Don't Speak (A Modern Fairytale, #5)(113)

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“A sleepover, huh? ’Cause that’s what it’s called when you sleep over with someone else. And Mama and Oscar are still sleepin’ so this is definitely a sleepover.”

There was a pause in Ava Grace’s monologue as Laire’s eyes fluttered open to find Erik’s room flooded with sunlight, his arms still tightly around her.

“No, Mr. Mopples. That’s a very naughty suggestion. We’re not goin’ to wake them up until—Mama! You’re awake!”

Laire blinked as she rolled onto her back. She was still in her clothes. Oh, Lord, she thought, rolling her eyes internally. Our first night together with no one to judge or interrupt or interfere, and we wasted it by falling asleep.

Ava Grace knelt on the bed, holding Mr. Mopples in her lap.

“Mornin’, baby,” Laire murmured through a yawn.

“Mama, you and Oscar had a sleepover.”

Reversing her previous thoughts and thanking God that they were both fully dressed, she smiled and nodded. “Yes, we did.”

“Why did you have a sleepover?”

Erik’s arm was thrown over Laire’s chest, but she moved it just enough to sit up.

“Oh. Well . . .” She and Erik hadn’t discussed when they’d tell Ava Grace that he was her father, but she hoped that they would agree to tell her today. Laire was sick and tired of secrets. She wanted Ava Grace to know that she had a father who loved her, who had missed her, and who intended to stick around. “We had some things to talk about. And I guess we fell asleep.”

“What things?”

“Well,” she said, smiling gently at her daughter, “I knew Oscar, um, Erik, a long time ago . . . before I had you. He was really important to me.”

“Like your best friend?”

“Yeah. Even more than that.”

“Do you like him a lot, Mama?”

“I do, baby. In fact, I love him a lot.”

“As much as you love me?”

“Mm-hm,” answered Laire, grinning at her daughter. “But in a different way.”

“Like a mommy loves a daddy?” whispered Ava Grace, like her words were sacred.

“Would that be okay?” asked Laire.

Ava Grace looked at Erik, resting her eyes on his face. “I have the same eyes as he does, Mama.”

Laire’s chest constricted, but she kept her voice even. “Yes, baby. You do.”

Under the covers, Erik’s fingers found hers, threading them together and holding on tight. He wasn’t sleeping anymore; he was listening.

“If you love him like a mommy loves a daddy . . .” Ava Grace pressed her lips together, still staring at Erik.

“What, honey?”

“He’s dark-haired like a prince. Maybe he could be my daddy.”

She heard his breath catch as his fingers squeezed the life from her hand.

“Would you like that?”

Ava Grace nodded.

She knew he was unable to bear not knowing her answer when he opened his eyes, pretending to wake up. “Mornin’, girls.”

“Mornin’,” they answered in unison.

Erik rubbed his eyes and yawned, sitting up against the back of the bed beside Laire, then scooting away from her a touch to make room between them.

“Want to get in with us?” he asked his daughter.

Ava Grace’s face broke into a huge smile, and she nodded happily, crawling up the bed and snuggling in between them.

Erik looked at Laire over their daughter’s head, mouthing the words, Can I tell her?

Tears sprang into Laire’s eyes as she nodded.

“Hey, Ava Grace,” said Erik. “I gotta ask you somethin’, darlin’.”

“What?”

“Well, I thought I heard you sayin’ somethin’ about me maybe bein’ your daddy just now while I was wakin’ up.”

“I thought you were sleepin’.”

“Nope.” Erik put his hands under her shoulders and transferred her to his lap, facing him. “What if the dark-haired prince got all mixed up in the sea witch’s evil plan for a few years? What if it took him a while to escape, to find you and your mama?”

Laire shifted her eyes from Erik’s face to Ava Grace’s, watching as she absorbed this new chapter of the story.

With wide eyes, Ava Grace looked up at her father. “Is that what happened to you?”

“Somethin’ like that.”

To Laire’s surprise, huge tears swelled in her daughter’s eyes as she stared up at her father. “But that would mean . . . that would mean you’re my real daddy.”

“That’s right. That’s exactly who I am, baby,” he said, trying to smile, though Laire could see him fighting back tears. “Your real daddy. And now that I’ve found you and your mama, I’m never goin’ away again.”

Ava Grace launched herself into his arms with a sob, and Erik gripped her close as she rested her cheek on his shoulder.

“You’re my real daddy?” she asked again as she clung to him, as though it was too amazing to be true.

“I sure am,” said Erik, releasing Ava Grace on one side to pull Laire into their embrace. She was a mess at this point, tears streaming down her face as Erik and Ava Grace sorted out their place in each other’s life. Laire laid her head on Erik’s shoulder, leaning into him as he held his girls close.