Finally (Neighbor from Hell #12) - R.L. Mathewson Page 0,27

need some fluffiness in my life, Daddy,” Abbi said as she climbed under the covers.

“You need to go to sleep. You have school in the morning,” he told her with a mock glare as he tucked her in.

“I’d sleep better with fluffiness, Daddy,” she said, nodding solemnly as Devin began the five-minute process of checking her room for monsters.

“Would you sleep better if I promised to let you feed the baby goats this weekend?” he asked, turning on her nightlight before he shut off her bedroom light.

“That might help,” Abbi murmured, making him chuckle as he leaned down and kissed her cheek. “I love you.”

“And…” she said, stretching out the word.

“And your room is monster-free,” he promised her as he gave her one last kiss before he stood up.

With a satisfied sigh, Abbi rolled over onto her side and said, “Goodnight, Daddy.”

“Goodnight, baby girl,” Devin said, closing her bedroom door behind him and headed to the room next to hers to find Dustin fast asleep, curled up in his bed with the teddy bear that he bought for Charlie in his arms.

Speaking of Charlie…

He had no idea what he was going to do about her.

The only thing that he knew was that he couldn’t regret letting her move in, not when she made the twins happy. When he’d put the ad online for the in-law apartment, he’d hoped to find someone nice who could help out with the twins, but what he got was so much more. Charlie was great with the kids.

What she did for Dustin…

He still couldn’t get the image of Charlie climbing off that chair and stepping on that glass to make sure that Dustin was okay out of his head. She was so much more than he’d thought, Devin decided as he headed downstairs and sighed when he didn’t find her where he’d left her. She was so fucking stubborn, Devin thought as he headed towards the apartment door that she’d started leaving open at night for the twins and found her slowly hobbling towards the kitchen, gasping in pain as she used the wall to help her. When she reached the corner, she took a fortifying breath, slowly exhaled, and-

“Have you always been this much of a pain in the ass?” Devin asked as he picked her up and carried her the rest of the way into the kitchen so that he could place her on the kitchen island.

“Yes,” Charlie said with a wince as he leaned down so that he could check her foot to make sure that she hadn’t torn her stitches.

“What are you doing off the couch?” he asked, readjusting the gauze so that it covered her stitches.

“Making banana bread,” Charlie said, gesturing to the sink next to her.

“You’re supposed to be resting,” he reminded her as he obediently washed his hands.

“I’m supposed to be making banana bread,” she said, gesturing towards the bananas on the counter.

“Why’s that?” Devin asked as he grabbed the bananas and placed them next to her.

“Because I promised the kids that I would make them banana bread for breakfast,” Charlie said, reaching over to the grab two large mixing bowls out of the strainer before gesturing to the bread on the counter behind him.

Frowning, Devin grabbed the bread and-

“I need milk, sour cream, eggs, cheese, ham, mayonnaise, and mustard,” she said, only to add, “I’m starving,” at his questioning look.

Narrowing his eyes on her, Devin grabbed everything she wanted and placed it on the counter next to her. “I made you dinner,” he reminded her.

“And it was delicious,” the woman that had barely touched her dinner said, nodding solemnly as she reached over and grabbed a plate out of the dish rack and started making a sandwich.

“Is that why you didn’t eat it?” Devin asked, narrowing his eyes on the woman that he’d suspected had fallen asleep on purpose to avoid eating the dinner he’d made.

“That’s exactly it. I was intimidated by its deliciousness,” Charlie said, nodding as she plucked a butter knife out of the strainer.

“It was healthy,” he pointed out defensively as she spread mayonnaise on a slice of bread.

“Yes, it definitely was,” she murmured, her lips twitching with amusement as she finished making her sandwich and cut it in half.

“What was wrong with what I made?” he demanded with a glare, because there was nothing wrong with what he’d made for dinner. It had been fucking delicious.

“Besides the fact that you really made a casserole out of lima beans?” Charlie asked as she handed