The sunlight streaming through the curtains causes my eyelids to flutter open. I roll over in bed, sitting up when I realize that Luke is no longer beside me. Confused, I turn my phone on to check the time.
9:30.
Holy shit. I haven't slept this late since I had Violet; she usually gets me up at six o'clock, if not earlier.
I get out of bed and pull one of Luke's spare sweatshirts over my head before heading downstairs.
I walk into the kitchen to find Violet sitting in her highchair with Luke in the process of opening a jar of baby food.
"Good morning, my love," he says, putting the jar down and walking over to me.
"Morning," I reply as he kisses my cheek tenderly. "Thanks for getting up with her."
"Of course."
I grin, planting a swift kiss on his lips before he walks back over to the counter to finish preparing Violet's breakfast.
I sit down in the chair in front of her and caress her tiny hand with mine. "Hello baby," I say, watching a large smile spread across her chubby face. Her almost-black wispy hair is like mine, but her light blue eyes are reminiscent of Luke's. She will surely be quite beautiful when she gets older.
"Do you need help?" I yell in the direction of the kitchen after hearing a rather loud crash.
"I got it," Luke replies as he walks back into the dining room, causing me to burst out laughing.
"What?"
"Babe," I inform him, "you don't put the baby food in a bottle."
He stares down at the bottle in his hand that's filled with banana-peach sludge.
"Oh. How was I supposed to know that?"
I continue to laugh, "There's this thing called common sense."
He scowls playfully, "It's not nice to tease a poor man."
I reach for the bottle, "Here, hand that to me and I'll fix it."
He sighs, giving it to me, "Hey, at least I tried."
After pouring the food into a little bowl, I get a spoon and start to carry the meal back into the dining room. But what I see makes me stop in the doorway.
Luke is sitting in my chair in front of Violet, his large hands wrapped around her small ones. He fills his cheeks with air and crosses his eyes, making her giggle wildly. He returns the laugh as she touches his mouth, her tiny fingers playing with the ring in his lip. He takes her hand between his lips and bites down gently, which only makes her laugh harder. "Daddy!" she shrieks, causing a huge smile to spread across his beautiful face. "That's right, Princess," his whispers.
He looks up at me, grinning widely. I walk over, setting the bowl down and picking Violet up out of the chair. Luke's hands find my hips and he pulls me onto his lap, his muscular arms wrapping around my waist. I press Violet close to my chest as Luke holds me to his.
I felt a sense of security that I hadn't felt in a long time. But now, it seems that Luke is back in my life, in our lives. Violet deserves a good father, and she sure as hell has one. He is exactly what I need, and I doubt that factor will change.
I feel him bury his face in my hair and press his lips to my neck, tightening his grip on me, "I don't deserve you."
I smile, "C'mon now, we both know that's not true."
"I love you," he murmurs.
"And I love you, Luke Hemmings."
