Page 239 of Where We Stay

Blair walks into the dining room and stops when she sees the table. Her eyes move over the food, the flowers and the handmade sunflower place mats.

“Did you two do all of this for me?”

“Daddy made mac and cheese,” Aspen announces proudly. “It took him forever.”

“Thanks, Pen.”

Blair laughs before glancing at my sauce-covered shirt. “I can see that.”

“There were complications.”

“Clearly.” She walks over and gently kisses me. “Thank you, my love.”

“Anything for you, baby.”

Watching Blair smile at Aspen almost makes me forget how close I came to losing this.

Almost.

* * *

After dinner, cake and Aspen asking Blair approximately three hundred questions, I tuck Pen into bed. She insists on keeping one of the flowers from Courtney beside her and makes me promise Blair will still be here in the morning.

By the time I return to the living room, Blair is sitting on the couch with her legs tucked beneath her, staring down at her hands.

“You okay?” I ask, sitting beside her.

“I’m good.” She looks up and smiles. “Dinner was delicious, by the way.”

“You don’t have to lie because I nearly burned the kitchen down making it.”

“I’m not lying. The second attempt was great.”

“Third.”

Her smile widens. “Even better.”

I pull her carefully against me. “You’re never going to let me live this down, are you?”

“Absolutely not.”

Blair rests against my chest for a moment before suddenly sitting upright.

“I have something for you.”

“You didn’t have to get me anything.”

“I know.” She gets up from the couch and walks toward the bag G left by the front door. “I wanted to.”

She returns holding a small gift box tied with a green ribbon. There’s something nervous in her expression as she places it in my hands.

“What’s this?”

“Open it.”

I untie the ribbon and lift the lid. Inside is a white romper with the words DADDY OF TWO printed across the front.

I stare at it.