Dear God

The days after the cookout had gotten a little crazy for everyone in the band, especially for me. We had tour meetings and promos to attend, studio time, and I had a few segments I had to film for some music news outlets. All of these events required me to drive around all of LA and Huntington. Caroline was a champ and didn’t complain when I left early in the morning and didn’t return until after the kids were in bed. She handled all three kids like a pro and I couldn’t thank her enough for stepping in to help me out.

Even though my schedule had been hectic and I wasn’t home much, I noticed Caroline acting a little weird from time to time. She was always checking her emails and texting back and forth with April and a woman named Sharon. When she’d catch me looking at her phone, she’d just lock it and smile at me. She was hiding something and it was starting to get to me.

Then one day at the studio, Zacky made a comment that piqued my interest. He had mentioned April helping someone at her agency draw up a contract and wondered if Caroline was home because April wanted to stop by. All afternoon I had been thinking about what Zacky had said, but I had not been able to ask him why April needed to see Caroline so After everyone left, I corned Zacky outside.

“What can I do for you, Shads?” He asked, lighting a cigarette and puffing away on it.

“What were you talking about in there earlier?” I asked, kicking a rock around.

Zacky sighed and ran a hand through his hair with a mumbled “April is going to kill me.” Before looking up at me. “Care put an offer in on a house a few weeks ago and it looks like she’s going to get it. I wasn’t supposed to know let alone say anything. The only reason I knew was because Sharon stopped by to drop something off for A, and she had asked if I’d seen the house Caroline was interested in.” He took a deep drag of his cigarette before continuing. “Clearly I had no idea what she was talking about, so I asked April and she spilled. She also swore me to secrecy, so she can’t know that you know.” He said pointing at me.

My head shot up when he finished. Was Caroline really planning on moving back to California? Why wouldn’t she tell me something like this? Why was she being so secretive about it?
“Where is the house?” I asked, trying to learn as much information as I could.

Zacky groaned. “Matt, don’t make me tell you more than I already have. Why don’t you ask Caroline herself?”

“Because I don’t want her to know that I know. I’m going to wait to see how long it takes her to tell me.”

Zacky groaned again, looking around for a way out, but he knew he wasn’t getting anywhere without telling me.
Once I got the information I needed from Zacky, I contacted April. “Don’t kill Zack but he let Caroline’s secret slip.” I told her as soon as she answered her phone.

“God damn my husband.” She chuckled. “I’m not telling you anything Sanders. This is Caroline’s thing.”

“Just tell me this, does she love the house?”

“Of course she does. She fell in love with it the second she saw the pictures of it. Why? What are you scheming?” She asked suspiciously.

“I want to see it. I was already planning on looking for a place for us, but if she already has one picked out that she likes...” I trailed off, hoping my friend would help me out.

“Matt!” She squealed with excitement. “Are you asking her to move in with you? Do you think you guys are ready for that? What about the kids?”

“Whoa whoa whoa, slow down there Baker” I chuckled. “It seems like the best step at this point, especially with this whole Melony thing. We need our own place, but I don’t want her to feel like she has to do this, ya know?”

“Oh Matt, do you think going about it this way is a good idea though? She loves this house, she’s been talking about it for weeks. I don’t want to ruin her happiness.”

“I’m not going to ruin her happiness, I just want to surprise her with her dream house. That’s all. Now will you take me to the house?”

After several more minutes of near bribery I found myself driving to the address that April had finally given up, thinking back to one of the first conversations Caroline and I had about dream homes and living together, back before everything hit the fan with us.

We had been on the beach with all our friends, enjoying a bonfire. Caroline and I were reclined on a blanket a bit away from the rest of the group. Caroline was between my legs with her head on my chest, wrapped up in one of my hoodies.

“Tell me about your dream house. Where do you see yourself living and being truly happy, Matt?” She asked quietly, staring up at the stars that were starting to peak out above us.

