Chapter 23

Miranda's POV

I stand over Noah, who dramatically coughs in bed. He has the sheets pulled up all the way to his chin and he dodges my hand every time I try to feel his forehead.

“Noah, honey, let me see if you have a fever,” I coo. He shakes his head no. I groan and stand over him, hands on my hips. “Noah.”

“Mother,” He retorts.

“And here I was thinking I’m your mommy, not your mother,” I dramatically sigh and turn around. I take two steps toward the door when Noah’s voice stops me.

“No! Mommy! Come back!” He quietly shrieks from his bed. I look at him from over my shoulder. I wipe away a fake tear and sulk back to his bedside. I lean over him and he frowns. “I just don’t feel well…that’s all…” he mumbles.

“Can I feel your head, please?” I hold my hand out, barely hovering over his head, and he sighs. He shimmies up his bed and presses his forehead against the back of my hand.

Noah’s forehead feels fine, maybe just a little warm from all of the blankets he’s under. I hum loudly and tap my chin, putting on a show for Noah.

“You don’t feel too warm, honey,” I look down at him. Right on cue, Noah coughs loudly and groans, throwing his arms over his head.

“But my head hurts! My tummy too! Please let me stay home! You and Ella can go to the event without me!” He proclaims.

“Uh huh…and you aren’t going to be a grumpy gus when we get back?” I ask, inching closer to him. He nods and covers himself with his blanket. I sit on the side of his bed and run my hands over the top of the blanket. “Well…I hope you feel better soon, sweetie. I’ll even make your favorite for dinner tonight. How does that sound?”

Noah pokes his head out from under the blanket. He nods again and mumbles, “Thank you,” before disappearing underneath the mass of blankets once again.

I leave his room and smile at Ella, who is all dressed and ready to go. Anna helps put pink ribbons in her hair and they giggle with each other.

“You look so cute, Ella! I love the ribbons,” I smile down at her, grabbing one end of the ribbon and giving it a gentle tug. Ella wildly giggles and she hops out of the chair and onto the floor. She takes my hand and jumps up and down, squealing.

“I’m so excited for today, Mommy!” Her bubbly voice fills me with excitement and joy. I pick her up with ease and spin her around. The two of us laugh together and when I stop, I notice Anna taking a picture of us. She hands me my phone and I pocket it. Ella bursts out of the room and enters the garage.

“Good luck today,” Anna chuckles and helps me collect items for my bag. We walk to the car and Ella is already inside and in the backseat. She vibrates with excitement and waves me to get into the car. “Be sure to take plenty of pictures! For memories!”

“I will, I promise!” I laugh and slide into the driver’s seat. I start the car and reverse out of the garage, being sure to blast Ella’s favorite song while we drive to the school.

Once we arrive, Ella hops out of the car before I can get her. She runs to my door and opens it up, grabs my hand, and pulls me out of the car. I laugh and stay firm in my place, watching as she runs in place.

“One minute, sweetie! I gotta grab our things! Do you have your water bottle?” Ella gasps and she drops my hand. She runs back to her seat and grabs her princess water bottle, running back to me.

“Can you carry it for me, Mommy?” She asks. I nod and pluck it from her hands, tossing it into my bag alongside the other items. I get out of the car and close the door. She takes my hand again and pulls me towards the large crowd.

“You’re so eager today! Do you know what events they’re doing?” I ask in an attempt to investigate why she’s so excited. Ella slows her pace and walks beside me.

“Yeah! There’s a ring toss and face painting and there’s even a section to hula hoop!” She shrieks. Other parents smile in our direction and I smile back. We swing our hands as we enter the fairground. “Oh! And there’s a three-legged race! I already have my partner for it, too! You’re going to love him!”

“Him?” I ask in complete shock.

A boy? When was she going to tell me about a boy? No! She’s too young to date! Boys are way too much trouble! Just look at my situation with—

Sebastian.

My feet freeze and Ella lets go of my hand. She runs towards Sebastian and the boy with sunglasses, her arms wide open. Sebastian looks at me, his eyes slightly widening before going back to their normal state.

I clear my throat and push hair behind my ear. Slowly, I walk towards them. Ella and the boy hug each other and jump up and down in a circle. I barely look at Sebastian when Ella pulls the boy towards me.

“Mommy, this is Evan! Evan, this is my Mommy!” She giddily exclaims. I lean down and rest my hands on my knees.

“Hi there, Evan, it’s so nice to meet you,” I smile at him. He giggles and smiles back, shyly waving at me. I chuckle and straighten my back.

“He’s gonna be my partner today! You can team up with his dad!” Ella smiles. I open my mouth to refuse, but she’s already pointing at the section for hula hoops. She drags Evan behind her and the poor boy can barely keep up.

I turn to Sebastian and gesture towards our kids. I nervously chuckle and scratch the back of my neck, finally approaching him. He has his hands in his pockets. He barely looks at me as we follow Ella and Evan.

“So…our kids, huh?” I say in an attempt to start a conversation. He nods and watches them, saying nothing. I nod in return and purse my lips, looking around.

Other parents and teachers watch us — well, Sebastian — and whisper amongst themselves. Some point and look away while others take sneaky pictures as if we wouldn’t notice.

“Don’t pay them any attention,” Sebastian’s voice snaps me out of my thoughts. I look at him and nod. He holds a hula hoop out to me. It’s a bright green color, one that matches my eyes after I put a few drops in them. I take it from him and hide a smile, setting my bag on the floor.

“So,” I turn and look at him. He looks down and tilts his head to the side. “Are you going to be my partner? Seems like ours ditched us.”

“Sounds like a plan, Miranda,” Sebastian’s lips slightly curl up before dropping back down. He grabs a nearby hula hoop and slides it over his body, now standing in the middle of it.

“Is the Alpha King going to beat everyone today? Even his son and his friend?” I step to his side as we enter the designated area. He shrugs and stands in front of me.

“Let’s call it tough love, shall we?” Sebastian counters. A smile flashes across my face and I nod.

“Tough love,” I confirm.

As the day rolls along, Sebastian and I conquer all of the events. Surprisingly, we work very well together. We rarely butt heads and even shared a few short-lived laughs.

The final event of the day is the three-legged race. As I apply sunscreen to Evan and Ella’s faces, being sure not to accidentally knock off Evan’s glasses, Sebastian comes back with velcro straps for our legs. He helps the two kids tie their legs together. They hop off and he turns to me, holding the yellow strap in the air.

“You ready?” He asks.

“Born ready,” I nod. We sit on a bench and he leans down to tie our ankles together. I catch myself smiling at the back of his head. The smile disappears and I turn away, looking at Evan and Ella.

I shouldn’t feel this way towards Sebastian. We’re supposed to butt heads and hate each other, not cheer each other on during the ring toss.

He taps my shoulder and gestures to the starting line where other parents are lined up. I nod and we walk over with ease. Parents stare at us and their jaws drop.

We look down the line where all of the kids are. Evan and Ella wave and we wave back. We settle into place and I look at Sebastian.

“Left foot first, then your right. Got it?” I say. He nods. We face forward and look at the teacher who has a whistle in their mouth.

They blow into it and we’re off. We walk at a brisk pace and are about to reach the finish line when my foot rolls over on itself, taking Sebastian down to the ground with me.