Kara turned her head and smirked at Maddie as they walked slowly through the mall. The guys were at the penthouse watching the kids so the girls could do some Christmas shopping. Maddie did look tired, but she glowed, even without makeup, and she certainly didn’t stink. Her curly red hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she was dressed in a pair of jeans, and a colorful Christmas sweater. She looked…happy. “Sam doesn’t see anything except you, no matter what your weight might be or how you look. Simon finally…um…convinced me of that a while ago. I think I had a very long case of the baby blues, and we weren’t communicating well,” Kara informed Maddie as they both stopped in front of Starbucks. She thought back for a moment, wishing she’d approached Simon with her feelings earlier. Her husband was insatiable now that he understood how she’d felt, and she loved it.
“Shall we?” Maddie asked, nodding her head toward the coffee shop.
“Absolutely,” Kara replied. “I’m addicted to their cookie crumble coffees. I could use a fix. I’ll try not to think about the calories.”
Maddie snorted as she walked ahead of her. “Like you need to worry?”
“I did worry,” Kara admitted, ordering her coffee at the counter before replying. “I’ve gained weight, Maddie, and I felt like a hag. I finally told Simon how I felt and he showed me rather convincingly that it didn’t matter.” She handed the cashier a twenty after Maddie ordered her coffee, dumping the change into the tip cup.
“Sam’s the same damn way, and I know I need to lose weight. But then he kisses me like I’m the only woman in the world for him, and I forget all about it,” Maddie answered, sounding exasperated.
They picked up their coffees and found a seat in a small booth.
“Can you believe how different our lives are now from how they were a few years ago?” Kara said with a sigh after taking a long swig of her icy drink. “Sometimes I swear that I’m dreaming, and I’m afraid I’m going to wake up to find I’m still alone and homeless.”
“And then?” Maddie asked in an amused voice, proceeding to answer the question herself. “And then Simon gets demanding, bossy, and stubborn, so you know it’s not a dream. Let’s face it, if we were going to make our men dreamy and perfect, we’d never get annoyed at them.” Maddie stirred her coffee around with a straw, mixing the whipped cream into her drink.
Kara chortled. “Okay. But Simon’s almost perfect.”
Maddie sighed. “So is Sam. He’s so good with the kids. I don’t know how I would have coped in those early days with the twins if not for him. Kade, Asha, Max and Mia were a big help, too.”
Asha, Maddie’s half-sister, had married into the wealthy Harrison family, and their brother, Max, was a billionaire in his own right.
“How’s Asha doing with her new little one?” Kara asked, remembering she’d recently given birth to an adorable baby boy.
Maddie’s face softened. “She’s good. Kade is an incredible father.” She paused for moment before she asked, “How’s Simon coping with Timmy? God, I’m so relieved that you two fostered him. Sam and I considered it, and we probably would have done it had you two not decided to take him. After all he’s been through, he needs a little bit of happiness,” she said wistfully.
Kara shook her head. “We’re in a better position to do it. The twins are a handful, and Ginny is getting easier as she gets older. Timmy adores her, and she babbles to him constantly. Simon’s great with Timmy, but I think he’s getting really attached. If they find him a family, I’m afraid Simon’s heart will be broken.” And so will mine. They’d only had Timmy with them for a week, but he was quickly becoming part of their family.
“So, look into adopting him.”
Oh, how Kara wanted to do that. “I think it’s too soon. They’re still searching to make sure that Timmy doesn’t have any blood family who wants him.”
“I never had any record of anybody except his mother, and she’s dead,” Maddie said flatly. “I doubt anyone will pop up and want a diabetic child that they’ve never given a damn about before.” In a milder voice, she asked, “Is he stable?”
Kara swallowed a sip of her drink, nodding her head. “He’s doing great. He even tests his own sugar with supervision. He’s amazing. Simon’s trying to help him catch up on his studies. He was behind in school because his mother stopped sending him after he was diagnosed. Timmy said she didn’t want to be bothered if he got sick at school,” she replied, annoyed with the dead woman who had expired from a lethal level of alcohol. Kara still didn’t know if she’d died before Timmy went into a coma, but she was glad the boy couldn’t really remember much.
Maddie shot Kara a knowing look. “It sounds like Simon isn’t the only one getting attached.”
“He’s not. Timmy’s hard not to love,” Kara admitted. “He’s so starved for attention and affection that he’s grateful for every bit of it that he can get. He’s happy, and we love having him with us.”
Both women finished their drinks at the same time.
“I guess we should get shopping,” Maddie said, rising to her feet.
“The only things I really have to buy are for Simon,” Kara answered, standing up, feeling tall—like she always did—next to the petite redhead beside her. “He was good for a week because he promised he would be, but then all promises were done. He’s been buying gifts for Timmy and Ginny like a maniac.”
“Same here,” Maddie admitted as she walked out of the Starbucks next to Kara. “It’s crazy. The twins won’t even remember this Christmas, but they have an enormous pile of presents underneath the tree.”
“You know this all stems from their childhood, Maddie,” Kara said thoughtfully. “They had nothing, so now that they can afford it, they want to give everything to the people they love.”
“I know,” Maddie answered softly. “It breaks my heart to think of the Christmases they had as boys.”
Kara stopped abruptly, grabbing Maddie’s arm so she didn’t lose her in the congested mass of holiday shoppers. “Do you have credit cards?”
“Sure. Lots of them. I’m married to Sam Hudson, remember. They have limits so high it’s terrifying. Did you forget yours?” Maddie asked, perplexed.