I hummed and pressed a kiss to the top of her head, buying myself some more time. Before meeting Caroline, I never thought about my dream home. All I knew was that it needed to have a studio and it couldn’t hurt if it was near a golf course. “I never really thought about it before. All I know is that if it has a studio and it’s a place to call my own, it’s a home. What about you sweetheart? Tell me about your dream home.”

She sighed and leaned further back into me. “Before moving to California my dream home was a farm. Somewhere with lots of land so I could raise horses.” She tipped her head back and kissed the underside of my jaw. “Now though…” she trailed off. I leaned down and kissed her, loving the blush that painted her cheeks.

“And now?” I pressed.

“Now I just want a place big enough for you and me and maybe a kid or two.” She paused for a second. “Nothing flashy, I don’t need that. I just wan a porch big enough for a swing that we can sit on as we watch the sunrises and sunsets. Watch the kids play in the yard with the other kids.”

I knew that the talk of kids and more should send me running, but I could see the picture Caroline was painting and in all honesty I couldn’t wait for those moments. We had never really talked about kids, but the few that we have been around together, I can’t help but notice the way she looks at them. Or how natural she is around them. I knew in this moment though that I wanted kids and I wanted them with Caroline,

“What else?” I prompted, interested in what else she had planned for us.

“Hmm.” She hummed. “Maybe a big enough plot of land so you can have your studio.” She wrinkled her nose adorably as she looked back at me again. “Honestly, Matt we could live in a box but as long as we are together I’ll have everything I need.”

“So cheesy.” I teased her. “I love you, Caroline.” I whispered into her hair.

“I love you too, Matt.”

As I was pulled out of my thoughts, I couldn’t help me focus on the fact that to this day I still wanted kids with Caroline. That my current children should be hers and not Mels. I shake my head as I take in my surroundings and I notice that they look familiar. I was quickly realizing that the house was near my childhood home and it made me wonder why Caroline picked something a decent ways away from my current house. As soon as I arrived at the house in question, I understood why she picked this house. It had Caroline written all over it. It was a cute bungalow with bay windows and a decent sized front yard. It was the perfect house for Caroline and I to raise our family in. I could picture the two of us sitting in the chairs on the front porch and watching the waves crash on the beach that was across the street from the property. I could see everything Caroline laid out of us on that beach all those years ago. It was perfect.

April stepped out of the house when she noticed I had arrived. “I don’t like lying to her, Matt. Why did you make me pull her offer? She was going to get it. She’s going to be heartbroken when I break the news to her.”

“You let me handle that. I want to do this for her. She thinks she can be sneaky, but so can I. How much were they asking for this place? I know she didn’t put in the full asking.”

April quickly flipped through the papers in her folder. “Six hundred thousand. Care, put in a bid of five twenty five.”

I was impressed. Caroline’s mom’s house must’ve been worth a lot more than I thought it was but at the same time I’m not surprised that Caroline had that much saved up. “I’ll do asking plus two grand.” I said without hesitation. I looked at my friend’s surprised wife. “Make it happen, April.” I beamed, kissing her cheek before I was on my way home to Caroline and the kids.

****
Care’s POV

A few days after Brian and Michelle’s BBQ, things in the Sanders household got a little crazy. Matt had a ton of promos to do for the band so that meant I got to spend a lot of time with the kids. I had loved every second that I got to spend with them because I learned so much about the Sanders kids. I learned that Carly was really into dance and that Jesse really wanted to play baseball and basketball but was afraid that with Matt’s schedule, it wouldn’t be possible. I also learned that Carly can’t fall asleep without a story and Jesse prefers to sleep with the door open. Having them share their fears and wants with me, made me realize how much the two of them missed having a mother around. I had been doing my best to be there for them and helping them out the best I could without crossing any boundaries.

Today though was one of the rare days where Matt didn’t have anything work related to do, so we took advantage of it and decided to have a day in our pajamas with movies and junk food. I looked around the room and took in the scene, Carly and Lilly were sharing a giant bean bag chair while both of them were wrapped up in blankets, Jesse was curled up on the overstuffed arm chair, with Bella next to him. Matt and I were curled up with each other on the couch, his arm tight around my waist. It was moments like this that I was going to miss most when Lilly and I went back home.

