11:13 p.m.

It’s really fucking important

I was so tired the next morning that I could barely keep my eyes open as I headed down the stairs holding a wide-awake Mo in one arm. I’d jinxed her the night before and ended up waking up twice to her little kitten cries, once because she’d pooped—super soft poop that reminded me of what she’d done to Jonah, which had made me laugh despite being exhausted—and the other because she’d been hungry after crapping out everything she’d eaten and wanted more calories right the fuck then. I had ended up telling myself I’d nap after the second time she’d woken me up, and that “nap” had ended up being a three-hour mini coma, and my back, shoulders, and hips were hating me for putting them through that.

At least the little booger had let me sleep in until nine, but even then, it wasn’t the same.

“You’re lucky you’re a cute little monster,” I told her with a side-eye.

Mo rattled off some animated babble that had me raising my eyebrows at her.

“I didn’t give you a sloppy butt; don’t blame me,” I replied to her, giving her a smile.

“What do you think about going to the park later and giving the swing a try? Maybe we can ask Grandpa to go with us and talk him into getting on one, and we can push him so hard he falls off,” I told her, taking another two steps down the staircase.

Mo just kept on grinning, pulling my hair hard enough to make me wince.

I snuck a quick kiss to her neck that had her squealing and pulling on my roots some more. “You’re right, that’s probably not the best idea. Then we’d have to listen to him whine, and nobody likes that, huh?”

I swore she lifted her chin so I could give her another kiss to the neck, so I did it again, getting another squeal and hair tug, as my feet took another two steps down, finally hitting the bottom of the landing just as I heard a female voice coming from inside the door that led into the kitchen. And that was a split second before a voice said, “Aren’t you two a sight?”

I stopped, instantly looking up to find Jonah standing there in the hallway in black sweatpants that shouldn’t have been fitted but were because he was just that muscular, a clean and crisp long-sleeved white T-shirt with a logo over the chest, and white quarter-length socks, looking totally and completely awake and with a smile on his face, like he didn’t know what being tired was like.

God, I missed those days when I had no problem sleeping nine to ten hours a night because I had to. Because of judo and because sleep was so important for your body to reenergize and heal, and I had needed every advantage I could take because the sport was so hard on everything. I could remember the times I’d groaned at Grandpa Gus when he’d ordered me to head upstairs even though it had felt too early.

It’s the little things you take for granted. Like sleep. And bladder control.

I gave him a sleepy smile. “Beauty and the Beast,” I yawned. “Mo’s the beauty in case you’re wondering. She woke me up twice in the middle of the night.”

The pleased expression on that handsome face fell away, replaced with a concerned one. “Is she all good?”

“Yeah. Her poop was pretty loose, and she took her time going back to sleep. Then she woke up hangry and took her sweet-ass time going back to sleep that time too. Look, she wants you.” Because she did. Mo had already started leaning forward, even her little arms going up in a reaching gesture for him. “What a bandwagoner.”

His worried face didn’t go anywhere, but his hands did, coming up and toward the daughter who was straining even more to get out of my hold and into his. Little traitor. Once he had her and had placed a kiss on each of her cheeks, he glanced back at me and asked, “Are you all right?”

I blinked, eyeing his clothes—and him—again. “Yeah. Just tired and my back and hips hurt from sleeping on the floor in her room. It’ll pass.” I scratched my throat and eyed my girl who stared dreamily up at the man holding her like wow, who is this? She was such a double-crosser, but her little face made me so happy. “Why are you here so early?”

He smiled at my blunt-ass question, hiking Mo up a little higher on his chest as her hand smacked at the corner of his lips, even as his attention remained on me. “Peter invited me for breakfast.”

He had?

“I like your pajamas.”

I didn’t have time to think about the tiny shorts and loose shirt hanging off my shoulder, because I was too busy trying to think about what had happened the night before. The last thing I remembered after basically crawling up the stairs from how sleepy I was was waving at the remaining five people who were still there after another forty minutes of Jonah trying to explain rugby to people who knew absolutely nothing about it and kept comparing it to football and soccer, when it wasn’t either. Those five people had included Grandpa, Peter, Jonah, and two other guys. It had been midnight, which was hours after my bedtime when I could help it.

And now… it was nine. And he was here.

“Did you get any sleep?” I found myself asking him with another yawn, taking in again how bright and alert he was. Lucky bitch.

“Some,” he answered, finally focusing down at the baby in his arm who had grabbed his T-shirt with two bossy hands to more than likely get his attention.

I didn’t need to do the math in my head. “Shouldn’t you be getting more?”

Jonah did that small, shy smile, but leaned his forehead toward Mo’s as he said, “Yeh… but this is more important.” He tickled her belly with an index finger.

I let that answer hang in the air. And in my heart.

Those honey-colored eyes moved toward me, and the little smile he gave me was deceptive. “My mum is here.”

I glanced down at my clothes. Or lack of clothes.

Then I decided, it was Sunday, it was nine in the morning, and he was at my house. If she wasn’t going to like me because I walked around in my pajamas, then she wasn’t going to like me for the hundred other real reasons I could give her.

“Cute socks.”

It was my turn to probably turn a little pink as I ignored the fact they were flamingo socks that Luna had given me. They clashed perfectly with my red T-shirt from the last time I’d donated blood. “I’ve seen your Spiderman underwear, champ, you don’t have room to talk.”

His laugh made me smile, but I wasn’t the only one; Mo grinned up at the man too as she said a string of consonants and vowels that didn’t totally work together.

But I knew right then that she knew. She had to know somehow who he was. She was already trying to crawl out of my arms to go into his every chance she had, and that said something major.

“Is your sister here?”

“No, she went shopping.”

“Lenny! Stop running your mouth and come eat!” Grandpa Gus hollered from the kitchen, making me roll my eyes.

“Want me to take her?”

He shook his head.

We headed into the kitchen a second later, and I instantly spotted Sarah, his mom, sitting at the island with a cup of tea in her hand. It was a good thing I’d ordered some for Mr. Innocent, I guess. Grandpa was at the stove, dealing with his whole-grain pancakes, and Peter was at the island, cutting up berries because apparently we were spoiling our guests instead of eating thawed frozen berries.