Page 44 of Colton
It took a couple of weeks, but I finally feel like Evie and I have found our footing. Despite my epic fuckup, she’s still letting me pick them up at work and come to visit. She even let me watch Mia overnight.
She was reserved with me for a few days. Mia was too, and it killed me. The tears in her eyes as she touched the stitches in my lip guaranteed I will never fight again. But I still caused a lot of damage.
I really convinced myself that the fights were a healthy outlet. Turns out, I’ve had my head in my ass. Declan and Ransom spent the entire time at the hospital chewing me out about it. Other than telling me to be careful, they’d never said anything about it before.
But my brief spurt of annoyance with them evaporated quickly. Because I get it. With Evie and Mia in the picture, there’s a fuck-of-a-lot more at stake. So I get it. And I’ll figure it the fuck out.
I know I’m really fucking lucky Evie doesn’t hold a grudge. It felt like things were different the day I took her to the gym, and I’m trying to convince myself that it’s good she went back to normal. But I’m not buying it. I want her hands on me, and that’s only getting more intense the longer we spend together.
I’m a fucking wreck for her and it’s pissing me the fuck off. It would be better for everyone if I could stay friends with Evie, and find someone else to fuck, but my dick doesn’t seem to be on board with that plan, and I fucking tried. I went to a club, trying to wingman for Declan, and when the women approached, I threw up in my mouth a little bit.
Evie fucking broke me, but I can’t seem to get that upset about it.
I pull up at the door to the hospital, staying in the car for the first time. Today is a big fucking deal. Because after I drop Evie at work, Mia is mine all day.
“Are you sure you’ve got this?” Evie’s voice is teasing, but I hear the undercurrent of nervousness.
“I’ve got her. I promise she will be in one piece, strapped into that seat when I come pick you up tonight. I can’t guarantee she’ll be clean. But she’ll be healthy and well fed.”
“Healthy and happy is all that matters. She loves you guys, so I know she’ll be fine.” Evie slides open the back door, leaning in to kiss Mia and say her goodbyes. Finally, she waves and heads into work.
“Alright, baby girl. It’s just you and me today. What do you say we go get some breakfast?”
Sure, it’s just us right now, but I’m under no illusions. My brothers are going to horn in on our day, guaranteed. They’re fucking obsessed with Mia, too. Other than when we were kids, none of us have ever spent much time around them, and if Mia is anything to go by, we’ve been missing out.
Evie’s been getting more and more comfortable trusting us with her daughter, so I’ve been trying to make sure we’re on our best behavior.
It can’t fucking last, but I’ve been trying.
I’ve had to shoot down Maverick and Nick’s plans to buy her guinea pigs, Jonas’s plan to enroll her in a private preschool, and Ransom’s attempt to buy her a real diamond tiara. Evie would have shit kittens if she’d come home to any of that.
So me and my best girl are going to take it easy today, not do anything crazy, and just have fun. That plan holds up through breakfast and the park. She ends up with a bunch of goose shit on her back when she tips over, but no big deal. After a bath and a change of clothes, we’re ready for our nap. And yes, I nap in the princess bed. It’s fucking impossible to say no to Mia when she turns those big brown eyes on you. So we napped.
I may or may not have been wearing makeup.
Now, she seems to have gotten her second wind, running around the couch in loops. It might have had something to do with the fudgesicles we just ate, but I don’t know for sure. My brothers have been popping by all day, blowing up our group text, but now, I think they’ll come in handy to help her burn off all this energy.
Me:Taking Mia to the gym. She’s got energy to burn.
Jonas:Be there soon.
Declan:Fucking finally!
Ransom:There
Nick:Fuck you! I’m stuck at a client meeting with Mav
Kade:Becca’s working. I’m in.
Micah:Holly and I are coming.
Catching her long enough to throw some running shoes on her, I chase Mia to the stairs, racing her up them to the gym. Ransom’s standing, hands on hips, a huge smile on his face. She runs to him, slapping his hand in a low five, and they race off on the track. The rest of them file in quickly, running to join Ransom, who seems to be letting Mia practice her wrestling moves on him.
Declan stops next to me, bumping my shoulder. “How you doing, brother?”
I glare at him, blowing out a breath. “Fine.”
He turns to face me, crossing his arms over his chest. “Seriously?”
