Page 270 of Where We Stay
She pulls back before his little fist can grab it. “No. Absolutely not.”
“He loves you,” I assure her.
“He hurts me.”
“He’s eight months old,” Dean points out.
Aspen looks at him as though that is completely irrelevant. “He’s strong.”
She isn’t wrong.
Theo is solid. Chubby cheeks, thick dark hair and Dean’s eyes. His personality somehow manages to be sweet and completely unhinged at the same time.
He’s perfect.
Even when he wakes us at five in the morning because apparently sleep is for the weak.
Aspen grabs a banana from the fruit bowl. “Can I eat this?”
“Yes,” I answer.
Dean looks at her. “You know you don’t have to ask before eating fruit, right?”
“Blair says asking is polite.”
Dean glances at me. “Teacher.”
“Correct.”
Aspen peels the banana and climbs onto the stool beside Theo. “You’re getting married soon.”
I smile. “We are.”
“When?”
Dean groans. “We’ve been over this.”
“I forgot.”
“September,” I remind her.
Aspen nods thoughtfully. “Can I wear flowers in my hair?”
“You can wear whatever you want.”
Dean lifts one eyebrow. “Within reason.”
Aspen ignores him. “I want sunflowers because they’re Blair’s favorite.”
My chest tightens.
Of course she does.
“Sunflowers it is,” I promise.
Aspen smiles and returns to her banana while Dean catches my eye across the kitchen.
He knows.
