“Thank you, pooh. I appreciate you acknowledging that.”
I sighed as I ran my hands down his chest while he held me close. “Only thing that would make this home perfect was if Miley and Mateo could be here with us.”
“That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about,” he confessed. “I have a way for us to keep them in Rose Valley Hills.”
“What’s that?”
“I talked to your parents about this already. If we get married before they leave, we can try to adopt them. Like I told your parents, I want you to have the wedding of your dreams, so there’s no rush on that. As long as we have the license, we can have our wedding whenever you’d like.”
“Is that even possible? Please, baby. Don’t play with me about this.”
“It is, and I would never,” he assured me with a smile. “I’ve already talked to Pearl about it and she’s cool with it. She knows how much we love and care about the kids. All she wants is for them to be somewhere safe. We can provide that and more.”
“And Sonny?”
“I talked to him yesterday. He’s okay with it as well. He shared the same sentiments as Pearl, and he also mentioned the kids asking if they could stay with us instead of Stacy or Simon. He said he told them no because he didn’t think we’d even consider it, but now that he knows we will, it’s a definite option.”
“Oh my God,” I cried, hugging and holding him close. “I can’t believe it. You mean there’s a chance we can adopt my nuggets?”
Kayne nodded. “We can. I know they would love to stay with us, but I figured we can have an actual conversation with them and ask if this is something they want. If it is, we can get married and then start the process.”
“I would love that, Kayne. More than anything. Being your wife is a dream within itself, but having Miley and Mateo . . . I literally couldn’t ask God for anything else.”
“I feel the same way,” he admitted. “You know we would have gotten here whether the kids were involved or not, right?”
“Oh, of course! But if it has to happen faster so we can get them, I count that as a blessing. I can’twaitto be your wife, pookie.”
He gave me a sexy smile before lowering his lips to mine. It was kind of hard to kiss him with us smiling so much, but I enjoyed trying anyway.
Thirty Days Later
We’d closed on the house, and to celebrate, our friends wanted to take us out. We agreed, but before that, there was something more important that we had to do. As we pulled up in front of Stacy’s home, the nerves that had been rattling around for the entire drive settled within me. For some reason, I wasn’t nervous or worried at all. God had already showed me glances of my future, and Jayla and the kids were there.
I remember the conversation I had with my parents after Jayla and I looked at houses. We looked at around five, but we both were in love with the first one, so that’s the one we purchased.
“Are you sure you’re ready for that responsibility, Son?” Pops asked carefully. “Having those kids for a weekend at a time is one thing but having full time custody is something altogether different.”
“Yeah, Pops. I’ve thought about this long and hard. I’ve prayed, fasted, and talked to my future wife about this. Those kids have always been ours. We might not have created them, but we love them as if they are our own. If they have to go to Virginia, we’ll love them just as much and do whatever we can for them, but I know they will soon be coming with us.”
“In that case, let me get rid of some of that junk in those back rooms so I can make room for my grandkids,” Mama said as she stood with a grin. “I’m happy about these two, but I still want you and Jayla to give me a little baby though.”
My smile spread as I thought about what Mama had said.
“You ready, pooh?” I questioned.
“Yes! I can’t wait to see their faces when they hear the news. You really think they’re going to say yes?”
“Of course, but even if they don’t, we can still be in their lives. I don’t want you heartbroken if they say no, but I really don’t see that happening, bae.”
“Yeah. I keep telling myself Miley has made it clear that she wanted to live with me, and Mateo said the same thing to you, so I know they will say yes. God. I’m still nervous.”
“Well come on. Let’s go on and ask them to put you out of your misery.”
She laughed as I got out of the car. After I opened her door, we grabbed the gift bags and headed up the pebbled walkway. I wasn’t sure what career fields Stacy and her husband, Mark, were in, but they seemed to be doing really well for themselves. After I rang the doorbell, Mark greeted us then let us in.
The kids didn’t know we were coming, so when we walked into the living room and they saw us, Miley’s eyes grew wide, andshe screamed before running over to hug us. Mateo tried to play hard and make it seem like he wasn’t just as happy, but he slowly made his way over and hugged us. The longer he held on to me, the tighter his grip became. I wanted to assure him that he didn’t have to worry about meeverletting him go. I had him . . . for life.
“Hey, my little nugget,” Jayla cooed, holding Miley close as she pulled Mateo into her side. “I missed you,” she confessed before kissing the top of his head.
