Her eyes widened. Even in her sleepy state she still found enough energy to get excited about the night ahead. She smiled. “Really? All of us together? Even Kennedy?”
“All of us together. Even Kennedy!” I said.
That woke her up. For the next ten minutes, she helped us set up the living room and turn into a massive sleeping area. The whole thing probably took more energy than it would’ve taken to just walk up the stairs and sleep in the bedroom, but this was way more fun. Once we were all set up, I switched off the light and crawled into the makeshift bed. None of us had bothered to change out of our clothes or even brush our teeth—a fact that Trinity found absolutely wonderful.
“Good night, monkey one and monkey two,” I said to the girls.
Trinity giggled. “Good night, Daddy. Good night, Ken.”
“Good night, Trin. Good night, Reed.”
Despite all the cushioning, the floor wasn’t the most comfortable place to sleep. And yet, despite this, that night ended up being the best night sleep I had ever had.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Kennedy
The following Saturday I got ready for my last catering job with Camille. We’d both agreed that I’d continue working with Reed, but that I’d still freelance for her company. I had a lot of spare time while Trinity was at school, which gave me the chance to do a few hours of work for them every day. We also found a mother to help out with Trinity on the days when I couldn’t get her from school. I was grateful that I didn’t have to give up on either of my jobs, especially because I enjoyed them both so much.
Today’s job was another wedding, which was being held where I worked with Camille. I actually knew the couple. The girl was someone that Camille and I used to be friends with many years ago. They had asked me to stay and enjoy the wedding with them, and I had invited both Reed and Trinity to go with me. Trinity was excited to finally enjoy a wedding at the ‘office castle’ as she called it.
I had just gotten dressed when I heard a knock on the door, and I ran down to answer it. I opened the door to Trinity and Reed and let them in. Trinity and I had coordinated our outfits again, although she was certainly the more glamorous out of the two of us. I had a lot of running around to do with the food when we arrived, so I had chosen to wear jeans with a cute top instead of a dress. Our outfits matched in color, but not in style.
“You look beautiful,” said as Trinity showed off her dress.
“Thank you; so do you,” she said.
I smiled. “And you look incredibly handsome. Hey, your tie matches my top and the dress!” I said as I noticed Reed’s baby blue tie.
“I felt like joining in.”
“I love it!”
“Okay, so the reason I have asked you all to come here first was not just so that we could all go together, but because I finally have someone I want to introduce you to.”
“MERLOT!” Trinity cried out in excitement.
I laughed. “That’s right. And he’s all ready for you to meet him. He’s been waiting all day for you.”
We walked over to the bedroom where I had last seen the cat and found him curled up on the edge of the bed fast asleep. Trinity walked up to him and sat beside him.
“Can I pet him?”
“You sure can. He loves nothing more than getting attention.”
Trinity stroked him softly, and he purred. She giggled.
“He’s making a funny noise,” she said.
“That’s because he’s happy. You see, I told you that he would like you.”
She grinned. “Can I visit him more often? I like him.”
“Oh, I’m sure he’ll like that a lot. And maybe next time he’ll actually be awake. This little bugger is very lazy.”
After a bit more time with Merlot, who didn’t wake up once despite my prodding, we headed off to the wedding. There wasn’t much to be done in terms of décor, mostly because the place itself was so beautiful, and yet it still somehow didn’t look like an office anymore. With just a few decorations the place was transformed into a fairytale wedding that every girl dreamed of. Trinity was beside herself with excitement.
“This is so beautiful,” she sighed as she looked around her. “There’s Camille!” she said and pointed to the distance. “Oh yuck,” she said as she saw Camille lean over and kiss her boyfriend.
I giggled, and we all went to say hello. Camille looked absolutely radiant in a deep red dress, and her boyfriend Mark was wearing a suit for the first time since I had met him. He kept glancing at Camille in a loving way, and I wondered when he was going to finally propose. It was clear that the two of them were in love. I used to wish that I would one day find a man that would look at me in the same way that Mark looked at Camille. And finally, I thought as I looked at Reed, it had happened.
“Look at the three of you. You’re the blue team tonight. You all look wonderful. Especially you, Trinity. I just love your dress. You sure have a good eye when it comes to fashion. I wish I could say the same thing about myself. It took me a long time to become this way, but it seems to come naturally to you. Can you hurry up and get older now so you can join our team?”
Trinity laughed. “I’m going to be seven soon.”
“Ah, you’re getting there then,” Camille said and smiled at her.
“Well, I need to go and check on the food,” I said. “I’ll be back a bit later. I hopefully won’t be gone too long, but I just have a few final touches to put on everything.”
“Need help?” Camille asked.
“No, I’m fine. There’s really not much to do. I don’t like leaving things until the last minute, so I did almost everything this morning. I’ll see you all in a short while,” I said and quickly made my way to the kitchen.
I’d dropped most of the food off that morning, and I just needed to finish plating the first of the starters. I had some assistants arriving in about an hour that would help for the rest of the day, but I wanted to do most of it myself to make sure that everything went according to plan.
