Page 28 of Six of Hearts
My heart stopped. Then it swelled so large I thought it might burst right out of my chest.
She had a huge smile on her face, completely unaware of what she'd just said, and I was blanketed in a feeling I had never felt before. It was overwhelming and terrifying and absolutely perfect all at once.
That sweet girl cared about me enough to—even accidentally—call me Mum. The word echoed in my mind, settling into a place I hadn't known was empty until that very moment.
I blinked back tears as I watched her disappear into the studio, my hand pressed against my chest as if I could hold this feeling inside forever.
I carried out the rest of the schedule in a daze, unable to stop smiling. When I finally arrived back at Mila's ballet practiceto pick her up before heading to get Finn, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was picking up my own daughter.
She ran up to me with a huge smile on her face and threw her whole body into a hug. I squeezed her tight, breathing in the scent of her strawberry shampoo, and then loaded her into the van and went to get Finn. I dropped Finn at home and then took Mila to finally be reunited with her very exhausted papa.
"Daddy!" she yelped as we walked through the door.
She ran up to him and he crouched down instantly to meet her in a big hug. "Hi, princess!"
"I got froyo from Aria!" she said.
"Did you? She spoils you a little too much, maybe?" he said, looking up at me. I shrugged. He wasn't wrong.
"Well, go put on some comfy clothes and we'll have some dinner."
"Okay!" Mila scuttled away and Liam stood up and walked over to me.
"Thank you," Liam said. He wrapped a hand around my waist and pulled me closer to him.
"Of course," I replied, meeting his embrace. My heart was still racing from earlier. "Oh, guess what?"
"What?" Liam said.
"Mila called me Mum today." The words came out softer than I'd intended, weighted with emotion I hadn't fully processed yet.
I felt Liam's arms tense around me immediately. "What?"
"When I dropped her off at ballet. She said 'Bye, Mum' and just... skipped away like it was nothing." I looked up at him, trying to read his expression. "Is that... I don't know, I guess maybe it's just the dad in me that makes me a little nervous. That's a big thing."
His voice shook slightly, and I realised he was more affected than he was letting on.
"It is big," I replied carefully. I reached up and cradled his face in my hands, bringing him down to meet my eyes. "But it's okay. It's not like I'm going anywhere, and sometimes I feel like I am her mum." I searched his face, vulnerability making my voice waver. "If I'm always there for her, if I love her like she's mine... is that a problem?"
Liam's face relaxed, and a smile curved across it—slow and genuine and full of something that made my chest ache. He tucked his hand under my chin and lifted my head, setting his lips on mine. The kiss was deep and passionate, full of something I hadn't felt from Liam before. Something that felt like permission. Like acceptance. Like family.
"No, it isn't," he said after, his forehead resting against mine. "It isn't a problem at all.”
"Thank you," I whispered.
The moment hung between us, tender and significant, before Mila's voice called from upstairs asking for help with her zipper.
Liam pressed one more kiss to my forehead before heading up to help her, and I stood in his entryway, my heart so full I thought it might overflow.
I couldn't sleep.
I'd been tossing and turning in my bed for over an hour, my mind racing with thoughts of the day, the kids, the men who'd somehow become the centre of my universe. Finally, I gave up, threw back the covers, and padded downstairs in my sleep shorts and tank top.
The house was dark except for a soft glow coming from the living room. I hesitated at the bottom of the stairs, wondering if I should just go back up, but curiosity won out.
When I rounded the corner, I found Julian and Ronan sitting on the couch, each with a glass of amber liquid in hand. They looked up as I entered, and something in the air shifted immediately.
"Can't sleep?" Julian asked, his voice low and warm.
