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  “I would have fired you,” Ben said, nodding solemnly.

  “I know you would have,” Charlie said, watching as Devin headed for the door.

  “I really would have,” Ben said as they stepped up to the counter and-

  “All set,” the cashier said with a smile as she placed a large brown bag on the counter in front of Charlie.

  “We haven’t ordered yet,” Charlie said, only to frown when cashier said, “The gentleman in front of you took the liberty of buying you lunch.”

  “He bought us lunch?” Ben asked, sounding just as confused as she was only to chuckle when the cashier said, “No, he only bought lunch for her.”

  “He did?” Charlie asked only to once again find her lips twitching when the cashier turned the bag around and she saw “The desk goes,” written across the back.

  Chapter 5

  “Don’t you love us anymore, Daddy?” Abbi asked, her bottom lip trembling as she glanced up from her plate to look at him.

  “Are you mad at us, Daddy?” Dustin asked with the saddest fucking expression that Devin had ever seen as he pushed a broccoli spear off his plate with his fork.

  Sighing, Devin reached over and scooped more broccoli onto his son’s plate. “It’s good for you,” he promised his son as he glanced over to find Abbi dumping the fish that he’d baked for dinner, into her napkin. When she saw him watching her, she dropped the napkin on the floor, cleared her throat, shifted, cleared her throat again, tried to discreetly kick the napkin filled with fish away from her chair all while trying to appear innocent.

  Narrowing his eyes on her, Devin pushed his chair back and-

  “I don’t know how that got there, Daddy,” Abbi said, making his lips twitch as he picked up the balled-up napkin filled with fish that he’d accidentally left in the oven too long and tossed it in the trash.

  “I bet you don’t,” Devin murmured, scooping more fish onto his daughter’s plate as she narrowed her eyes on him.

  “Why are you doing this to us?” Abbi demanded, folding her arms over her chest as she sat back in her chair.

  “Because I love you and I want you to be healthy,” Devin said, gesturing for her to eat.

  “I see,” she murmured, looking from her untouched plate to his with a pointed look.

  Eyes narrowing on his daughter, he took a bite of fish and forced himself to keep chewing the tasteless dry flakes and swallow before he popped a lukewarm piece of broccoli in his mouth as he kept his gaze locked on his daughter. “Delicious,” Devin said, popping another piece of broccoli in his mouth.

  “Why must you lie to us?” Abbi demanded as she reached over and pushed her plate away.

  “Why must you make everything so difficult?” Devin countered back as he pushed her plate back in front of her.

  “Because it’s my job,” she said, pushing her plate away again and then for good measure, she reached over and pushed her brother’s plate away as well.

  “I thought you said Blackjack’s wouldn’t deliver here,” Dustin said, drawing his attention to find his son watching a kid wearing a Blackjack’s tee-shirt and carrying a large delivery bag walk up their driveway before cutting down the small walkway that would take him to the in-law apartment where the woman that he refused to think about, lived.

  “Another lie?” Abbi said with a sad shake of her head.

  Narrowing his eyes on the little troublemaker, Devin reached over and added another spoonful of broccoli onto her plate.

  “Please don’t make me call Grandma,” Abbi said, which earned her another piece of the fish that he was probably going to end up throwing out after dinner.

  “Daddy, I have to go potty,” Dustin said, worrying his bottom lip as he shifted in his chair.

  “Go, but be quick or your food will get cold,” Devin said, biting back a sigh as he reached over and pulled Dustin’s seat out for him.

  “Thank you, Daddy!” Dustin said as he raced for the door, leaving Devin with his daughter as she narrowed her eyes on him.

  “I’m not eating that,” Abbi informed him.

  “Then I guess I won’t be able to check your room for monsters tonight,” Devin drawled, watching as a look of pure panic took over before she managed to pull it back with a shrug.

  “I guess you won’t.”

  “Good,” he said, nodding as he forced himself to eat more fish.

