“I’ll never say no to a cup of coffee.”
“Me either,” she smiled and started the coffee before she put away her groceries.
A few minutes later, Brinkley returned and climbed into the chair beside me. “I’m ready, Mommy.”
“Do you want to pick out our first Christmas movie while I get things ready in here?”
“Yes!” she shouted and climbed down from her seat. “But don’t start without me.”
“I won’t,” Mackenzie promised.
“She’s something else,” I laughed.
“She keeps me on my toes. Cream or sugar?”
“Heavy on both.”
Mackenzie smiled. A genuine smile that lit up her entire face. “That’s how I like mine, too.”
When she placed my cup in front of me, I arched an eyebrow as I lifted it to my mouth. “Now, the real question is, do we like it the same strength?” I took a tentative sip and subsequently groaned.
Mackenzie laughed. “That sounds like a yes.”
My phone dinged with a text from Spazz.
“The car belongs to Carter Perry,” I told Mackenzie.
“Carter Perry,” she repeated. “I don’t recognize the name.”
Bear:The name doesn’t seem familiar. Can you find some more info?
Spazz:Sure.
Bear:Thanks, brother.
“I asked him to pull some information. See if we can find out why you’re seeing him so much.”
“I appreciate it,” she said sincerely, then lowered her voice. “She’s going to be hungry soon. I was going to order a pizza. Would you like to stay for dinner?”
Maybe it was my own wishful thinking, but it sounded like she didn’t want me to leave. And I wanted to stay.
“Who can say no to pizza?”
“Not me!” Brinkley shouted. “Mommy! Can we have pizza?”
“Well,” Mackenzie said slowly, pretending to consider her request. “I don’t know. Do we deserve a treat?”
“We always deserve treats!” Brinkley sang.
“Okay, I’ll order pizza, and we’ll start the Christmas goodies after dinner.”
“Thank you, Mommy,” she said happily and danced all the way down the hall while singing, “Pizza, pizza, pizza.”
3
Brinkley went to her room to play while we waited for the pizza to arrive, leaving me alone in the kitchen with Bear. Surprisingly, I didn’t feel the slightest bit uncomfortable with him in my house, even though I didn’t know him or know anything about him.
Well, I wasn’t scared or worried he might hurt me. I was, however, very aware of his presence. Bear was a large man who couldn’t be overlooked due to his sheer size alone. Not only that, Bear had this distinguished yet rugged look to him, and every part of my vagina wanted to tell him how well he was rocking it.