73

Chris
I Wasn’t sure what I expected after I bridged the gap with my family. Would we have regular Sunday dinners? Only see each other on holidays? The latter wasn’t something that I wanted, especially when it came to Chris and his children. Or Babushka.
Bryan, on the other hand…
I still had misgivings about the whole situation. I couldn’t change my entire way of thinking overnight. It would take time.
It had been two weeks since Maxim’s birthday dinner. I’d spoken withBabushkaand Bryan several times, and had plans to have dinner soon. Harry had already come over several times with Maxim and Sofia. Raven had loved showing Sofia her collection of purses and backpacks, not to mention Grogu figures.
Which she had slowly been bringing over, one by one.
“Stop thinking so hard,” Raven murmured as she snuggled further into my side. “You’re so tense and it makes your muscles all hard. Which isn’t a bad thing, but it does make you super uncomfy to lean on.”
My lips twitched, and I fought back a smile. “I’m greatly sorry for that, my love.” I kissed her head and slouched into thecushions, forcing myself to go limp. “Is this better? I’m afraid I can’t make all the muscles go away immediately.”
She wiggled her head around, moving my arm into her desired position. When she finally found a comfortable position, she leaned back into me with a contented sigh. “Much better.”
“I shall endeavor not to move.”
Kashton and Caden snickered from their positions on the opposite end of the couch.
“This is where it’s nice to have a dad bod.” Caden patted his not-quite-flat stomach. “Nice and comfortable for a Little to lay on.”
Raven’s eyes snapped open, and she pursed her lips. “Better not be just any Little laying on it.”
I coughed to disguise my laughter as our girl stared daggers at Caden.
His eyes grew comically wide, and he held his hands up in surrender. “My Little. Our Little. Meaning only you, little one.”
She nodded, accepting the response and laying her head back on my chest.
“Kroshka?”I brushed away the strands of hair from her face, my touch lingering on her soft skin. I loved how she was wearing her hair down for us more. She hated dealing with it, so she’d just throw it up in a ponytail. But now that we are here, we help her brush and wash it whenever she likes.
“Hmm?” She replied, her hand absently gliding back and forth over my abdomen.
“What would you say if we moved the rest of your stuff here?” My gaze collided with Kashton’s, and he gave me a wide grin. We briefly discussed it last week after we brought more and more things over from our respective places. Caden and I weren’t attached to our condos in the slightest. They were a place to lay our heads and crash, but there were no emotional attachments.
We’d much rather make our home here, with all four of us together.
Raven moved to sit up straight, her head tilting to the side. “Like to make me more comfortable? Or like move in? Then I’d expect you and Caden to move in, too. But only if Kashton is okay with it. Kashton, are you okay with it?”
“Slow down and take a breath, little one.” I placed a finger on her lips.
“Chris wouldn’t have brought up the question if I wasn’t okay with it.” Kashton reached out to place his hand on her knee. “We want you here. All of us.”
“And, of course, we’d move in too,” Caden added. “We pretty much already have.”
“But if you want to take some more time, you can.” I hoped that wasn’t what she wanted, but we’d respect her decision either way. We wanted her to be here forever and always. No escaping to her own place. If she needed space, we’d build her a room or even a whole She-Shed outside if that’s what she wanted. But she belonged with us. Living here with us.
She nibbled on her bottom lip, contemplating and processing what we were saying. “Can I have my own office with all of my squishmallows and collectibles?”
“Of course,” Kashton answered first. “I already cleared out room in my closet since it’s the biggest for your clothes and things. But if you want your own room and space, we’ll do whatever you want.”
“I need an office when we work from home. I love you guys, but I don’t want you breathing down my neck when I’m always working.” She’d been sharing Kashton’s office with him for the last few weeks. It wasn’t ideal, especially when Kashton liked to distract her with kisses. “Because I take my work very seriously and don’t want my reputation to be tarnished by the fact I’m sleeping with the CEO.”
“And CFO,” I added under my breath. “And their best friend, too.”
Raven tilted her head back toward me and stuck the tip of her tongue out. “Yes, all three of you. That would just make them go even crazier. The rumor mill would be epic. I can imagine the things they say.”
Kashton and I glanced at each other, our eyes communicating that we were on the same page.
I took Raven’s hand in mine and squeezed. “We would never put your job or reputation at risk. We have a lot of employees who are married or dating. As long as they aren’t direct supervisors and it’s not interfering with their work, we let people have their personal lives. Honestly, I don’t think anyone would bat an eye.”
“Gloria would probably be ecstatic.” Kashton grinned. “She’s been on me to settle down for ages. Bryanna too. They’d all be thrilled more than scandalized.”
“I know that.” Raven let out a heavy sigh. “I just don’t want anyone to ever think I’m being given special treatment or anything like that. I’ve worked really hard to get where I’m at.”
“Baby girl, if I knew you wouldn’t say no, I would have offered you the head of the department job.” Kashton’s eyes darkened, glimmering more green than brown in the low living room light. “Don’t think I don’t know who’s really been running your entire floor. There are a few things I’m insisting on when we get someone in place as leader.”
“But-”
He held up his hand and used his stern Daddy face. “No buts on this one. You work too hard, and it’s been on my agenda to review your department and add more positions for months. We’d been waiting for the investigation with Ayrton to play out and not rock the boat. But now that it’s done, you’re getting some help and doing higher-level tasks.”
Raven’s bottom lip jutted out in a pout. “How do you know I’ll still say no if you offer me the department head job?”
Surprise coursed through me at her question. I opened my mouth to speak but thought better of it. This was Kashton’s forte. He worked magic with employee placement. Ayrton had been a shit hire he hadn’t been involved in, and now that he was gone, there was no way he wasn’t going to be right in the thick of vetting new hires.
His brows rose, and his lips twitched as he fought back a smile. “Don’t joke with me right now, little girl. If you’re serious about this, we’ll talk to Bryanna on Monday.”
“Let me think about it.” She paused, stifling a yawn with the back of her hand. “I’d have some conditions. I’m really tired of being told how to do my systems when I’m the one who built them from the ground up.”
Kashton leaned forward, planting a hand on the edge of the couch behind her. “Which is exactly why I want you for the department head.” He curled his other hand around the back of her neck to draw her in for a kiss. “Now, I think it’s bedtime, little one.”