  “Good,” she said, keeping those beautiful baby blue eyes locked on him.

  “Can I have the salt, Daddy?” Dustin asked as he climbed back onto his chair and reached for the saltshaker.

  “Just a tiny bit,” Devin said, keeping his gaze locked on the stubborn little girl glaring at him, knowing better than to look away first. He’d learned that lesson well during potty training and it wasn’t something that he was going to forget anytime soon.

  “Thank you, Daddy!” Dustin said as he wrapped his small hand around the saltshaker, carefully climbed off his chair, and quickly made his way back out of the kitchen, making Devin frown as he pushed his chair back, wondering what his son was up to and-

  “Ooops!” Abbi said, making him realize his mistake as he glanced back to find his baby girl standing next to the trashcan, dumping the rest of her dinner in the trash.

  When he narrowed his eyes back on her, she dropped her plate in the trash, and-

  “Don’t do it!”

  Grabbed her brother’s plate, dumping it in the trash before he managed to grab her.

  “Oh, you’re in big trouble now,” Devin said, shifting his baby girl in his arms as he went after his son to see what he was up to.

  “Worth it,” Abbi said, making him sigh as he pushed the kitchen door open and found himself drawn to the sounds of SpongeBob SquarePants annoying the shit out of Squidward.

  Really hoping that he was wrong, Devin headed towards the half-open door that led to the in-law apartment and sighed, just fucking sighed when he spotted Dustin sitting next to Charlie on her bed with a plate of pizza on his lap.

  “You’re supposed to knock,” Dustin said as he picked up the large slice of cheese pizza and took a bite.

  “And you’re supposed to be eating dinner,” Devin pointed out with a sigh as he put Abbi down only to groan when she took that as an invitation to climb onto the bed and help herself to a slice of pizza.

  Frowning, Dustin said, “I am eating dinner, Daddy. See?” as he held up his slice of pizza as Devin’s attention shifted to Charlie and stayed there.

  Eyes narrowing on him, she finished her bite of pizza with a look that told him exactly what would happen if he mentioned touching her desk again. She was so fucking adorable, Devin thought, taking in her curly dark hair pulled up into a messy bun, the Team Slytherin tee-shirt that made it very clear that she wasn’t wearing a bra, the plaid cotton shorts that ended mid-thigh and gave him one hell of a view of short, curvy golden legs, tiny feet, and cute little toes with the toenails painted baby pink.

  When he found his gaze running back up her legs, Devin cleared his throat and forced himself to focus on getting his children to move their little butts so that he could start the long process of getting them tucked in for the night that was one day going to lead to a nervous breakdown. With that in mind, he picked Dustin up and-

  Sighed, just fucking sighed when his son shoved the slice of pizza in his hand into his mouth and grabbed another slice before Devin could stop him. He shifted his son under one arm and reached for his baby girl only to have her grab another slice of pizza and a chicken tender out of the box that he’d somehow missed, ducked out of his reach and made a run for it.

  “I love pizza,” Dustin said with a dreamy sigh as he took a bite of his pizza, making Charlie’s lips twitch.

  “I know you do,” Devin said, shifting his son in his arms as he risked one last glance at Charlie to find her smiling as she watched Dustin.

  God, she was beautiful…

  “The desk stays,” Charlie said, not bothering to look at him as she took a bite of her piz
za.

  And so fucking adorable, Devin thought as he reached over and plucked the pizza out of her hand with a mumbled, “We’ll see,” and headed for the door.

  Seven soul-crushing hours later, Devin was ready to call it a night. He tossed the pencil that was barely more than a nub onto his desk and pushed his chair back with a heavy sigh. He needed to finish this design, but he was too fucking exhausted to see straight. He needed to start it on Monday, which gave him two days to finish it. Deciding to call it a night, Devin pushed his chair back and headed for his office door, making sure to lock it behind him so that the twins couldn’t sneak in and color his designs, again.

