When the door opens, it takes me a second to register what I’m seeing. This room is perfect for Ella. With painted blue walls and silver snowflakes everywhere, she looks like the little princess she is already tucked in and a worn stuffed fox clutched to her chest.
“Jamie!” she exclaims, sitting up immediately, and pointing to the side of the bed next to her. “This is where the storyteller sits.”
“Okay.”
I swallow, walking further into the room before perching carefully on the edge of the bed. I’m hyperaware that Tiff is still watching me, and I really don’t want to fuck it all up.
“Which book tonight, baby?” Tiff asks.
“Princess Knight!” Ella points to a well-loved book on her nightstand. “It's my favorite this week.”
I pick up the book, examining the cover which has a young girl in armor riding a dragon. “Looks exciting.”
“It's about a princess who saves herself,” Ella explains seriously. “Because sometimes princes are too busy, and princesses gotta be brave all by themselves.”
Princesses gotta be brave all by themselves.
My gaze flicks to Tiff. Yeah, she’s a fucking princess who saved herself. I’m riding in four years too late to save her, but hopefully, she’ll let me stay by her side.
“Well, let's see how brave this princess is,” I say, opening to the first page as I settle toward the back of the bed and rest my back on the headboard.
As I start to read, it all feels like second nature. I’ve never done voices or entertained kids before, but hearing her giggle every time I do a booming voice for the king makes me want to keep going. I get a new giggle from Ella with every new voice I use, and from the corner of my eye, I see Tiff’s lips curve into a smile.
Yeah, she’s so fucking beautiful it hurts.
“I like your voices, Jamie,” Ella says, snuggling up to my side.
“Well, I'm happy to do them anytime you want,” I tell her, ignoring the way my heart leaps at the thought of this becoming a regular occurrence.
“Every night?” she asks hopefully.
I glance at Tiff, who gives an almost imperceptible shake of her head. Right. Boundaries. Small steps.
“Whenever your mom says it's okay,” I amend carefully.
This seems to satisfy Ella, and I continue reading, acutely aware of how precious this moment is, and how thankful I am that Tiff let me have it.
“The end,” I whisper when I get to the last page of the book.
“Good story,” Ella mumbles, snuggling deeper into her pillow.
I study the illustration of the princess with all her magical friends at the end, happy that my daughter is being raised by such a strong woman herself.
When I close the book, Ella is fully asleep against my side with her hand curled around my shirt. I carefully set it aside, taking my time as I don’t want to disturb her.
Her fingers clutch my shirt a little tighter when she feels me shift, so I settle back in place, watching the gentle rise and fall of her chest.
This. This is what I've been missing all my life without even knowing it. This sense of belonging, of purpose, of love so fierce it terrifies me.
Too afraid to move, I stay there, and the last thing I remember is feeling her steady breathing against my chest, and the sweet scent of her baby shampoo.
Chapter 13
I smile at the baby monitor, watching Jamie hold Ella as they both sleep. She’s curled into his chest, her small fingers still gripping the fabric of his T-shirt while Jamie’s head rests against the headboard, his mouth slightly open. They look… right. As though this has always been their place, and damn, it aches because I never thought seeing them like this would hurt and heal me at the same time.
I’ve been the one to rock her to sleep through her nightmares. The one who figured out how to keep going after my father slammed the door in my face. The one who’s been scared, overwhelmed, and exhausted, struggling through a legal battlewith people who aren’t even related to my daughter—and then suddenly all of that stops.
And now he’s here, and just… fits.