“And they lived happily ever after.”
Adam closed the fairy tale book he’d read at least four times this week and put it on the nightstand. Ellie had left shortly after dinner, and only after he’d promised he wouldn’t do anything but put Sophie in bed and go to sleep. Ever since he’d been released from the hospital she’d looked after him better than a nurse would. She’d been adamant he follow Doctor Lang’s orders to rest and take things easy, and she’d been spoiling him for nearly two weeks now—not that he was complaining, though.
Having her constantly at his place, taking care of him and looking after Sophie’s well-being, made him realize how much he’d missed a female presence in his life. Not for the awesome food she always brought over, or for the clothes she made sure were clean and ironed. No, it was her mere presence in the house, the sweet smell of her perfume, her laughter when she cooked with Sophie, the smiles she gave him, and the sexy kisses he stole whenever Sophie wasn’t around.
He didn’t love having just any female presence in the house: he loved her presence. And he didn’t want to waste any more time living in two separate houses when he simply knew he wanted to share the rest of his life with her. She’d saved him from himself and made him believe in love again. When he’d visited Hannah’s grave and recognized it was time to finally let go of his obsession and accept he wouldn’t be able to find the guy who’d run away, he’d taken the final step in the healing process he’d gone through over the past three years. Facing Sammy’s dad, keeping his cool and saving Ellie when he hadn’t been able to do the same for Hannah had been the closure he’d thought he’d never get.
Ellie had done that for him—she’d helped him move forward and shown him it was possible to find love more than once in a lifetime, even when all hope was lost.
Hannah would want him to give Sophie the perfect family she deserved, a new mommy who’d love her, and maybe a few siblings, too. Ellie was the one who could give him the happy ending he’d been denied three years ago, and he wanted it to be with her.
“Do you remember when I was in the hospital and I kissed Miss Ellie?”
Sophie looked up at him, her cheek brushing against his chest with the movement. She nodded.
“She’s been spending a lot of time with us recently, and it’s not just because she’s your teacher or because she lives next door.” He cleared his throat. Man, this was turning out to be harder than he’d expected. How did you tell a three-year-old that you were head over heels in love with her teacher, and your heart ached when she wasn’t around? “It’s because I really like her, actually we like each other, and we’re happy when we’re together.”
“I like you when you’re happy, Daddy.”
Adam smiled. Yeah, he liked himself much better too when he was happy. “So, well, I was thinking… um… would you like Miss Ellie to live with us all the time? Would it be okay if I asked her to marry me and become your new mommy?”
Sophie’s face puckered in concentration, and for a moment he feared she wouldn’t agree. No matter how strong his feelings for Ellie were, if Sophie didn’t want him to marry her teacher, he’d take a step back and let things stay the way they were now. He’d never do anything that could hurt or confuse his baby girl.
“If she lives wif us, can she cook?”
Adam frowned. “Are you saying you don’t like my cooking?”
Sophie quirked her eyebrow in such a cute way that it was hard for him to keep a straight, slightly offended expression. “Daddy, you know you can’t cook.”
“Fine, I’ll give you that. I know I can’t compete with your grandmothers or with Ellie.” He rolled his eyes and let out an exaggerated sigh that made her giggle. His daughter’s cute laugh never failed to warm his heart and make him feel he hadn’t done such a poor job at fatherhood, after all. “So, if I promise never to cook again, would it be okay if Ellie moved in with us?”
“Can Bobcat come, too?”
Adam smiled. “Of course he can. We can’t leave him there all alone, can we?”
Well, for a man who’d sworn to never let pets walk through his door on the day he moved into his new house, he was definitely doing a poor job trying to keep his resolution. He bet if Sophie asked for a baby elephant, batting her eyelashes and with a trembling lip, he’d go to India and bring one home for her.
“I fink I want Miss Ellie to live wif us, then.” She nodded approvingly, tweaking Bugs’ ear with her tiny fingers. “Can she come tomowwow?”
Adam laughed. It hadn’t taken her long to warm up to the idea. Just a moment ago he’d been worried his daughter wouldn’t want her teacher to live with them, and now she couldn’t wait.