  Once he made sure the door was locked, Devin headed down the hallway, checking in on the twins along the way to make sure that they were asleep before heading to his room. Ten minutes later, he was standing in his shower, savoring the first real break that he’d taken all day.

  He loved his children, fucking adored them, but some days he thought that he was going to lose his fucking mind. From the moment he woke up until he was too fucking tired to do anything more than pass out, he was either working or spending time with his children. He looked forward to this time when his children were asleep and he could finally relax and get his mind off everything that was waiting for him tomorrow.

  It was also the time when he found himself unable to stop thinking about the small woman that he’d told himself was off limits. Every night for the past five years without fail, Devin thought about her. He thought about how beautiful she was, her smile, the way that she worried her bottom lip when she was focused on something, the way her Bradford Creations’ shirt clung to her curves and found himself wondering what it would be like to touch her.

  God, what he wouldn’t give to be able to touch her, Devin thought, licking his lips only to groan as he reached between his legs and wrapped his hand around his hardening cock. By the time his hand slid over the tip, his cock was hard and his thoughts had turned to all those things that he wanted to do to Charlie.

  He wanted to fuck her.

  He wasn’t even sure when he started to think about her like this, but he knew that she was the only one that he wanted. He’d tried to imagine touching another woman, thought about the last time that he’d been with Heather, but his thoughts always turned to Charlie. He thought about how it would feel to run his hands over her, imagined what it would feel like to cup her breasts in his hands, how it would feel to touch her pussy, if she’d be wet, how she would moan when he fingered her, licked her, and how it would feel when he slid his cock inside her.

  He wondered if she’d moan, lick her lips, or whimper as he slid his cock inside her until his balls touched her ass only to beg him to fuck her harder. He wondered how hard she liked to be fucked, if she’d moan his name in his ear as he fucked her, and if she would like it when he-

  “Charlie!” he found himself groaning as his cock jerked in his hand as the thoughts of losing himself inside Charlie had his balls pulling up tight. A moment later, an orgasm tore another groan from him as he watched his hand work over his cock as he found himself groaning her name one last time.

  “Charlie…”

  Chapter 6

  “I peed the bed,” came the announcement that had Charlie frowning as she looked over her shoulder to find Dustin standing near the doorway, hugging a blanket against his chest and shifting nervously.

  “Are you okay?” Charlie asked as she tossed her notebook on her desk and pushed her chair back.

  Worrying his bottom lip between his teeth, Dustin mumbled, “Daddy won’t wake up.”

  “What do you mean Daddy won’t wake up?” Charlie asked, unable to help but frown as she got to her feet and walked over to make sure that Dustin was okay, noting that his tighty-whities looked wet.

  “He won’t stop snoring,” Dustin said with a shrug, making her lips twitch as she leaned down and playfully ran her fingers through his hair with a, “Well, I guess it’s up to us to clean, huh?”

  “I need a bath,” he said, nodding solemnly.

  Matching his nod, Charlie said, “I think we can handle that.”

  “And a snack,” he quickly added, making her smile as she reached down and took his small hand in hers.

  “What did you have in mind?” she asked as they left her office and headed back to the house.

  “Something yummy,” Dustin said, making her chuckle as they made their way through the surprisingly clean living room that looked nothing like the living room that she’d navigated through the first time she came here. Everything was back in its place, toys in bins, and books were neatly lining the bookshelves.

  “Something yummy, hmmm. What sounds yummy at three in the morning?” she asked as they made their way upstairs.

  “Pancakes,” Dustin said, making her lips twitch.

  “I was thinking of something along the lines of half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with some grapes,” Charlie said as they headed down the hallway.

  “What about the pancakes?” he asked as they came to the first open doorway.

  “I was thinking that we could have those for breakfast,” Charlie said absently as she glanced into the brightly lit bedroom and spotted Devin passed out on the large bed in his boxers with a small stack of papers loosely held in his hand.

  “With bacon?” Dustin asked, sounding hopeful.

