Page 88 of Their Perfect Daddy

“Good to know. I’d like to make this a long visit if it’s ok with you three. I want to catch up on all the things and maybe have dinner with you. Kind of treat it similar to old times when Mom and Dad would force us all together.”

He laughs heartily at the memory. “Sounds perfect. It’s weird to think about how reluctant we were at first. Or at least, howwe acted reluctant at times. Damn teenage hormones made us moody.”

“I think it was more. We’d been thrown into a completely new world neither of us knew how to navigate. It took time for those changes to settle. Doesn’t mean I ever hated you or anything.”

“Same here. You were the best kind of surprise. I’d always wanted a sibling. It only took forever and a day to get one,” he teases.

We hold each other’s stare for a long moment before the laughter commences. For some reason, it breaks the dam of seriousness among us. The minute we start, it’s nearly impossible to stop. Which is why Skye finds us a few minutes later with tears rolling down our cheeks and hands pressed to our stomachs to quell the ache.

“I see I’ve missed a few things.” He places a tray of food and drinks on the table. “Are you two having fun?”

Our simultaneous head bobbing makes us laugh even harder. The minutes tick by as we fight to regain control. By the time we do, we’re both exhausted from the release of emotions.

I slump onto the couch, my breaths heavy in the quiet room. Monty’s head lands on my shoulder a second later. It’s comfortable to be this way. To be close to my brother and to have shared such happy emotions.

Danny is still playing on the floor, and Skye has picked up a book to read. He adjusts his glasses right before flipping the page. The move is familiar somehow, yet I can’t say from where. Maybe I’m have a déjà vu moment. Who knows?

It’s not as if it matters much. My whole point in coming here today wasn’t to watch Skye or Danny go about their routines. My visit is about Monty. It’s about connecting with my brother through more than a phone screen.

We rest in an easy sort of silence for several minutes. The calm is interrupted when the doorbell rings. Snapping out of my peaceful state, I check the time on my phone. It’s then I see all the texts from my boy.

“I’m guessing it’s Jett,” Skye says as he stands. “I’ll go let him in.”

Monty raises his head from my shoulder. His eyes are sleepy, as if he’d taken a nap, or was really close to taking one. It brings me far too much joy to see him this relaxed. Our once-distant relationship has changed so much.

“Daddy,” Jett says as he strides into the room. His bag lands on the couch, then he’s scooping me into his arms and burying his face in my neck. I feel the shift in the air as we drop to the couch.

My Daddy side goes on alert. Something is wrong with my boy. Something bad enough he needs to be soothed.

“What’s wrong, sweet boy?”

“Missed you,” he mumbles in reply.

I smile at the honesty. Monty must hear him too, because when I look over, he’s grinning from ear to ear.

Not wanting to let him sit in this sad state for long, I change the subject. “Do you want some snacks? Skye brought out some things a few minutes ago.”

“Micah is right,” the other man adds. “I’ve got some cookies, a few petit fours I grabbed from the bakery this week, and even a chocolate chip muffin. Of course, there’s also some juice and milk to go with it.”

Jett slowly raises his head. He turns to Skye, then to Monty, and finally to me. “I want cookies, Daddy.”

Before I can even reach to grab them, Monty is diving for the plate. He shoves them our direction before snatching up the muffin and taking a big bite.

“Were you waiting to do that this the whole time, Brat?” Skye’s voice is full of amusement.

Monty nods as crumbs drop from his mouth onto his lap. He looks every bit the brat his partner calls him. I shake my head as Jett carefully nibbles on one of the cookies he was given. Whereas my brother is devouring his snack like a ravenous feral creature, my sweet boy delicately eats over the plate to ensure he doesn’t make a mess.

Seeing how opposite they are is a wonder. And then of course there’s Danny playing on the floor. Skye must think of him at the same time I do because he leaves the couch to kneel beside my friend. I watch as he whispers some words to him. Danny nods back, then opens his mouth when Skye slips one of the petit fours off the plate.

As I continue to sit in my boy’s lap, I bask in the rightness of the day. It might not be everyone’s norm, but this is paradise to me.

CHAPTER 30

SKYE

“We might have a problem,” Daisy says as soon as I answer the phone.

I sigh loudly. “Tell me which of our siblings to deal with this time.”

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