It was something I didn’t want to think about, going back home and leaving Matt and his kids. Being back and falling into old and new routines made me realize what I would be missing. Not only would I be leaving Matt and the kids, but the rest of my friends as well. I knew they would be just as devastated with me leaving as I would be. I didn’t want to hurt them all again, but the more time that passed without hearing from my realtor or April, the more the was becoming a possibility. I couldn’t stay here if I didn’t actually have a place to stay. I sighed and smiled softly when Matt tightened his hold against me and kissed the top of my head.

“That was a big sigh. Is everything okay?” He asked quietly, so that we didn’t interrupt the kids
I sighed again. “Yeah, I’m just thinking about how quickly our time here is coming to an end.” I whispered.

He kissed my head again. “Don’t think about that. I’m not ready for you to leave us.”

I turned to face him and tell him how childish he was being, but then I remembered the secret I was keeping from him and the fact that I didn’t want to have this conversation with him in front of the kids. So instead, I kissed him lightly chuckling when Jesse whispered a playful “ew”.
Our quiet time was soon interrupted when the door bell rang, sending the dogs into a frenzy that caused the kids to whine. I rolled over on my back again and looked up at Matt with a lazy smile. “Are you going to get that?” I asked, teasingly.

“You know you could go get it.” He groaned, rolling over me to get up.

The kids laughed at us as I giggled and readjusted my position on the couch. “Not my house.”
Matt shot me a look but didn’t say anything before walking out of the room. The loss of Matt’s body heat made me cold, so I wrapped myself up in the blanket that was on the back of the couch and watched Lilly and Carly whisper back and forth to each other. I was really glad that the three of them got along so well, but at the same time I was afraid to see what happens when Lilly and I leave for Iowa.

The sound of voices in the living room caught my attention. Clearly I could hear Matt’s deep voice, but I couldn’t hear the other person’s voice so I knew it wasn’t one of the guys, which made me happy.

“Care,” Matt’s voice entered the room before he did. He stopped in the doorway and looked down at me. “April is in the kitchen, she wants to talk to you.” A look of excitement crossed his face and I gave him a look before he slid past me and reclaimed his spot on the couch.

Shaking my head and wondering why April showed up, I joined her in the kitchen. I found her running around the room helping herself to a plate before moving to the microwave. When she saw me she smiled and leaned against the counter.

“I’m here on my lunch break and I figured you guys wouldn’t care if I used your kitchen.”
I laughed and grabbed some cups. “Hey man, not my kitchen.” I teased, opening the fridge and grabbing the iced tea.

“Uh huh, sure. You’re so comfortable here!” April rolled her eyes as she took a seat at the breakfast bar.

I stuck my tongue out at her and leaned across the island from her. “Not that I’m complaining, but why did you drop by on your lunch break? Is everything okay?”

April put her fork down and sighed, looking over at me with sadness. “I came here on a professional level. There’s no easy way to say this when I know its what you’ve been wanting, but someone outbid you at the last second.” She said quietly. “I begged Sharon to let me be the one to tell you, to maybe soften the blow a little.” She looked down at her food and whispered, “We tried everything we could to change the seller’s mind, but it was the asking price and an all cash deal. They weren’t budging.”

The room filled with silence, April was fidgeting with her wedding band while I tried to keep my emotions in check. I knew this was a possibility but I didn’t think it would come this late in the game. I had gotten my hopes up on getting the place, I was anticipating getting it and moving in.

Now I really had to go back to Iowa…

“Now what?” I asked quietly. “I picked that place out weeks ago. I don’t have a back up. What happens from here, A?” Panic was starting to set it. Panic and disappointment.

“Sharon has a few more places lined up for you around the same area where you were looking, but the only downside is that they’re on the opposite end and that means further away from Matt.”

Just then Matt decided to come into the room. “What’s further from Matt?” He asked, setting down an empty popcorn bowl.

