Sitting on the couch with Rose on my lap, I watch Liv walking around aimlessly looking for something. She’s picking shit up, putting it back down, and twirling around with her hand in her hair.
“Liv, what the hell are you doing?” I ask in a slightly perplexed tone.
She glances over at me, looks right at Rose, and slaps her palm to her forehead. “Ugh, I’m an idiot. I’ve been looking for Rose’s stupid giraffe toy everywhere. I thought she’d thrown it somewhere again.” She shakes her head.
“Rule number one: always check the baby first.” I laugh.
My phone ringing halts my laughter as I glance over at it and see Mom’s name flashing on the screen. I pick it up and shift Rose on my lap a little.
“Hey, Mom,” I say as Liv exits the room. I hear her start to fill the sink in the kitchen as Mom stops gabbing away at Dad long enough to remember she called me.
“Oh, hi, sweetie. How are you feeling?” she asks. This has been her first question every time she calls for almost a whole damn week now. She should know by now that I’m doing okay.
“Great, getting better every day. Nothing to complain about,” I say as I bounce Rose softly on my good leg.
“I’m glad; Olive tells me you’re being a good patient,” she says.
I smirk. Of course, Liv would tell her that.
“Yeah, getting a bit over not being able to do much, but it means that I’ve had heaps of time with Rose, so that’s always a good thing,” I say as I look down at her on my lap, her chubby little pink cheeks moving up and down as she mercilessly shoves that damn giraffe around in her gummy mouth.
“You’ll be up and about in no time. I’m sure of it.”
“How are Sienna and Lorelei?”
I can almost her smile through the phone, “Good. Oh my goodness, she’s just the most precious, tiny thing.”
“They’ve settled in okay at home?” I watch as Liv comes back in to grab our mugs from earlier, smiling shyly at me before she walks out. I get distracted watching her ass as she goes, remembering that one time when she asked me to grip her perfect cheeks as I took …
“Seb!”
Well, damn. “Sorry, so they’ve settled in?”
“Goodness, I thought you’d fallen asleep for a second there.”
I chuckle. “Nope, was just, ah, giving Rose her giraffe,” I lie with a slight wince.
Babies. They’ve probably been used as scapegoats since the dawn of time. She hums. “Oh, little gorgeous Rose,” she gushes. “And yes, they’ve settled in really well. Though I think Dan is getting sick of me going over there, which isn’t very fair.”
I laugh. “Mom, I’m sure they love the help, but just give them some space, yeah?”
She scoffs. “Ohh, I know. I just worry. I hate not being useful when I know what a trying time it can be.”
I smile. She might be overbearing as all get-out, and even though she’s my mom, she’s still one of the kindest women I’ve ever known.
“You’re a fantastic grandma, Mom. Anyway,” I decide to change the subject, “you should know I’m moving in with Liv.” I shrug as if she can see me. “It kinda just makes sense. The lease on my apartment is almost up, and the girls are settled here.”
“Wow, that’s my boy. A near-death experience will shake you up a bit, huh?”
“Mom, I wasn’t going to die. I just want to do it, so it’s what we’re doing.”
She laughs. “Oh, you’re a Mathews, after all, aren’t you? You’ve told her about your grand plan then, I suppose?”
“Of course.”
I hear her attempt to cover the phone. “Greg, Greg! Seb and Liv are getting married!”
What? Oh, fucking hell.
“Mom!” I yell, startling Rose who drops her giraffe and stares at me. “Sorry, sweet girl,” I mutter and give it back to her before she has a hissy fit.
“Yes, dear?” she asks innocently.
“Jesus, we’re not getting married.”
“Oh? Sure.”
“Mom,” I groan. “I told you I’m just moving in.”
“Mmmhmm … Oh, I know. But you’ll be married soon enough.” She chuckles.
“Gotta go, darling boy. Take care. Love you. Give smooches to the girls for me.” She smooches into the phone then hangs up.
I pull the phone away from my ear. Flabbergasted.
Fuck me; I shouldn’t have even bothered to tell her. I’ll have relatives calling me up soon and congratulating me on a non-existent engagement.
“Liv?” I yell out then find my efforts useless as I hear the shower turn on.
Pulling Rose against my chest, I bear my weight on my right leg and try to maneuver myself up from the couch. Shuffling slowly, so I don’t drop Rose, I perch myself on the edge. Rose lets out a loud wail, her arms flailing as she tosses her giraffe to the floor, letting me know she’s ready for a bottle and bed.
Once up from the couch, I slowly make my way to the kitchen with only a small limp in my step to make Rose a bottle. First heating the water in the bottle and then adding the formula, I hold it in one hand and screw the lid on with the other. Laying her back in my arms, I place the bottle in her mouth and let her start sucking away. Her eyelids flutter as I stare down at her; she’s clearly ready for a nap.
I continue to stand here holding her as she drinks, not wanting to sit back down and put the pressure on my leg. Plus, it’s kind of nice just being able to stand without Liv telling me to sit down and rest. As if hearing my thoughts, the sound of Liv opening the bedroom door has me looking at the hallway. She comes out and stops just short of me.
“She could’ve waited until I got out of the shower,” she says with her hands on her hips.
Looking down at Rose, I smile. “My girls shouldn’t have to wait for anything.”
Her phone rings on the counter. I reach over and grab it, seeing Zeke’s name light up the screen. Am I fine with him calling her? Fuck, no. But that’s where my issues end—with him. I trust Liv, she hasn’t kept anything from me, and really, what else can she do? The guy’s gonna want to see his daughter. So I know him contacting her every now and then is a necessary evil.
I pass it over to her. “Zeke.”
She bites her lip, glancing warily at me. I step forward, shifting Rose in my arm and use my other hand to reach up and tug her lip from between her teeth.
“Answer it,” I say calmly. I don’t want her to have to worry about my feelings with this shit anymore. She doesn’t need to. We’re a team, and we’ll figure it out without her getting anxious over how I might be feeling.
The phone stops ringing in her hand as I swipe my thumb over her soft bottom lip. “You’re beautiful, and I love you.” I kiss her forehead, watching as her lids flutter closed and a small smile curls at her mouth before I head to Rose’s room.
Leaning over Rose’s crib, I watch her tiny lips part as she breathes tiny puffs of air out of them. It’s hard to think that I came close to losing this. All because of being in the wrong place at the wrong time and some stupidly made mistakes.
But I’m here; I’m here for the girls who make me happy and whole.
I’m not about to take that for granted.