“Wake up!” Gina said.
“What time is it?” I asked.
“It’s seven,” Noah said, adjusting himself under the covers. Noah and I had settled into a more intimate routine. Part of that involved him wearing nothing to bed.
I pulled Gina down to me and tickled her. Her squeals of laughter filled the room.
“You said the waves were big in the morning,” Gina said after I was finished with her.
I tucked her against me. “The waves aren’t big at all around here. So we can go at any point today.”
“How about now?” she asked.
Noah kissed my shoulder. “We are up now.”
I groaned and dug my face into my pillow. My new bed was so comfortable. It was hard to get up on a regular day. But I did promise them. And if Gina was up, there was no way Noah or I would be able to get back to sleep. I hoped Noah would entertain an afternoon nap while Gina slept.
I sat up in bed, feeling the twinges and aches in my muscles. I hadn’t lifted anything particularly heavy yesterday, but I was still so sore from being on my feet all day and moving things around the house. Today was going to add to that.
“What’s for breakfast?” Gina asked.
I had no energy to do anything, let alone cook. “How about cereal?”
Noah rolled over and grabbed Gina from my side of the bed. She kicked her legs up. “Gina and I are going to make pancakes. Come down when you’re ready.”
“I’ll be right there,” I said.
“Take your time,” Noah called from the hallway. “Gina is cooking today.”
I expected a huge mess by the time I got down there, but I saw no reason to rush.
Noah really did take to being retired. And he wasn’t one to sit around and watch television. I suspected his willingness to help with chores around the house and sharing responsibility with Gina was him making up for lost time. In the brief period we were officially together, he had transformed into a better version of himself. And Gina was one lucky girl to have two people—three including Mom—to love her as much as we did.
It was something I always regretted not having. When I was younger, Mom never tried to be the maternal figure I needed. But with that experience, I was better equipped to be able to give someone—Gina—what she needed. I was never going to replace Wendy, but I could strive to be the best role model I could for the growing girl.
I rolled out of bed and walked over to the windows, peering across the ocean.
Living at Mom’s, we didn’t have this unobstructed view of the sea, so it was still a novelty for me since moving in with Noah.
Today was going to be a good day.
When I went down into the kitchen, I’d been right about the mess. There was flour and egg all over the counter surface. Gina wore the apron we’d made together, but the colored hand prints on the front were nearly covered with white. Gina and Noah were by the stove, and she grinned from ear to ear. Her face was paler than normal, caked with spots of flour across it.
Noah held the spatula and helped Gina flip one of the pancakes.
There was a stack several pancakes next to them. One of the requests from Noah when we ordered new appliances was a griddle. Gina loved breakfast foods, and it was only natural for us to purchase the tool for the house. It was much bigger than I pictured from the website. It took up most of the counter, but it looked like Noah was able to make six pancakes at a time on it. Which sped up the time from making the batter to eating.
“I’ll set the table,” I said.
“We’re almost done,” Noah said. “Coffee is over there.”
I stacked three brand new plates with forks and knives on top and headed over to the breakfast nook. As I set the table, a warmth spread through my body.
Gina’s laughter from the kitchen and Noah’s encouraging voice painted a picture of a family that I always wanted to be a part of. Now that I was in it, I never wanted to let it go. When I was done, I stood there for a minute and closed my eyes, holding onto that moment. Noah and I had no intentions of taking this relationship further for the time being. We had found our niche, and I wasn’t going to rush anything. We saw how that turned out last time. I didn’t regret taking him to Australia the first time, but pushing him right after about Gina wasn’t one of my best moments.
Though, if I hadn’t, would we still be hiding our relationship from her in Minnesota? I wasn’t sure.
Noah and Gina came into the room. Noah carried the pancakes while Gina balanced the syrup and butter in her hands.