Limitless Love (Lotus House #4)(9)

“And now she has to marry me,” Atlas said and scooped up some food, shimmying like a fool in love.

“You think you’re going to get the spitfire to marry you because you knocked her up? Do you not know Trent and Genevieve? Took him a year to get her to walk down the aisle.”

Atlas shook his head. “No way. Nuh-uh. Mila promised me that when she got pregnant she’d marry me. We’ll probably visit the courthouse this week.”

“No fuckin’ way!” Marriage and a baby on the way…all in the same week. Some guys had all the luck.

He shrugged. “We don’t have anyone besides the folks at Lotus House and Moe and Lily, so a quickie wedding feels right for us. I’d suggest Vegas, but she’s become super sensitive around smoke and she’ll just be mad she can’t drink.”

“I can see that. Well, whatever you guys decide, let me know. Congratulations are definitely in order one way or the other.” I clapped him on the bicep and squeezed, showing my support.

“Too right.”

“Are you excited or scared shitless?” I was curious how my longtime friend would take impending fatherhood.

Back when I thought I was going to be a father, I’d been ecstatic. I’d always wanted a big family. My brother and I were so far apart in age we might as well have been father and son. My parents had him when they were twenty and then didn’t have me until they were in their late thirties. My brother was off to college when mom brought me home, so it’d mostly been me. We’d moved around a lot with my father being military, so I didn’t see my brother much or have any long-term friends. All the friends I have, I’d made as an adult. Of the ones who lived around here, Trent and Atlas were the best of them.

“A little of both,” he admitted. “Mila and I don’t have any siblings and no fathers to speak of. But we have each other and our desire to make our own family. Moe and Lily are part of that. She’s like a sister to me now, and God knows I love that little girl out there.” He pointed to the kitchen, where I could hear Lily singing along with the cartoon. Something pirate-like.

I nodded. “I could see that. Growing your family is important.”

“What about you?”

“What about me?” I responded on instinct.

“You ready to settle down?” His lips tipped up into a goofy smile.

For the first time ever, I looked into Atlas’s eyes and laid out the truth. The real truth, not the player fa?ade I’d lived under for the past six years. “Been ready.”

His eyes widened. “Seriously?”

“Yeah. I’ve always wanted a family to call my own. Have roots somewhere. Since Trent has laid his roots here, I’ve stayed. Then I met you, Dash, Nicholas, and I’ve got a good core group of friends. My business is doing well here. I only travel with Trent if he needs me to work an injury or give him some extra attention due to that wife of his trying to fatten him up.”

Atlas laughed. “Dude, that Genevieve. She can cook a mean meal!”

“True. I’ve sampled them many times myself. And since they’ve got Will, I’m making more of an effort to be present, take on the active uncle role, same as you with Lily.”

“Crazy, huh?”

“What is?”

Atlas tipped his head to the side. “I don’t know. How much having good people in your life changes you. I’ve never been happier. Except, of course, this shit with Moe.”

Monet. My hand went into fists thinking about the woman being hurt.

“How long is the recovery?”

“Don’t know yet. I left before she’d seen the doctor. Mila is with her. Won’t leave. So it’s me and the munchkin tonight. She’s a cuddle bug, though, so I’ll be okay.”

“You’re going to sleep with her?” I asked a bit shocked. Watching a kid was one thing; sleeping with one was another.

“Uh, yeah. Her mom’s been hurt and her dad is a fucking psycho. There isn’t an alarm on the house…yet. That little girl is our life. We’re taking her mom’s bed, and I’m barricading us in just in case that lunatic tries something with Lily.”

The thought of Lily getting even a scratch made my skin crawl like a hundred tiny ants were all over me. “Point well made. Mind if I stay and hang out until you guys go to bed?”

Truth was, I didn’t want to admit I was hoping Mila would call and give Atlas an update on Monet’s progress before I had to leave. Hell, maybe I’d even take the couch.

Once that thought hit, I couldn’t let it go. “You know what? On second thought, maybe I should take the couch. Be an extra set of eyes tonight.”

Atlas’s corresponding grin was priceless. “You want info on Moe.”

“Obviously, I want to make sure she’s okay. Her and Lily.”

“You’re sweet on her. You were a year ago, and you still are. Something’s changed though. Before you wouldn’t even consider dating her. Now you want to sleep on her couch and make sure her kid is safe?”

“I like the kid, okay?” I shrugged.

“What’s not to like? She’s awesome, but that’s not why. You like her mom too.”

“She’s hot and a friend of my friends. I want to make sure she pulls through. Can you just drop it?” I turned and headed back into the kitchen with my now cold pasta and chicken.