With All My Heart - Emilia Finn Page 0,59
closed and folding it in half, I stuff it into my back pocket. “I’m doing this, okay? But I need your permission, baby. I need your blessing.”
“Of course.” Standing, she walks forward and doesn’t stop until our chests touch. “You have my blessing. They’re ours, and we aren’t letting go. But I don’t know about your plan; it’ll only take them a second to call our bluff. And if they take these papers to the police, it might be you that gets into trouble, not them.”
“I gotta do it, Bert. We need to fix this, so this is what we have to do. Trust me to get the job done.”
“I trust you.” Standing on her toes, she presses a kiss to the underside of my jaw. “I trust you more than anyone else in the world, so I trust you to take care of this.”
“Okay.” Grabbing her hand, I head toward the door and into the hall. “Walk me out, Bert. This feels kinda like race day, huh?”
“Don’t say that!” She smacks my arm and slows our steps toward the door. “That makes it feel so much worse. You know I never wanted you to race.”
“I promise to drive under the speed limit the whole way there and back.” I press a kiss to her jaw. “Pinky promise.”
“Movie night tonight?”
“Yup. You’d think the Neverending Story would go for longer than an hour and forty-five, but we’ll make do with what we’ve got. I really need that hour forty-five with you, Bert.” I let my eyes widen until she giggles. “My balls are blue without you. Blue!”
She wraps her arms around my hips and snuggles in. “We’ll be on the clock, and we’ll use every single minute that the kids are glued to that movie.”
“Yes, please.” Tilting her head back, I press a kiss to Nelly’s plump lips, then another, and then I just decide fuck it, slide my tongue in, and hold her up when she wants to melt into the floor. “Tonight, baby. Tonight, we make up for all the interrupted times.”
“Ugh!” Bobby skids on the hallway floor and shields his eyes. “Dad! Let her go.”
“Nope.” Chuckling, I press another kiss to her lips. “Never ever. Go out the back and play with Jon. Mom and I are talking.”
“Jon’s at the fort. Ugh!” He cries out again when he opens his eyes and finds us in exactly the same position as a minute ago. “Stop it! Seriously, you gotta respect her in front of us. That’s my mom!”
“And she was my wife first, son. Lucky for you, I’m heading out for a bit now. I’ve got business to take care of, then I’m gonna go see a friend.”
Dropping his hands, Bobby tilts his head curiously. “Which friend?”
“A guy I used to go to school with. You met him when you were small, but then we got busy and forgot each other.”
“Can I come with you?” He steps forward as though I’ve already said yes. Usually, I would. He’s my best friend and comes with me almost everywhere I go.
But not today. Not for this. Because I made a promise to Jon, a promise I intend to keep. “Not today, B. You gotta stay here and take care of the family.” Finally turning away from Nelly and chuckling when she sways, I turn to my son and toss my hat against his chest. “You’re the man of the house till I get back.”
Pulling the hat on and squishing his too-long hair down, Bobby flashes a handsome grin and broadens his chest as though wearing it makes him proud. “I got control of the place, Daddy. I’ve got your back.”
“Good boy.” Turning back to Nell, I hold her jaw and bring her eyes up. “I love you.”
“Love you.”
“See you soon.”
“No racing.”
Chuckling, I press my lips to hers. “I promised I would never race again. You gave me the yes, so now you control my world. See you in a bit.”
Walking out my front door and sliding into my truck, I sit in the front seat and stare back at my house for a long minute. The family I fight for is in there, and the other two play at a fort the group of them built years ago for somewhere else to play.
I was never a rich man, we never eat steak or drink fancy wine, but noisy nights at the dinner table, and five snoring children crammed into a three bedroom home is all I need.
I need pictures on my