Page 71 of Beautifully Broken Redemption

He grinned against my mouth. “If this is what comes with a thank you, you can thank me anytime you want.”

I rolled my eyes and turned back to the sink to rinse the dishes.

“There’s one rule about the fort,” Justin said.

I looked up. “What’s that?”

“No kissing.”

Mason barked out a laugh. “I thought we were friends, man. That is cruel.”

Justin stuck out his tongue and made a fake heaving sound. “I won’t be able to eat my popcorn if you’re doing all of that mushy stuff.”

“I like it,” Lyla argued. “They’re like a real-life Cinderella and the prince.”

My cheeks heated at Lyla’s words. I needed to remember that kids at this age were little sponges. They soaked up everything. “Why don’t we focus on picking a movie?”

Mason moved in behind me, his lips skimming the side of my neck. “Don’t get embarrassed.”

“Mason,” I hissed. “They are impressionable.”

He chuckled against my skin, sending a delicious shiver down my spine. “I don’t think kissing is going to scar them for life.”

“It will, too. I’m going blind,” Justin moaned.

I covered my face with my hands. “You have to stop touching me.”

“He can’t,” Lyla said. “He likes doing it too much.”

Mason held out his hand to her for a high-five. “I always knew you were the smartest one around here.”

Her little chest puffed out. “That’s why I’m going to be a kid doctor.”

“And you’ll be a great one,” Mason told her. “Do you know what they call a doctor for kids?”

She shook her head.

“A pediatrician. Or if they are a special kind of kid doctor, they’re called a pediatric and then their specialty.”

“What special kinds are there?” Lyla asked.

“A ton. If you want to treat the heart, you’d be called a pediatric cardiologist. If you want to treat the brain, you’d be called a pediatric neurologist.”

“The heart. That’s what I want to do. Be a pedi-pedi—”

Mason sounded it out for her. “A pe-di-a-tric car-di-ol-o-gist.”

“A pe-di-a-tric car-di-ol-o-gist.” She extended theohsound adorably.

My rib cage tightened at how good Mason was with Lyla. With both of them. He would be an amazing father someday. The thought made it suddenly hard to breathe. Because I couldn’t imagine letting down my guard enough that I would get to share children with this man. But the thought of him having them with someone else was too much to bear.

Justin shut the dishwasher with a bang. “That’s all of the dishes. Fort time?”

I forced a smile. “Fort time.”

Mason got a pile of sheets, blankets, and pillows from his linen closet. After a few false starts, we found our rhythm, creating a tent over the family room’s massive sectional. We layered comforters on the floor to have cushioned beds to lay on.

“Noah told me this movie was super good,” Justin said as Mason hit play onThe Karate Kid.

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