April looked at me with wide eyes and a look of disbelief and something more. She almost looked like she was hiding something. I cocked my head and looked at her with a raised eye brow before turning my attention to my boyfriend, who was trying his hardest to suppress a smile. Something was up here, but I wasn’t quite sure what yet.

I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the cabinet, letting my head bang against it a few times. I took a deep breath and without opening my eyes, whispered, “Places to live.” I squeezed my eyes even tighter when the tension in the room skyrocketed. Finally I opened my eyes and saw Matt was standing, frozen in his spot and he was staring at me.

“What?” He whispered harshly.

I stared him down, afraid to look away from the man in front of me. He was upset, I could sense it…see it. I was vaguely aware of April slipping from the room, leaving Matt and I alone.

Finally, I pushed away from the counter and walked over to my surprised boyfriend. “I wanted it to be a surprise.” I admitted. “I started looking the night you and the kids left my place the last time you all came to visit a few weeks ago. I contacted April’s agency to help me. Sharon and April were the only ones that knew what I was doing. April even FaceTimed me on a tour so I could actually see it. I fell in love with it instantly and put an offer in and until today we thought I was going to get it.”

Matt took a step closer to me. “You were planning on moving back and weren’t going to tell me?”

I shook my head. “I told you, I wanted it to be a surprise. I didn’t want to tell you and have you get your hopes up when mine were already up.” I looked down at my sock covered feet. I could feel the tears burning my eyes, “I’m heartbroken enough for the two of us right now.” I whispered. “I don’t want to leave you.”

Matt leaned against the fridge with his arms crossed. I glanced up at him and bit my lip when I noticed the thinly veiled anger on his face. “You’d keep something this big from me? Something that affects not only me but my kids too?” Matt scoffed.

Shocked, I gasped as I shook my head. “Matt, no! The only reason I didn’t tell you was because it wasn’t set in stone. Like I said, I didn’t want to get your hopes up! I know how much you want me here all the time, you haven’t really been subtle about it lately. I know you don’t want to push me….” I trailed off not sure what else to say. “You have to believe me when I say that I wasn’t keeping this from you on purpose.”

We stood there in silence for a moment before he pushed away from the fridge with a huff and made his way tp the studio. I jumped when he slammed the door, showing me just how upset he was about this situation. I took a shaky breath and tried to calm myself down.

“Care?” April’s timid voice filled the room. “I’m sorry I said anything. I thought you would have told him by now. I knew you wanted to keep it a secret from everyone else, but not Matt.”
“I know, A. It’s not your fault and I’m not upset with you. I’m mad at myself because I had plenty of chances to tell him…” I took another shaky breath. “Alright, April, where do we go from here?”

April wrapped her arms around me and hugged me tight. “That man loves you more than he’s ever loved anyone else. We haven’t seen him this happy since the kids were born. He’s just being a baby.”

I choked out a laugh and wiped away my tears. I glanced in the direction of the studio door and sighed.

“Go talk to him. I called Zacky to come keep an eye on the kids because I have to go to back to the office. He should be here any second, so go talk to your man child of a boyfriend and knock some sense into him.”

I quickly checked on the kids before making my way to Matt’s studio door. Bracing myself with a deep breath, I slowly lifted my hand to knock when the door flew open and Matt was standing there. Without a word, he grabbed my hand and all but dragged me through the kitchen and to the front door where Zacky was just walking in.

“Uh, hey guys. Everything okay?” Zacky asked hesitantly.

“Yeah, do you mind watching them until we get back?” Matt snapped at Zacky, barely waiting for an answer as he opened the door. I turned around just before the door closed and saw Zee staring at us with wide eyes and a confused look.

“Matt, what the hell are you doing? Where are we going?” I demanded, trying to pull my hand away from him.

“You’ll see.” He nearly growled as he opened the passenger side door. “Get in.”

Matt’s voice was deeper and gruff, it was unlike I’ve ever heard him before. It was really starting to freak me out, but at the same time I knew he wouldn’t hurt me. Maybe this was some kind of foreplay he had planned. He knew I liked when he was dominating sometimes, but this was way different.

