Blair shrugged. “ We  didn’t lie. She  assumed.” As much as Blair normally didn’t like to see Erin losing her shit, it was pretty adorable in this situation, especially because she knew Erin was at least partially thrown off because of the feelings she had for Blair. “Just enjoy it, shnookums.”

Nolan shook on Blair’s shoulders as he giggled. “Why you call Mommy that?”

“You mean, that isn’t her name?” Blair asked sarcastically.

She could tell by all the movement on her shoulders that Nolan was shaking his head. “No. Her name is Mommy. Or sometimes, Erin.”

“Oh, that’s right. Sorry. My mistake.”

When Blair winked at her, Erin moved her eyes toward the ground, but Blair didn’t miss the small smile that parted her lips. Blair’s heart warmed at the sight. That smile had the power to make even her worst day better. Not that this was one of those days. As far as days went, this one was already pretty fucking awesome.

As soon as they got into the hotel room, Nolan began trying to wiggle off of Blair’s shoulders. When Blair put him down, he immediately ran to the big sliding door that led to the balcony. He pointed out the window, eyes wide when he looked back at Blair and Erin. “Look at the big pool!”

“That’s the ocean, sweetie,” Erin said with a laugh.

“Wait. Is this his first time at the beach?” Blair asked. For some reason, she just assumed they had been here before.

Erin’s face turned red again. “It is. I’ve wanted to bring him for a long time, but, well, things have been a little crazy.”

“That makes sense.” Blair walked over to Erin and squeezed her hand in reassurance. The last thing she needed was for Erin to feel like she wasn’t the world’s greatest mom, because she obviously was. “And, hey, he’s here now. That’s the important part, right?”

Erin squeezed Blair’s hand back and gave her a small, but sincere, smile before focusing her attention on Nolan. “Do you want to go out onto the balcony so you can see it better?”

Instead of answering, Nolan attempted to open the door by himself, a task he was luckily unable to accomplish.

“Let me get that, bud.” Blair undid the latch and slid the door open. As soon as she did, Nolan squeezed past her onto the balcony.

Nolan stood at the edge of the balcony, his eyes darting from one spot to another as though he couldn’t decide what to focus on. He pointed down at the large pool that was part of their hotel. “Whoa! ’Nother pool.”

Erin rested her hand on his head. “That’s our pool, buddy. Do you want to go in there first or do you want to go down to the beach and put your feet in the ocean?”