Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 51827 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 259(@200wpm)___ 207(@250wpm)___ 173(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51827 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 259(@200wpm)___ 207(@250wpm)___ 173(@300wpm)
Magnus gives him that lopsided grin that makes my stomach flip. “I don’t want to spring an unexpected overnight guest on your mom like that.”
“She doesn’t mind! Right, Mom?”
“It’s not that I mind. But he doesn’t have pajamas or anything.”
“It doesn’t matter. Just say yes, Mom.”
I glance at Magnus, wishing he’d say he can’t stay. But he’s quiet.
“It’s not that I’m saying no,” I say.
“Can I tell you something, Coop?” Magnus asks, saving me from finishing.
“Yeah, sure.”
“A grown-up who isn’t your family shouldn’t be staying in your bedroom with you.”
Coop frowns. “Why not?”
“It’s just not something good grown-ups do. If your mom is okay with it, I’ll sleep on the couch tonight while you sleep in your bed, and we can play cars in the morning.”
I’m floored by the way he explained that—looking out for my boy but not telling him anything that isn’t age-appropriate.
“He’s right,” I say. “If a grown-up tries to be alone with you in a bedroom, or anywhere else, and you feel uncomfortable, you should leave as fast as you can.”
Coop nods. I talk to my boys about stranger danger often because Jules and I were raised by an alcoholic mother who left us with people she barely knew when we were young. No one ever made us feel like we had any power in those situations.
I’m protective of my boys. I never want them to feel as scared or unsafe as I sometimes did as a kid.
“Okay, let’s do a chapter in Eli’s bed,” I say, talking to my sons.
“You can come, too,” Coop says, taking Magnus’s hand.
Magnus is a good sport, sitting on the floor beside Eli’s bed with Coop while I sit beside Eli in his bed and read the next chapter of the book we’re currently on, a Percy Jackson one.
Eli’s asleep before the end of the chapter, so I put the bookmark in and gently ease myself out of his bed. Magnus, Coop and I tiptoe back into Coop’s room, where I sit down on the edge of his bed to tuck him in.
“Did you brush your teeth?” I ask him.
He nods.
“Did you?” I give him a stern look.
“Smell my breath.” He opens his mouth and I give it a quick sniff.
“Okay.” I tuck the covers around him. “You need to go to sleep, for real.”
“I will.”
I hug him and say, “Good night, bug. I love you.”
“Love you, too.”
Magnus offers him a fist bump.
“If you wake up first, come wake me up,” Coop says.
“I will.”
Once we’re out of the room and back down the hallway, I give Magnus an apologetic look.
“I’m sorry you got roped into staying all night,” I whisper.
“I don’t mind,” he whispers back. “But I do have to be at practice at eight thirty in the morning.”
“It’s okay.”
“We’ll get in some car time before I go,” he says.
When I get to the bottom of the stairs, my skin tingles with awareness as he follows me into the living room.
“We have a guest room. Why don’t you stay in there?” He shakes his head. “I don’t mind the couch.”
“I’ll get you a pillow and blanket.”
I grab the extra pillow from my bed, which has a pink satin pillowcase and a fluffy white blanket. When I get back to the living room, our cat is purring in Magnus’s arms and he’s standing next to the couch.
“That’s Dong,” I say. “He might sleep on you tonight.”
“Dong?”
“I know. It’s a cartoon robot’s name or something, and my boys were set on it. So ... yeah.”
His lips curve up slightly, crinkles forming in the corners of his eyes. “You’re a great mom.”
His words are the opposite of flippant. He’s intently focused on me, his compliment hitting me harder than I would have expected it to. I know I’m a great mom, but it’s not often I hear those words from anyone other than my boys, and it feels good.
“Thank you.”
I put the pillow down on the end of the couch, my heart racing. Then I set the blanket on top of it and say, “Is there anything else I can get you?”
“I’m good, thanks.”
It’s good that only I know how tingly I am right now, because it’s embarrassing. I’m normally quick and quippy, but I hold myself back with him. If I didn’t, I’d be telling him that blanket is one lucky motherfucker because it gets to lie on top of him.
“I’m going to bed,” I say.
Want to come knock some holes through my wall with the headboard?
“I had fun tonight. Good night, Blair.”
“Good night. Let me know if you need anything.”
There’s no way he’s thinking what I’m thinking when I say it. But what a night it would be if he was.
8
Magnus
* * *
The warm, soft feel of breath on my cheek makes my eyes fly open in surprise.
“I knew you were awake! Come on.”