest of the day together. We can take the kids to the park since it’s not too cold today. And don’t let Priya know you’re home. If she does, she’ll break down this door to get to you.” I bend down to kiss his forehead, but he moves and gives me a deep, passionate kiss.
Chapter 17
Drake
I can hear giggling and footsteps a few feet away.
“Dada!” Priya yells, and I can see her now. Nia is holding her while she points at the door, eager to get to me. The door swings open with so much force, it hits the wall. I hear rapid, little feet, and seconds later, Carter jumps on the bed.
My eyes pop open in time to see Nia put our daughter on the bed. She crawls on top of me and whacks me on the forehead.
“Dada,” she says before she starts to kiss the side of my face.
Nia jumps on the bed too and I cringe. I know what she’s going to say. We’ve done this every Thanksgiving morning since our first year as husband and wife. “It’s time,” she screeches, elongating the word. “At least it will be tomorrow. Get up, Paradise, it’s Thanksgiving morning.”
“Get up,” Carter says while he bounces on the bed. Priya claps her little hands and mimics her brother’s antics. Carter takes my hand and does his best to pull me out of bed.
Pixie runs in the room too and starts to bark while her tail shakes uncontrollably. The only one missing is Daddy Cat and that’s because she’s probably sleeping. Heaven forbid that cat doesn’t get her eighteen hours.
I sit up and sigh in faux defeat, but the truth is, I would not trade this for anything in the world. I pick up my daughter and hug her. She responds by whacking me in the forehead again.
“Okay! Let’s walk the dog, then Daddy will make breakfast. We must be at Grandma’s house by noon.” After that, we’ll go to Nia’s parents’ house since they eat later.
“We look ridiculous,” I say to my wife. I've pulled into my mother’s garage and am taking Priya out of her car seat. Of course, she’s already fallen asleep during the twenty-minute ride here. “Every year, you manage to find more ridiculous-looking clothes for us to wear.”
She smirks at me and doesn’t bother to respond. I’ve been complaining about our matching sweaters since she showed them to me. In fact, I’ve been complaining about our holiday outfits since our first holidays as husband and wife.
“Come on, baby,” she says to Carter. He unbuckles himself and hops out of his booster seat.
Holding Priya, I follow Nia and Carter to the front door.
The moment we step inside, my sister, Hannah, takes Priya from me. Carter drops Nia’s hand and runs to the back of the house, looking for his grandma or uncle.
I remember the first time Nia and Carter came here for lunch. I don’t think Nia was prepared for how formal meals at my family home can be. She must be used to it now because this dinner won’t be any different. Our meals are served by the staff, and when we’re done, we leave and they clean up. I don’t think Nia’s ever seen my mother do something as basic as make a sandwich.
We’re barely in the entryway before a server approaches with a tray of drinks. I help Nia with her coat, and after taking off my own, Hannah snickers at us. Her snicker turns to uncontrollable giggles when she takes off Priya’s coat and sees her matching turkey sweater.
“Stop frowning, Drake. You guys look adorable,” Hannah says. I look down and my frown deepens. Nia extends her hand to me, and I take it. That gets the frown off my face. I swipe a glass of water along the way for Nia and take a flute of champagne for myself.
“I guess no one is going to poison you today,” I whisper to my wife. We go through the house and into the family room. There are family pictures all along the walls. There are professional as well as candid shots, and in most of them, my father’s presence can’t be missed.
I avoid the pictures, and I know Nia does too. I’m grateful that she doesn’t balk about coming to this house. When we get to the family room, Carter is giggling in my mom’s arms as she plants endless kisses on his cheeks.
“My favorite boy,” she says between kisses.
“Well, that hurts,” Langley says as he walks in.
Mom lets Carter go, and he runs to Langley.