“We’ll have to do things the right way. First I have to ask her to marry me, then after we get married she can live with us and be your mommy.” He smiled when her face puckered up again, as she probably tried to make sense of his words. “You’ll have to help me prepare a nice surprise for her, so when I ask her she won’t say no.”
Sophie let out a huff. “But she can’t say no! I want her to be my mommy.”
And he wanted her to be his wife more than anything he’d ever desired, at least in the last three years. But he realized that, even though he didn’t want to waste another minute, maybe Ellie would think this was too soon. Would rushing things potentially spoil their budding relationship? Would he scare her off?
“Maybe if I ask her weally nice she will say yes,” Sophie said, shaking him from his musings. Her eyes were big with hope and that wide-eyed innocence he loved about her.
“You can’t ask her yet: we have to prepare the surprise first,” he said, smiling. Sophie’s cherub lips formed a perfect O of wonder and she nodded. “And you have to promise you won’t talk about this with anyone, okay? It has to be our little secret for a few more days.”
“And then we can all live happily ever after like Cindewella and the pwince?”
Adam nodded. “Yes, just like Cinderella and her prince. And a little princess named Sophie.”
He kissed her brow, and she dropped her bunny, stood up on the bed and took his face in her hands. “I want to help you, Daddy. And I pwomise I won’t tell our secret to anyone, not even to Meatball.”
Adam laughed and pulled her into his arms. He buried his face in her soft curls that smelled like cotton candy, some new shampoo she’d bought when she went shopping with Ellie the other day. His little girl was growing up so fast; he just wanted to hold on to her a bit longer.
“Do you fink Mommy is happy that I will have a new mommy? I don’t want Mommy to be mad,” Sophie said in a small voice. He placed a soft kiss on her forehead and brushed a stray lock off her face.
“I’m sure Mommy is happy if you’re happy,” he said with a smile, even as tears pricked the back of his eyes. “She wanted you to have a mommy who’d love you and make you happy, just like she would have done if she were here with us.”
“Miss Ellie makes me happy.”
“And she loves you very much—you know that, right?” Adam lay her down on the mattress again and handed Bugs to her. She hugged her soft bunny to her chest and nodded.
“I love her, too. Do you love her, Daddy?”
“Yes, I do love Ellie.” Adam couldn’t help the love-sick smile that cracked his face. He felt like a teenager all over again, whenever he thought of the cute woman next door. “But I love you more than anyone else in the whole wide universe and beyond, baby girl.”
He bent and blew a raspberry against her neck, making her giggle. His little girl would always come first, and he loved Ellie even more because she understood and accepted that. He’d been blessed with the love of an amazing woman twice in his life—he couldn’t really ask for more.
Sophie’s tiny arms went around his neck, and she kissed his cheek. His heart melted, and his throat constricted. This little angel was the only reason he’d been able to pull himself together after Hannah’s death, the reason why he’d gotten out of bed every day and put one foot in front of the other. If it hadn’t been for Sophie, he would’ve probably ended up drowning his sorrows in alcohol and waiting for death to come upon him.
“I love you, Daddy. More than candies and puppies and ice-cweam,” she said, keeping her hands on his cheeks. “More than Gwammy’s pie.”
“Even more than Grammy’s pie? Wow, I’m flattered.”
She giggled, and he pulled back, tucking her in.
“Sleepy time, now. Puppy dreams, angel.”
She obediently closed her eyes, and he stared at her peaceful face, thinking he’d never tire of watching his little girl sleep. He wished she could remain this innocent and sweet forever, that she’d never grow up and become independent. He smiled, thinking that maybe in a not-so-far-ahead future he and Ellie could have another baby, or more than one actually. He’d always wanted a big family, but after he lost Hannah, he thought he’d never find anyone else who’d take her place and give him the big family he dreamed of.
When Sophie’s breathing turned soft and even, he stood and picked up the phone on the nightstand before leaving the room. He walked into his room and plopped on his bed, staring at the ceiling while he waited for Ellie to take the call. When she did, his heart skipped a beat, and his lips curled in a broad grin. Yep, he definitely wanted her to be a permanent member of this family—as soon as possible.