Page 27 of Unwrapped By the Grumpy Mountain Man
I fall asleep thinking of dark eyes and strong hands, of little girls' laughter and a home filled with warmth. In my dreams, this won’t be just a business arrangement at all. In my dreams, it'll be real.
CHAPTER SEVEN
HUDSON
“Lucy, if you don’t stop wiggling,” Silvie groans.
“I want to wear my sparkly sneakers,” Lucy whines, wiggling her foot out of her sister’s hold.
I zip up Angie’s puffy coat. Scratching my fingers into the back of her head, she smiles up at me. “Good?” I ask.
“Thanks, Daddy,” she says softly.
I kiss the top of her head and turn to my little hellion. I kneel down next to Silvie, who is sighing, frustrated. She drops the rainboot, over her baby sister.
“Baby Girl,” I call quietly but firmly.
Lucy turns her pinched face toward me. It takes so much not to grin, but that would only encourage her behavior. “It snowed yesterday, which means the ground is cold, wet, and muddy. Do you want to ruin your sparkly sneakers with dirt?”
She frowns, twisting her mouth dramatically. She’s finding ways to negotiate in her head to win.
“Luce.”
With a heavy sigh, she rolls her eyes. Instead of answering, she sticks out her foot and raises her brows at her older sister. Now, I can’t help the laugh I’ve been holding in.
I grab her head and pull her in to kiss the top of it. “Please, don’t become a teenager. Ever.”
Silvie, used to her sister's antics, just resumes putting her rainboots on.
It’s been two days since I almost kissed Violet. My mouth said one thing, but the way she looked up at me had my body betraying those words. Her blue eyes darkened and hooded, the sharp intake of breath when I moved the hair from her face…that sound coming from those full, peach parted lips has haunted me when I’m alone in bed.
This is already messy, and we haven’t even slapped a legal, binding document on it yet. As much as the pull I’m feeling is tempting to explore, I can’t give in. Not now. Maybe not ever. The girls are my priority, and they already love her. Silvie’s even warming up to her. If I fuck this up by muddying the waters with this arrangement, it doesn’t only cost me the custody case, but the girls lose someone else. They need stability in everything: home, schooling, friendships, and the people they can count on to love them.
“Girls,” I gather them near and seat them on the bench by the door.
I meant to bring this up earlier, but I kept putting it off, thinking we’d have time before Kristy is due to pick them up.Shit.I’m supposed to get married tomorrow.
“I want to talk to you about something very important.”
Lucy swings her feet happily, Angie watches me with curiosity, and Silvie’s eyes narrow with suspicion. I take a deep breath and rip the band-aid.
“How do you feel about me getting married?”
Lucy’s eyes bug out. “To Mommy?”
“No, Baby Girl, not to your mother,” I say gently. Her exhale of relief eases some of the tension in my gut.
“Violet,” Silvie states.
Of course. My eldest beauty is perceptive. “Yes. How would you feel about me marrying Violet?”
All three eyes, various shades of their mother’s and mine, stare, thinking.
“I like her,” Angie starts. “She’s really nice, and funny, and I think she cares.”
“She’s super pretty, like a princess, and makes perfect cookies,” Lucy shares, making me smile.
I then look at my eldest and wait.
