Griffin and I both froze, our eyes widening. I cleared my throat and looked around the table. Will was turning red, trying to hold in his laughter. Ava simply looked curious. But Mia…she appeared hopeful. I took a quick sip of my juice. “Mia, people usually date for a long time before they get married. Griffin and I haven’t known each other that long.”

The words tasted like a lie. It felt as if Griffin and I had known each other forever. We’d fallen so easily into this pseudo-family life. But he’d not once brought up the future. Whether he wanted marriage and babies or if he was happy with things as they were now.

Mia looked back and forth between Griffin and me. “Well, if you do get married, I want to be a flower girl. Or a junior bridesmaid. Lisa’s mom got married, and she got a really pretty new dress. It was all sparkly.”

I couldn’t hold in my laughter. Mia wasn’t confused or worried about the relationship status of her sister or whether her life was about to change. She simply wanted a new sparkly dress. I glanced at Griffin, who was grinning down at his plate. “We’ll keep that in mind.”

“I think it would be nice,” Ava said softly. “If we were always together like this.”

I reached under the table and grabbed Griffin’s thigh. My grip was so tight, I was surprised he didn’t at least mutter a curse. Instead, he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and met Ava’s gaze. “I like being together like this, too. You make this house a lot more fun.”

“That’s ‘cause we’re awesome,” Mia added helpfully.

Will smiled. “She’s not wrong. We are pretty rad.”

I swallowed the emotions gathering in the back of my throat. “Well, my rad friends, hurry up and finish breakfast so we aren’t late for school.”

The kids hurried to finish up what they were eating, and Mia asked for a second muffin in her school lunch. I assured her there was already one in her rainbow lunchbox. As they ran to get their backpacks, I turned to face Griffin. “So, that was, um, interesting.”

He trailed a hand down the column of my throat. “Mia’s love of sparkly dresses knows no bounds.”

I couldn’t help the flicker of disappointment that rose at his words. Not that I expected him to drop to one knee, but a hint of what he saw for our future would’ve been nice. I stood, pushing my chair back. “That she does.”

Griffin followed me, grabbing my hand. “Hey, is something wrong?”

I shook my head. “No. I’m just tired. My coffee hasn’t kicked in yet.”

He studied me carefully. “If you’re sure.”