Instead of three main courses, I had created lots of little snacks to be served throughout the evening so that the guests constantly had something in front of them. It had ended up being a lot more work, but the bride and groom were complete foodies, and I knew they would appreciate the effort. I looked around and smiled at the food in front of me. It looked good, and the first few plates were almost finished and ready to be served. They would only go out when the assistants arrived in an hour, and I was pleased that there was actually so little for me left to do. I was about to make a final round of the food and head out when Reed walked through the door.
“Hey, you. Checking up on me?” I asked.
He looked around. “Whoa. Did you do all this yourself? This is a lot of work.”
I smiled. “Yeah, do you think they’ll like it? I’m always so confident up until the time when I actually have to present people with the food. Then I start getting nervous and seeing all the faults.”
“They’ll love it. This is incredible, and there are no faults at all. You’re amazing. Has anyone ever told you that?”
Reed was smiling at me in a mischievous way, and I felt myself getting excited just from the way he was looking at me. How was it even possible that he could do that to me?
“No, nobody has ever told me that,” I said and smiled back at him.
He grinned. “Well consider yourself told,” he said.
“Where’s Trin?”
“She’s with Camille. The two of them are having long talks about life as a wedding planner. She’s in her element.”
I grinned. “She’s adorable.”
“So are you,” Reed said. “So, how much longer are you going to be?”
I looked around at the food. “To be honest, I think I’m done. I wanted to have one last check, but other than that, I think I’m finished.”
“And is anyone expected to come into this room anytime soon?” he asked.
“In here?” I said with confusion. “N
o, why?”
He laughed. “I think you know why.”
I blushed. “Here?” I asked.
“You’re just so beautiful tonight,” he said. “I can’t resist. Come on; we can be quick if we want to be.”
I giggled. Was this really happening? I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. I quickly closed the door and locked it. I was all for living life on the edge, but not that close to it. Reed walked up to me and pulled me in toward him and immediately started kissing me.
“Dammit, why aren’t you wearing a dress?” he whispered hotly into my ear.
I chuckled and quickly pulled down my jeans. I didn’t even bother stepping out of them. I just stood there kissing him, my jeans on the floor, as he stuck his fingers inside me. I bit into his neck, groaning with pleasure as he touched me. This was not the quiet man that I had first met at the grocery sure. The man that didn’t even know how to make dinner for his daughter. This man was confident and sure of himself. He was sure of me and of us as a couple, and it was the sexiest thing in the world to be a part of his transformation.
“Ah, you’re so hot,” he said to me, and I cried out with pleasure.
“Reed, I need you in me, now,” I said. His fingers were still circling inside me, and I was already close to coming. I pulled down his jeans and pulled him against me. We were half against the door, half against the counter, and thankfully far away from the food. He lifted me up so that my jeans fell to the floor and placed me against the counter top. He held onto me and then moved against me. I moaned as I savored the sensation of him being inside me.
“More,” I said, and he pushed against me harder. Something next to me was digging into my thigh, but I didn’t care. I didn’t even stop to push it away. The only thing I could think about was the fact that he was inside me. He pushed and panted, and I felt him come inside me. The feeling of it got me so excited that I came too.
He pulled away and kissed me on the nose.
“So, food all ready?” he asked me casually.
I chuckled. “Almost. Ah, I love weddings. Oh, you must be Peter,” I said.
He laughed. “And you must be the gorgeous Petunia. You’re a naughty one.”
“Me? Never.”
We chuckled like children, and I made him help me check all the food before we finally made our way outside. As we walked out, two people walked past us and gave us a funny look, and I immediately started giggling.
“Oh no, do you think they heard us?” I said.
“Possibly. But it wasn’t us, remember?” he said.
“Of course. Dear old Peter and Petunia. We can’t take those two anywhere.”
We found our seats at a table with Camille and her boyfriend. Trinity was sitting talking to someone her own age that I had never seen before and didn’t even seem to notice us arrive. Camille gave me a strange look.
“What happened to your hair?” she said.
My hands flew to my head and I quickly straightened it down with my hands. “Uh, nothing.”
“Hmm, you two were gone a while. What were you up to?” she asked.
“Nothing much. Just making sure the food was okay. Reed was a great helper,” I said.
“I’m sure he was,” she said, and I felt my face turn red.
“I couldn’t help myself,” I said.
“Gross,” Camille replied and laughed.
“What’s gross?” Trinity asked suddenly. Of all times to suddenly start listening to our conversation, now was definitely not the time.
“Nothing,” I said. I turned to Reed and kissed him.
“That’s gross,” she said.
I laughed. “Hey, if you want to get into the wedding business, you better get used to seeing people kiss,” I said.
She made a face, but I could tell that she was happy to see me kiss her father. I held his hand. I was happy too.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Reed
The next day I went to Trinity’s room before she had woken up. I walked in and sat on the bed, and she immediately opened her eyes.
“Daddy, what’s wrong?” she asked in a panic.
I stroked her hair. “Nothing is wrong. I just wanted to say good morning.”
