"You have a fucking death wish," I muttered, voice thick with sleep.
Nathan laughed from the floor, pausing in pulling himself up into another crunch. His bare feet planted on the hardwood, abs flexing under a faded DUKE shirt.
I sat up and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. "You know it's the weekend, right?"
"Yeah, but I only got one shot to impress the Duke scouts." Nathan explained, sitting up.
"Mama! Hungry!"
I turned finding Leila standing in the doorway, her curls wild and her pajamas wrinkled from sleep. Nathan reached for her, swooping her up and tickling her ribs until her laughter filled the room.
"Daddy, stop!"
"Never," he teased.
I couldn't help smiling, even as I climbed out of bed, the cool floor waking me up. I walked over, pulling her into my arms. "Let's go make breakfast before the tickle monster attacks again."
She giggled, clinging to my neck as I carried her out of the room.
The hallway smelled faintly of an ocean breeze from the slightly open window. But I didn't mind loving the privacy of our own little place at the end of the beach away from everything and everyone.
Passing by the guest room, I paused at the door when I heard a faint snore. I peered through the crack door, and a smile graced my lips.
Brooke was curled into Koa's chest, his arm wrapped around her waist, her leg tangled with his. His usually sharp jaw was slack, his face softer than I'd ever seen.
Finally.
I turned and kept walking down the stairs.
In the kitchen, I set Leila in her high chair. The marble counters were cold against my fingertips as I pulled out bananas and started on her unsweetened oatmeal. I set her bowl in front of her, and she pouted as I grabbed her finger. The soft click of the glucose monitor echoed faintly through the house.
