Haven Harbor • a.i. •

Chapter 74

"Daddy are we pretty?" Gracie asked Ashton and I turned to smile at him.

"Every girl is pretty Gracie, but you and your Mom are especially pretty." He answered and she nodded in satisfaction.

"Morning." He came up behind me, placing his hand on my back and kissed my head.

"Morning to you too." I responded cheerfully.

Gracie reached out for him and he took her into his arms, giving her a kiss before setting her down at the bar.

I made Ashton his coffee how he liked it and then set it at the bar at his spot along with Gracie's breakfast in front of her.

Then I went to grab pancake mix from the cabinet to start everyone else's breakfast.

"So what's the schedule for today?" Ashton asked.

"Well me, Ender, and Gracie all have dentist appointments after school." I said and he nodded.

"Okay."

"I hate the dentist." Ender made a disgusted face.

"Well maybe if you didn't try and bite the person cleaning your teeth then they would be a little nicer to you." I commented back.

"You tried to bite the dentist?" Ashton gawked as he looked at Ender.

"He touched my teeth." Ender shrugged.

"That's what they're supposed to do!" Ashton exclaimed before busting into laughter.

"Do I have to get a shot?" Gracie asked with wide eyes.

"Nope. The dentist is just going to look at your teeth and make sure they look all pretty and clean." I smiled at her and reached over to pat her arm.

"We are probably going to be there awhile so would you take the cake over to the guys for me?" I asked Ashton.

"Sure." He smiled. "I'll hang out there and then you can call me when you're ready."

Agreeing to the plan I finished breakfast, handing everyone a plate with a stack of pancakes and then washed dishes as they finished.

I sent Gracie and Ender outside to walk Bear while Ashton and I headed up to our room to get dressed.

"So how are you feeling today?" He asked me as I slipped off my robe.

"A lot better actually." I answered honestly.

"Good."

I slipped on a tee shirt and shorts and went to get my shoes from the closet, walking out to see Ashton pulling a shirt over his head.

"So there's something I need to talk to you about." Ashton said kind of nervously as I walked up beside him to get a pair of socks from my drawer.

Anxiety shot through my body.

"Is everything okay?" I asked, shifting on my foot awkwardly.

"Everything's fine." He quickly assured me, noticing my nervous state. He placed his hands on my shoulders and turned my body towards him. "Everything is more than fine." He winked and leaned in to press a hot kiss to my lips.

"Then what is it?" I asked after he had stopped kissing me.

"Well I-" He began before we were interrupted by Ender flinging my bedroom door open.

"Car, Gracie won't let me watch my cartoons!" He complained.

"Um, I'm sorry but have you ever heard of knocking?" I folded my arms across my chest, kind of angry at him.