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Chapter Twenty Seven – Addy

I stared at the bracelet, a smile lighting up my face. I had meant what I said; it was beautiful. I held it up against my thin wrist. I looked at Kevin and paused.

Our eyes met; I noted a hint of desire in his green eyes. In the back of my mind I thought that it should have made me nervous; but it didn’t.

“This is really too much,” I said, holding the bracelet out to him. He shook his head and took a step back.

“Honestly, it’s not,” he said. He smiled.

“But, I didn’t get anything for you,” I sputtered. The winter sunlight caught the charms; the effect was dazzling.

“That’s good,” Kevin said with a laugh. “I don’t want anything.”

He walked over and took the bracelet from me.

“Hold out your wrist.”

I did as he instructed. He affixed the clasp. The charms fell against my skin softly.

“Lovely,” he declared.

Our eyes met again. I felt my mouth grow dry…and a little hand pulling on my jeans. I looked down.

“Wobin Hood just pooped!” Mason declared; his eyes dancing with excitement.

Kevin and I laughed.

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“So,” Kevin said over the rim of a steaming cup of hot chocolate. “What are you doing for New Years?”

I paused mid-sip. The liquid hit the tip of my tongue and scalded it.

“Probably watching Rockin’ New Years Eve on TV here. Why?”

Kevin glanced at Mason out of the corner of his eye. Dad had pulled out my huge dollhouse and Mason was enraptured with all the people and furniture. Luckily, Kevin wasn’t one of those parents that cringed to see their son playing house.

“Well, I’m flying Mason back out to L.A. for New Year’s.” He looked down at his mug. “I was wondering if you’d like to join me.”

I felt my eyes widen. I clutched my mug a little tighter.

“With you?” I said, my voice higher than normal.

“Yeah. There’s this New Year’s Eve party I’m going to and…”

I shook my head. “Kevin, thank you for asking, but…I just can’t.”

He nodded; somehow I suspected that he knew the answer.

“It’s okay. I just thought I'd try.”

We smiled at the same time.

“Can I at least tell you a secret?” he said a couple moments later.

“Of course.”

He glanced back at Mason before meeting my gaze.

“I’ve decided to rejoin the Backstreet Boys. We’re signing to a new label. They’re making the announcement New Year’s Eve.”

I looked at him; I knew that a normal girl would have realized at that moment that they were sharing hot chocolate with a celebrity. I just couldn’t think of him that way.

“Well, congratulations,” I said. “You’ll be busy.”

“Not until fall,” he said lightly. “We won’t be recording until September. I’ll have Mason the whole summer.”

“So you guys have finished your custody schedule?”

Kevin nodded. “Until Mason starts school I’m going to have him the whole month of December and May through August. Once he starts school, I’ll have him August through May but Kristin will get him for Spring Break and June and July. We’re going to alternate Christmas and New Years every year.”

It wasn’t a perfect arrangement; but it sounded like he had gotten a better deal. He seemed to read my mind; he gave me a lopsided smile.

“I had to give up almost everything else, but I would have cut off my arm for an extra month or two out of the year.”

I nodded and took another sip of my drink. Mason was happily lining up the people in the house.

“How’s it going Mason?” Kevin asked. Mason turned around with a smile.

“There’s you, daddy,” Mason said pointing. “You playing piano. And there’s the howses in the back yard poopin’.”

Kevin laughed. “Where are you buddy?”

He pointed to the kitchen. “Baby Mason in the kitchen making cookies with Addy.”

I felt Kevin’s eyes on me; a weird warmth started in my cheeks and traveled to my toes.

The dollhouse had been my obsession for years before my mom left. There was always the mommy, the daddy, and me, the baby.

And the horses in the backyard pooping.

For Mason to include me in his little family made me feel…well, I wasn’t sure how I felt.

All I knew was that secretly I would make cookies with him in the kitchen anytime he wanted.