Sincerely, The Puck Bunny (Totally Pucked #2)(82)

“Good morning, beautiful.” He grins and does another noisy airplane toward Olive with a spoonful of banana. She babbles so happily, my heart twists with an overpowering feeling of love.

I can’t believe that she’s our girl.

“Good morning.” I walk over and stand on my tiptoes, giving him and Olive each a sweet kiss.

Yep, banana.

“Are you judging me right now?” he says, brow lifted.

I can’t stop the smile that spreads on my lips. “Not at all. I just couldn't help but observe that sweet Olive seems to be wearing more banana than she has actually gone in her mouth. How about I take over and you can focus on the bacon?”

“Or, how about you go pack you and Olive a bag for a couple days? Me and my girl have this under complete control.”

As he says this, Olive spits out the glob of banana he just fed her, giggling and babbling.

“Okay, it’s fine, I can clean it up. You, upstairs. Pack you a bag.” He swats my ass playfully. “When you’re done, you can eat breakfast and we’ll head out. Your surprise, remember?”

I nod. “As if I could forget. Fine. I’ll be back in a few.”

I leave Briggs and the mess in the kitchen, then head upstairs and quickly pack a bag for both Olive and me. You never know how much stuff you have until you’re forced to pack for “a few days.”

I have no idea where we’re going, so I make sure to pack a variety of outfits for each of us, and then, I roll it back down the stairs and into the kitchen. This time, Olive is mostly cleaned up, cradled in Brigg’s strong arm as he plates breakfast with one hand and holds her in the other.

“Just in time,” he says, noticing my presence. I take Olive from him and give her another sweet kiss, then get her situated on her play-mat so we can eat breakfast.

Briggs sets the table with our plates and pours us each tall glasses of orange juice while I watch. Pulling my lip between my teeth, I stifle a grin.

“What’s that look for?” he asks.

I shrug. “This is nice. Breakfast together, living together.”

And it has been. Sharing a space with Briggs has been even better than I imagined, and even though it’s only been a few days, I know that I want this for the long run.

Briggs joins me at the table, and after a quick breakfast, we prepare to leave. His black duffle bag is already by the back door. As he rolls Olive and my bags to the back door, I get her into a clean outfit and ready for the trip.

“Can you tell me now?” I ask, giving him my best impression of puppy dog eyes.

He shakes his head in a firm no. “Get your sweet ass in the car.”

Fine. Ugh. This man is not budging.

Once Olive is settled in her seat, I climb into the passenger seat next to Briggs and he pulls us out onto the highway. I try to pay attention to the street signs to get any indication of where we’re going, and it takes me a solid twenty minutes to realize that we’re leaving Chicago behind, and not in the direction of the airport.

“Are we going to the Brickside? To see Grams?” I ask excitedly.

A grin spreads on his lips. “I wanted to take you back to where it all started, and your grams may have strong armed me into coming up for the weekend, so she could spend time with Olive. I figured it was a chance for you to see her, and for us to have time together. I specifically remember how much you loved when I-”

I lean over and press my fingers against his lips to silence him, all while my cheeks flame with embarrassment.

The mouth on this man. A sin, I tell you.

We get to the Inn just after lunchtime. When we pull into the long, winding driveway to my favorite place, my grams meets us outside, wearing her signature apron and the biggest smile on her face.

I’m so happy I could cry. It’s been months since I was able to come here to visit her.

The second my feet hit the pavement; Grams is at my side.

“My darling girl! I have missed you so.” She pulls me into a tight, warm embrace that feels like home.

Home.

Something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately, even more now that my and Olive’s home is with Briggs.

“Hi Grams. We’ve missed you so much.”

She holds me for a moment longer, then turns back toward Briggs and pulls him into her arms too, further warming my insides.

“Hi there,” she says.

Briggs circles his big arms around her, holding her against him.

“Hi Grams.”

I think back to last night when Briggs and I talked about family being who you choose, and I realize that I hope…I hope after this trip, and after everything that happens, I hope he still chooses me.





Thirty





The first thing we did after Grams insisted on feeding all three of us, was hit the lake. The weather was perfect, unlike the first time we came, and let’s be honest… any chance to see my girl in that tiny hot pink bikini, I’m taking it.

Her and Olive are wearing matching swimsuits, and I never really thought much of it until seeing them both in pink floral bikinis. Then I realized how fucking cute it is. The little fluffy, frilly tutu on Olive is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.

There’s no doubt about it, I’m a girl dad, and I’m wearing that title with pride.

Olive’s bow matches her swimsuit, and the entire time she’s on her tummy on her blanket on the sandy beach, she tries to eat the bow, causing her mother to fuss over it.