She gave me a strange look. “Is that all?”
“Actually, I have a surprise for you.”
She sat up. “You do? What is it?”
I chuckled. “Come with me.”
She climbed out of bed and took my hand, and together we walked into my bedroom.
“There’s someone here that wants to see you,” I said.
Trinity gasped when she saw Kennedy lying in bed, and jumped onto the bed to join her.
“You slept over!” she said. Other than the night that we had all slept in the living room, Kennedy had continued going home at the end of the day. We didn’t want to jump back into anything too quickly, especially after what had happened. But it was starting to feel futile. It was impossible for the two of us not to be together.
Kennedy chuckled. “I sure did; want to join me in bed?”
Trinity climbed under the covers and crawled in beside Kennedy, and I smiled as the two of them embraced.
“Are you joining us, Daddy?”
“No, I think I’m going to make you girls breakfast today. What do you think?”
“Yes! Breakfast in bed; that’s so cool!”
I laughed. “Don’t go getting used to this now.”
I walked out the room to the sound of them giggling together, and I made my way down the stairs to get breakfast started. I decided to make scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon, with the toast cut into a heart shape. My first attempts didn’t go too well, with the hearts not looking the right shape at all, but I eventually got it right. With that, I made coffee for myself and Kennedy and a cup of tea for Trinity. It took me two trips, but I eventually got everything to the room.
“Okay, who is ready for breakfast?” I said.
“Me!”
“Me!”
I handed them each a tray and watched as Trinity’s face took in the heart shaped toast.
“It’s a heart!” she exclaimed.
I laughed. “Phew, I’m glad you can tell what it is. My shape making skills aren’t the best.”
“This is great, Reed,” Kennedy said.
We spent the next hour in bed together. I put the trays to the side once we had all finished and we all snuggled up in bed together to talk.
“Maybe I can stay at home tomorrow instead of going to school?” Trinity suggested sweetly.
“No skipping school,” I said to her. “But why do you want to stay at home?”
“To be with Kennedy,” she said honestly.
“Angel, you don’t have to worry about that. Kennedy isn’t going anywhere.”
Trinity looked up at Kennedy. “You’re not?”
“I’m not. I promise. Now, what do you want to do today?”
“Visit Merlot,” she said.
Kennedy chuckled. “That’s a wonderful idea. Merlot is going to be so happy to see you again.”
“Can I bring him a present?”
“You sure can. How about we go and buy him some of his favorite food before going back to my place?”
While Trinity and Kennedy went back to her place to spend some time with the cat, I stayed at home. I had quite a bit of admin to catch up on, and the hours alone gave me time to get it done. I was used to juggling family and work life, but I used to feel so guilty every time I would do either one of them. Either I’d feel bad that I was neglecting my work, or I’d feel bad that I wasn’t with Trinity. Now, I could do my work without the guilt. I knew that right now Trinity was in her element spending girl time with Kennedy. The two of them probably didn’t even miss me at all.
I called Kennedy to tell her that I had to go into the office and that I’d see her a bit later that evening. She didn’t seem to mind at all. But I wasn’t telling the truth entirely. I decided that it was about time I finally made dinner for the family. I h
ad a vague idea of how to make the spaghetti and meatballs that she had shown me, so I went to the grocery store to get all the ingredients.
It was the same grocery store where I had first met Kennedy and the thought filled me with an overwhelming sense of joy. I couldn’t believe just how much things had changed since that day. We’d lost Linda, and Angela had come and gone from our lives. And let’s not forget about the fact that I had fallen in love with the most amazing woman in the world. Once I was finished with the shopping, I popped into another shop to buy Kennedy a present, and then made my way home.
Surprisingly, I was home before them. I unloaded all the items out of the bag and placed them on the counter. I took a bottle out of the wine rack and poured a glass for myself and Kennedy, and a small glass of juice for Trinity. Then I started cooking the food.
Kennedy and Trinity came home moments later, both of them giving me a very funny look as they walked in and saw me in the kitchen.
“Hey, handsome,” Kennedy said. “What’s cooking, good looking?”
Trinity laughed at that. “Are you cooking?”
“I certainly am. I thought I’d give you girls the night off. And anyway, I owe you spaghetti and meatballs, remember?”
Kennedy grinned. “You sure do. Wow, breakfast in the morning and now dinner. I could get used to this. So, you got all the ingredients?” she asked.
“I did. And don’t worry about me; I know what I’m doing. The two of you can just relax. Oh, I poured you some wine. Trin, here’s your juice.”
The two of them sat in the living room while I cooked, and Trinity told me all about her day with Merlot.
“He’s the best cat ever,” she said. “He let me play with him, and I gave him some of his food, and he loved me after that. Then we watched a movie together, and he curled up on my lap. He didn’t want to move even when the movie was finished. Daddy, can we also get a cat?”
I chuckled. I knew this was coming. “I’ll think about it.”
“For now you can just be Merlot’s second mommy if you like,” Kennedy suggested.
“Really?”
Dirty Daddy_The Maxwell Family Page 23