Back to Me (Book Three ✓)

forty-five

EMMA

As quickly as I can, and equally as carefully, I place swirly, pink candles into the soft, yellow cake Nadine baked for Maggie's party. The frosting, hot pink and somehow sparkly, is adorned with a hand-piped unicorn in bright white buttercream. Again, sparkly.

I chuckle to myself.

Nadine knows no bounds when it comes to pleasing Little Miss Maggie, as she so sweetly calls her every time she pulls her from my arms.

Which, is more often than not.

"Hey Parker?" I turn over my shoulder, eyeing the other parents lounging in my living room, their toddlers on their laps or crawling around on the ground in front of them. "How are we on ice? Drinks? Munchies?"

An amused expression on his face, he slowly raises his hands under his chin, inhaling deeply, before pushing the unseen force down again, towards his waist, with an audible exhale.

"Relax, Emma. Take a breather. The party is fine, there's enough ice, enough drinks and way too many munchies." His brow raises at my usage of the term. "People are having fun. Why don't you?"

"Speaking of fun," I sigh, my gaze making another sweep of the room, adorned with every unicorn decoration Gemma could find, topped off by a gorgeous, and absolutely ginormous unicorn piñata, "Where is Mr. Fun?"

"You can't possibly mean Beau."

"I do."

As if to answer my question, Beau enters the kitchen, bouncing our one-year old on his hip. The two are almost inseparable and whenever I can't find Beau, I know he's off to Maggie's nursery or with her in the yard, playing the guitar for her. And she loves every second of it, clapping her hands as in time to the beat as she can manage.

Maggie's light hair has began to curl, and as I predicted, her eyes now match Beau's deep green ones.

I look at them and two Beau's stare back, minus the black hair dye.

And it's moments like these when I realize they're all I've ever wanted.

"Enjoying ourselves, are we?" I hold a silicon spatula out to Beau for him to lick excess frosting from.

A little touch up after someone, I suspect Adam, although he won't confess, dragged their finger through the icing to get a taste. I can't blame the thief (as I said, eyes on Adam) - Nadine's frosting is almost worth losing a finger over, but she'd have a fit if she saw it.

It's perfect now. Thank God I caught it before she brought it out to be cut in front of everyone.

"Maggie seems to be having fun." Beau grins down at her after gratefully taking the sample. "Aren't you, Mags?"

Our girl giggles up at her daddy, three of her four front teeth finally taking over her gummy smile. She always does that - just gazes at him, like he's the coolest thing she's ever seen.

What I like even better, though, is when she grabs a tiny fistful of that hair. If I thought his typical 'do was messy before...

Nudging him with my hip, I return to the present and put the rest of the frosting in the fridge.

"I meant you. I thought I saw you and Beck laughing."