I'll Be there for You

Chapter 9

I watched as Indy clung to her father, her face lit up with happiness. He spun her around, making her laugh and squeal as she held tightly to him. I smiled every time I caught Ethan looking at me. Mat walked next to me, holding my hand tightly. 

"Aunt Nia, who is that man?" he asked me silently, afraid that if Ethan heard he would get mad. I looked down at him and smiled sweetly.

"That's your uncle Ethan. He is Indy's daddy." I said. He made an 'o' shape with his lips and quickly ran to the pair in front of us.

"I want to play too Uncle Ethan!" he said smiling widely at him. Ethan looked down at Mat and picked him up, running in circles and making both children laugh. After a while, Ethan got tired and put both kids down. 

He turned to look at me and smiled, his chest rising up and down quickly. "How do you do it?" he asked me breathless. I smiled and shrugged.

"I'm super mom." I said. He laughed and put his hand on my lower back. I watched as Indy and Mat ran off to the toy section and sighed. "Indy, Mat don't go off running like that." I said sternly, making my way to them quickly.

I could feel Ethan's gaze on me and I tried my hardest not to melt. I found Mat looking at some race cars and Indy at some barbies. "Momma, can you get me one?" she asked, picking up the doctor barbie. I mentally made calculations in my head and nodded.

"Only that though, because we don't have a lot of money." I said. She nodded and quickly made her way to the cart that Ethan was pushing. "You can also get something Mat." I said softly. He smiled up at me and looked around for a while, picking a transformers toy.

He walked to the car and alo placed it in. "Momma, can we go get the things now? I want my party to be princess." Indy said excitedly. 

"Let's go then." I said, placing Mat on the cart, followed by Indy. "Then we'll go pick up the cake and you guys get a little treat." I said smiling at both of them, maneuvering through the crowd of people. I made my way to the party section and we looked at all the Princess theme ones and ended with Princess and the Frog.

We then went to the register to pay. I stood quietly as I watched Ethan unload everything. I watched as the girl flirted endlessly with Ethan and he just shrugged it off politely. She passed everything through the scanner and then smiled up at him. "That'll be $48. 67." she said, batting her lashed.

"Credit." I said, handing her my my card. She looked at me confused and then blushed as she realized she had flirted with a married man. She passed the card and I showed her my I.D. We bagged the items and then headed to the car.

"Momma, I'm so happy I get a party. I remember how fun it was at Mat's party." she said, sitting on her seat. Ethan was in the driver's seat, smiling like crazy. I looked over at him and placed my hand on his arm.

"What?" I asked hom after the 100th time I caught him glancing my way.

"I'm just so happy to see you again." he said softly. I looked away from him, blushing a little.

"Turn left on the next street. The bakery should be visible soon." I said after a minute of silence. He nodded and did as I asked. We stopped at the bakery and I got the kids off.

Once inside, we were hit with the smell of freshly baked bread. "Hey boss." Gerard greeted me. I smiled at him, waving my hand. "What can I do for ya?" he asked me, a little more happy than usual.

"Someone got laid last night!" yelled one of the other girls working the shift. Gerard tunred a right red, clearing his throat and looking away.

I laughed and went behind the counter. "It's okay Gerard, everyone needs it once in a while." I said shoving him away from the register. He smiled and ruffled my hair.

"Yeah, when was the last time you got laid?" he asked me. I looked at him serious.

"None of your damn business is it?" I asked him. He shook his head, smirking. No get back to work before I fire you for being lazy." I said.

"Yes ma'am." he said, quickly making his way to the oven.

 I smiled and counted the money quickly. "My order done yet?" I asked them.

"Yep, just got out boss. Want me to put it in a box?" Gerard asked, poking his head back into the room. I gave him a duh look and he quickly ducked his head.

"You own this place?" Ethan asked.

"Mm-hm." I said, smiling up at him. He looked at me adoringly and leaned against the counter. He pushed a strand of my hair behind my ear, gently caressing my cheek with his finger tops and lingering on my lips.

"Have I told you I love you?" he asked me. I shook my head and he sighed. "Nia, I love you with all my heart and I need you to know that." he said softly. He pushed himself away from the counter and turned his attention to the kids. 

I reluctently tore my eyes away from them and picked out tthree pieces of  fudge brownies and made my way to their table. "Thank you babe." Ethan said, staring into my eyes.

I looked away, heading back behind the counter. "Anymore orders for today?" I asked the secretary.

"No ma'am." she said, looking through the agenda.

"Everyone take the rest of the day off." I said loudly. Everyone cheered and started cleaning up. I watched as one by one walked out the door, thanking me for letting them go home early. The very last ones were Gerard and one of the girls. 

He placed the box in front of me and then smiled. "Nia, who's the hunk?' he asked, nodding discretely toward Ethan. 

"That is my husband." I said soflty. He turned to look back at him and shrugged.

"No wonder you are imune to my good looks. You got someone just as good looking as me." he winked. I laughed and walked them out the door.

"Go have fun Gerard. And don't be getting into any trouble. I don't like getting a call at three in the morning to bail you out of jail." I said jokingly. He crossed his heart and smiled widely.

"I'll try not to boss." he said. I watched as the walked to his car, getting in together and driving away.

I turned back to my family and smiled. "I'll go lock up. You guys head back to the car." I said, getting the box. I handed it to Ethan and went to the back. I locked the back door and turned of the lights. I headed to the front door and locked it oo before heading back to my car.

I reached the car and saw everyone sitting down already. "Let's go home." I said softly, noticing how Ethan smiled at the word.