Chapter Eighteen
Lucy
I can’t wipe the smile off my face. I’m so happy, I don’t even notice the looks the other moms at Bailey’s school are currently giving me. My hair is a wild mane of sex hair, and I may have messed up the buttons on my shirt, but I have pants on and matching shoes, so I call that win. Especially since I am going off three hours of sleep and have spent most of the day in bed with Hunter.
“Mom.” Bailey looks me up and down in wonder. “Are you okay?” she asks. I must look like a major disaster if Bailey is asking me if I’m okay. She’s used to seeing the white-hot mess that is her mother.
“It’s been a day and we have a lot to talk about when we get home.” I slip my arm around her shoulders and kiss the top of her head as we walk back to the car.
“You’re smiling, so I’m guessing you aren’t dying, or you are dying, and you are trying to distract me. Are you dying?” She looks up at me, eyebrow cocked, her lips in a thin line and fake concern on her little face. She already knows I’m not dying.
“You know I’m not dying. It has to do with Hunter,” I admit and open the car door for her.
Bailey hops into her seat and turns to face me. “Is Hunter your boyfriend now? You didn’t come home last night, so that means you must have been doing boyfriend and girlfriend stuff.”
“You are eleven, you aren’t supposed to know what boyfriend and girlfriend stuff is. Is Lucky teaching you this?” It wouldn’t surprise me, Lucky taught Bailey how to say shit when she was three.
“Maybe.” She looks down at her fidgeting hands in her lap. “She just said you guys were kissing all night.” I breathe a sigh of relief.
“There was some kissing,” I say, closing her door.
I walk around to the driver’s side and slide in. Before I start the engine, I turn to Bailey and ask, “Would you be okay if Hunter and I started dating?” Bailey never got to know her father, so I don’t know how she would feel about me dating someone else. Hunter is the only man that I have brought around her. I didn’t want to expose her to guys that might not stay in the picture for long. Hunter is different, he’s end game material.
“You don’t need my permission to date, Mom.”
“I know that, but I just want to make sure you are comfortable with it, because Hunter will be hanging around more at our house.” All of this is new to both of us and I just want to make sure she is okay with this whole situation.
“Mom, I’m more than okay with you dating Hunter. I like Hunter, he’s fun and he makes you happy and that makes me happy. Plus, he likes Harry Potter, so he scores major points with me,” she says the last part proudly.
“Okay, but if it gets to be weird, you let me know.”
“Mom stop worrying about it. Just marry Hunter and get me a baby brother.” There is a hint of sass in her voice.
“You’ve been hanging around your Aunt Lucky too much.”
****
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is playing on the TV. There is a half-eaten pepperoni pizza on the coffee table, surround by bowls of half-eaten popcorn, and empty boxes of Sour Patch Kids and Twizzlers. Bailey is passed out curled up next to Hunter, and Hunter’s head is in my lap with my fingers twirling in his hair. This is something I can get used to. I just hope Hunter won’t get bored with this kind of life.
“Are you sure you are ready to spend the rest of your nights like this?” I whisper to keep from waking Bailey.
“Absolutely. I’m ready to spend my nights with my two favorite girls. I couldn’t ask for anything better.” He smiles up at me, and I realize I need to stop worrying so much and just enjoy the fact I am getting the ideal family that I have always wanted.