Page 39 of Accidentally Perfect

“But Belle didn’t care that he was a beast, she saw the good in him. She knew in time, everyone in the village would see the good in him as well.” When Brad and I arrive at the girls’ room, we hear the hum of Nathan’s voice. Quietly opening the door a crack, Brad and I stand there listening to my husband as he tells the story of Beauty and the Beast. Both girls are curled up sleeping soundly while Nathan continues on with the tale. I shut the door gently.

“Go home, Brad. Can’t you see that everything is fine here? Go get some rest. I don’t think you should go into work tomorrow. Take it easy. I’ll let you know if anything changes.”

“Those are my girls, Laney.”

“I know.”

“He’s comforting my girls.” His voice is broken.

“They will always be your girls, but don’t you think its okay for them to become his girls, too?”

“The jury is still out on that one. But I’ll go. Give them a kiss. Tell them I would have done it myself but they were already asleep and I didn’t want to wake them.” Brad turns to leave, but I grab his arm to stop him.

“They love you. You’ll always be their superhero, but little girls can have more than one. It doesn’t mean that you mean any less to them. The love a daughter holds for her father is a love that will never falter, no matter how many other men come into her life, her father will always be her first love.”

He nods and walks away.

I slowly open the door and walk into the quiet room. Both girls are still sleeping on Nathan while he rubs his hands over each of their heads. “Hey,” I say in a soft voice. “How are they doing?”

“Well, since I’m a bona fide knower of all things princess’, I think I passed their test. That and I may have told them my sister is a pro at being a princess, and she may be able to teach them a few things about pink, purple, tulle and sparkles.” He gives a small smile.

“Here, let me get Bear off you. She doesn’t need to be asleep on you.”

“You’ll do no such thing, sweet girl. Do you know how much it means to me that they feel comfortable and safe enough to allow me to hold them while they’re at their most vulnerable?”

“Well, that’s true. Other than Brad and Stella, no one has ever held them while they slept. Even as babies, they were either in my hands or theirs.”

“What can I say? I have a gift with the ladies.”

“Yeah, Mr. God’s Gift, I’m sure you do. I’m sure if they were little boys then the situation may be entirely different.”

“Hey now, I’ve been known to sweet talk the male population, too. Don’t doubt my mad skills, baby.”

“Oh Jesus, Nathan, am I going to have to fight off not only the harpies that are gonna come out of the woodwork, but all the queens as well? I’m not sure I’ve got that kind of fight in me.” I give him a wink.

“Oh, baby, I know you do. Come and give me some sugar then crawl up in Amanda’s bed and try to sleep.”

I walk over and press my lips to his. When I pull away I search his eyes, and I see everything I’ve been looking for. “I’m falling in love with you, Nathan.” My voice is soft.

“I’m right there with you, sweet girl.”

“Love you, mama.” Addie’s voice is small as she cuddles in closer to Nathan.

“Yeah, loves you.” Amanda chimed in. They don’t make another peep as we drifted off to sleep.