“Look!” Ivy squealed, kicking in my arms. “Other Daddy!”
We pushed through the door, and she cried, “Daddy, we got you woses!”
Hudson turned, and the whole room seemed to soften around him. The way his smile spread, slow and stunned, made my chest ache. Why had I never thought to buy him roses before?
He bent, pressing a kiss to her forehead, then his lips hard on mine, and took the flowers. “Why’d you buy me flowers?”
“Because.”
The look in his eyes was so warm, like he understood without me having to expound. “Thank you. I love them. Now I see why you’re late.”
“Daddy was talking to the pretty man,” Ivy piped up.
Hudson narrowed his eyes. “Thewhatnow?”
I nearly choked. “Ivy?—”
She nodded solemnly. “The pwetty man, Daddy. He and other Daddy talked for hours.”
Hudson’s gaze cut back to me, sharp as a branding iron. “What pretty man did you talk to?”
I opened my mouth, then closed again. “It’s not important.”
“The hell it isn’t.” His voice dropped into that low, dangerous rumble that gave away his jealousy. “Who?”
I scrubbed a hand over my face. “Hudson?—”
“Who, Matty?”
I sighed. “Todd. Okay? It was Todd. He wanted to apologize, that’s all. Nothing happened. He’s over it, moving on, and he wanted me to know.” I tickled Ivy’s side. “Jeez, Bug, you got me in trouble with other Daddy. Now he’s going to put me in the naughty corner.”
Hudson’s nostrils flared like a bull about to charge. He grabbed my hand, bouquet of roses still clutched in the other, and marched me straight across the room. “That’s it. Rowan!” he barked, rapping on the office door hard enough to make Ivy squeal in giggles. “You think you can put on a wedding in a week?”
I sputtered a laugh, stumbling after him. “A week? You told me amonthwas too short!”
“Yeah, well, apparently I need to get you to the altar before someone gets any ideas that you’re available,” he said darkly.
I leaned into him, grinning like a fool. “Jealous looks real good on you, Daddy.”
He shot me a glare over his shoulder, but his ears were pink.
Rowan opened the office door, the sequins on his jacket catching the light. “Well, well, the happy couple is finally ready. Late, but bearing roses.” He fanned his hands. “How romantic. Come in, darlings, come in.”
Rowan’s desk was a chaos of swatches, binders, and what looked like three different clipboards. The minute I sat down, Ivy scrambled toward Rowan’s desk, attracted to the colorful swatches. “Woow.”
He let out a noise halfway between a gasp and a squeak. “Oh my stars. That ring is gorgeous. A three-year-old wearing a diamond before me.” He staggered back, clutching his chest like he’d been mortally wounded, then threw his other hand across his forehead in a swooning arc. “I can’t bear it. Betrayed by the gods of matrimony themselves!”
With a theatrical sigh, he collapsed backward onto the nearest tufted chair, legs sprawled, head lolled to the side as if he’d fainted dead away. Ivy burst out into giggles.
“Ivy, honey, come here to Daddy.” Hudson waved her over, and I braced myself for what was to come.
Ivy ran over, and Hudson took her hand. “Matt, you didn’t.” He fiddled with the tiny diamond in Ivy’s ring. “Please don’t tell me you bought our three-year-old an actual diamond ring. This is fake, right? Because I expected you to get her a dollar ring!”
I kissed his cheek before he could work up a steam. “She’s happy. Isn’t that the most important thing?”
Hudson groaned. “Is it real, Matt?”
Rowan picked up one of the binders on his desk. “Honey, that stone is cleaner than half the engagements I’ve seen this year. It’s definitely real.”