  “With bacon,” Charlie said with a firm nod as she gestured for him to stay where he was.

  “Be right back,” she whispered as she quietly walked into Devin’s bedroom to make sure that he was okay.

  She didn’t know Devin well, but she knew that he was an amazing father. Everyone at Bradford Creations knew that he was dedicated to his children. Over the past five years, she’d caught glimpses of his children when he’d brought them upstairs for a snack or when he was playing outside on the playground that he’d built for them and saw the way that his face lit up when he was with them. She’d also knew that he put his children first and had heard the tales that most of the female employees shared with heartfelt sighs.

  God, he looked exhausted, Charlie thought as she took in his handsome face and the whiskers lining his jaw as she reached for the blanket folded over the chair near the window and gently tossed it over him. She pulled the blanket up to his shoulders before picking the stack of papers off the bed and set them on the nightstand next to the framed picture of Dustin and Abbi smiling, noting that they were articles on trying to teach a child how to read. Such a good dad, Charlie thought as she reached over and turned off the lamp before heading back to the hallway and quietly closed the door behind her.

  “Let’s go get you cleaned up,” Charlie said with a warm smile as she took Dustin’s hand in hers and followed him into the bedroom across from Devin’s.

  “My bed is wet,” Dustin said as she reached over and turned on the light, noting that Dustin loved dinosaurs, the stack of children’s books by his bed, and the picture of Devin smiling down at the small baby in his arms on the wall.

  “Why don’t you grab a new pair of underwear and we’ll take this downstairs and get everything clean?” Charlie suggested as she made quick work of stripping the bed, relieved when she saw the bed pad covering the mattress because she wasn’t sure how she was supposed to get pee out of a mattress.

  Once she had his blankets and sheets balled up in her arms, they made their way back downstairs to her apartment. After throwing everything in the washing machine, she started a bath for Dustin and couldn’t help but smile when Dustin stripped out of his undies and quickly climbed into the tub with a satisfied sigh and a mumbled, “Bubbles?”

  “I guess we could do that,” Charlie said, selecting a bottle of bubble bath off the counter and poured some in the tub as Dustin helped himself to a facecloth off the stack that she’d placed by the tub, grabbed her soap, and set to work.

  An hour later, Dustin was wearing a fresh pair of tighty-whities, his snack was cleaned up, the blankets were in the dryer, and she wasn’t a
ll that surprised when he climbed into her bed and curled up on his side. Deciding to call it a night, Charlie took a quick shower, changed into her pajamas, and crawled into bed next to the sweet little boy that had stolen her half of the peanut butter jelly sandwich when he didn’t think that she was looking.

  Just as she was about to close her eyes, Abbi walked into her room and after a slight pause, she climbed into bed next to her brother, curled up and went to sleep with a sigh. They were so damn cute, Charlie thought as she closed her eyes only to smile when Dustin snuggled closer.

  *-*-*-*

  “Damn,” Devin managed to get out on a groan as he rubbed his hands down his face, wondering when the last time that he felt this well-rested was.

  Definitely before the twins were born, Devin thought as he turned the bathroom light off and headed back into his bedroom, absently going over everything that he had to do today. He needed to get the kids up, run to the store, and-

  Couldn’t help but frown when he noticed that it was still dark outside. Trying to make sense out of what he was seeing, Devin glanced at the alarm clock by his bed and felt his stomach drop when he saw what time it was.

  “Oh, shit!” he snapped, trying not to panic when he realized that he’d slept for twenty hours.

  There was no way that he should have been able to sleep all day, not with two six-year-olds in the house. With that frightening thought, Devin grabbed his phone off the nightstand and moved his ass. He headed across the hallway to find his son’s room empty. A quick look into Abbi’s room found her room empty as well and had him racing towards the stairs, praying that his mother stopped by earlier and took the kids even though he knew that she would never just take the kids without telling him.

  “Dustin? Abbi?” he called out as he headed down the stairs, feeling his stomach drop when he didn’t find them.