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She might be my wild child and not know what the hell a filter is, but when it comes to work, she’s the most driven person I know. She will do everything for your boy.”
“I did, and I’m telling you this, not as her dad but as your friend. She will leave when the summer is over. I love my daughter to death, but she’s a runner and the last thing she wants is to get caught.”
“He’s a hell of a crawler though.” Letting go of his hands, Max immediately folds onto the ground before he takes off crawling. “He’ll be on his hands and knees most of the time.” “As all men should be.”
“Please don’t ask me to complain to you of all people, when you and Indy are trying so hard to become parents.” “Kai, we all have our shit. Just because we’re dealing with our own stuff, doesn’t mean I can’t hear about yours. Besides, we’re having fun trying.”
She is cute. In the same way a tornado is cute. Or a pack of starved lions. Super cute.
“Dear God, Kai. No wonder you have a kid. Just looking at you like this would get any woman pregnant.”
The last thing I’ll ever be is an absentee dad. I won’t miss the important stuff, and even more, I don’t want to miss the everyday, insignificant moments. I want them all.”
She stares right at me, not backing down. “Kai, I am not your problem.” My attention dips to her lips. “Be my problem.” Swallowing, she tilts her head, testing me. “Then do something to make me your problem.”
“Which side of the bed do you prefer?” We both look at it. “The furthest side from the door. That way if a murderer comes in, he’ll kill you first.”
“God if I know. That’s what we as a society have been conditioned to do, right? Keep striving for the next best thing instead of finding gratitude and peace where we are.”
“Because if I kiss you again,” he continues, “I have a feeling I’m going to want to do it every time I see you.”
“You don’t do casual.” “Nothing about my life is casual anymore. I’ve got someone else relying on me and my decisions now.”
“You promised to help me find my balance in life. I thought I’d try to help you find your joy.”
That’s Kai though. Stable. Dependable. Always there when you need him.
“I like you vulnerable, Mills.”
“Can I take what I want, Miller?”
“You’re so pretty, Mills.”
This guy is a walking juxtaposition. Dirty-talking confidence turned right back to the soft man who’s gone through his life alone.
Pure masculinity, taut muscles, lean frame with a personality that’s soft enough to lovingly raise a human on his own.
“For me?” “It’s always been only for you.”
“Because it’s her dream, and I care about her too much to not help her chase it, even if that means I won’t be there when she gets everything she’s worked for.”
Life is meant to be spent chasing happiness.”
“Can we forget about some of my rules? For the rest of the week while I’m here? I just want to know what it’d feel like.” “You want to know how what feels like?” “To be yours.”
“Mills, you already are mine. Even if I haven’t been allowed to show you, you’ve always been mine.”
“You’re so perfect, Miller,” I whisper into her ear. “So mine.”
“You’re mine, baby.”
Compared to the frantic kitchen, outside looks like a whole other world. My whole other world.
“I’ve made grown men cry while wearing this coat.” “Oh, I have no doubt about that, but girl bosses need forehead kisses too.”
With my name on her back and my son in her arms, Miller stands in the center of the field, looking like mine. She should be mine. Ours.
“Do you love her?” Monty asks. “I do. Very much so.” “She might break your heart.” “I’ll love her anyway.” “I know you will.”
Monty exhales a contented sigh. “Just know that I loved her first.” I nod. “And I’ll love her always.”
“What happened is he fell in love with you, and I think you fell right back.”
“And it’s in there because I’m so fucking in love with you, it’s too painful not to be able to see you every second of the day.”
“You’ve been taking care of my heart, Mills, and I’ve been taking care of yours.”
“Miller, you’re not just another person.” He won’t look at me, his attention locked on the ground, and I catch the first tear fall from under his glasses, hitting the floor. “You put me first when I forgot how to. You reminded me what it felt like to be important, to be chosen first. I
This is fucking miserable, Miller, knowing there’s a clock counting down the seconds until I don’t have you anymore, but I’d do it all over again. I’d fall in love with you all over again. I’d break my heart all over again because loving you was one of the two greatest surprises of my life.”
“If I could…” he continues, shaking his head. “I’d chase you.
Don’t tell me if you love me, and fuck,” he exhales a painful laugh. “Please don’t tell me if you don’t. But especially don’t give me any hope because if you do, I have a feeling I’d chase you across the country until you were caught.”
“Please let me say it,” he whispers against me. “I’ve tried to show you all summer, so let me just say it on the last night I have you.” “Tell me.” He nudges his nose against mine. “I love you. God, I love you so much, Miller, it feels like it might kill me.”
“Miller,” he says, making sure my attention is on him. “If you ever decide to stop running and make a home…” His eyes are begging, pleading. “Make it with me.”
The problem is no longer that I can’t do my job. The problem is that now, I don’t want to.
Our names—Max, Miller, and Malakai are accompanied by the date and year with a small inscription below. I hope you’re out there finding your joy because you’re the reason we found ours.
“My advice, after twenty years in the industry, stop giving your brilliance to other people. Put your name on it and own it.”
“I got your voicemail this morning. You sounded like you needed me.”
“Never once, to this day, have I ever viewed our relationship or how our family came to be as a sacrifice. It’s been a privilege to be your dad.”
“How does it feel to know you’re settling down?” I asked. “I don’t like the term ‘settling down.’ I didn’t settle for anything. I simply stopped running when the two best boys I know caught me.”
“This is what I want. This life together. The three of us. You keep me grounded, Kai, and I’ll keep you wild.”