The ride is silent and I’m almost afraid to breathe too loud in fear of making him angry. Why did he feel the need to pull me out of the house in my pajamas, in the middle of the afternoon? I turned my attention to Matt, trying to see if he’d give anything away, but he was the picture of relaxed but serious. One had gripping the steering wheel tightly and his left arm rest on the door. Every once in a while I could have sworn I saw him smirking, causing his dimples to pop occasionally.

“What are you hiding?” I finally blurted.

He looked over at me slowly, biting his lip trying to hide his smirk. “What makes you think I’m hiding something?”

Exasperated I threw my hands up. “I don’t know, maybe because you’ve been acting weird for the past couple of days. You’ve been smirking at your phone lately and giving me weird looks. You may be able to fool your fans, but not me Matthew. I know you too well, so I know you’re hiding something.”

Matt chuckles softly before making a few turns. That’s when I notice where we are and my heart rate skyrockets. Did he know? Confirming my suspicions, he pulls into a familiar driveway and throws the car in park before turning his body to me.

“I should be the one questioning if you were hiding something.” He said calmly.

“That’s not fair, I already told you that I was keeping something from you.” I shook my head. “What are we doing here, Matt?”

He turned again and looked out the windshield. “We are checking out our new house.” He turned back to me, grinning.

What did he say? I whipped my head around looking around the property I’ve come to memorize and fantasize about over the last few weeks. The property I thought I’d never see again. “Matt…” I trailed off, watching as he slipped out of the car and came to my side.

He opened my door and reached for my hand. “Come on, I want you to show me what you love so much about this place.” He smiled, leading me to the front door, but I froze. “Care?”

“Matt, I can’t. We can’t be here, I didn’t get the house you know that.” Tears burned my eyes again as I took in the beautiful architecture of the house.

Matt chuckled again and reached into his pocket and pulled out a key. I stared at him in shock as he unlocked the front door. “We can be here, because we own the house.”

My world came to a screeching halt and sped up at the same time. Matt owned the house? Matt was the one who bought it out from underneath me? Matt was the one standing between me and my dream home? Several emotions bombarded me at once as I looked up at the man standing in front of me.

“What did you do?” I whispered, hurt and anger taking over.

I watched as Matt’s smiled fell and I wasn’t surprised when I didn’t even feel guilty. “I-I bought the house. For you…for us.” He said quickly. “I overheard Zacky talking about it and I got answers out of him and April. I made A show me the place and as soon as I saw it, I knew it was perfect for us.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me into the yard, facing the house. “As soon as I drove up, I could picture the two of us sitting on this porch as we watched the kids play in the yard.” He trialed off, looking at me with excitement sparking in his hazel eyes. He took my hand again and pulled me in through the door, closing it behind me. “I could picture coming home to you after a long day at the studio or after being away on tour, and seeing you curled up on the couch watching Criminal Minds.”

I almost felt guilty for feeling angry about this. "Matt...I appreciate the gesture but why buy it out from under me?" I asked, looking around the empty living room, trying to picture what he was painting. The worst part was that I could picture it. I had been for the last few weeks. I could feel how much this house already felt like home, but I couldn’t get over the anger of the current situation.

“Care, I did this for you so you'd have a place here. I'm not trying to force you into moving here, but I want you to know that you have a place to stay when you do decide to visit." He took a few steps closer to me and pulled me into his arms and despite my anger towards him, I felt myself relax. "Because somewhere down the road, I want us to move in together. I know it's too soon for that, but I want to be ready. I want us to have a place together and if and when it comes to it, I can see us living here." He gestured around us and looked down at me with so much love and excitement in his eyes that I felt my anger slowly washing away. "I love you, Caroline and I'm not ready for you to leave me."

"Matt, I don't want to leave you either, but I feel like....I don't know what I feel." I spun around, walking towards the kitchen. "I just wish you would have left it alone. I'm not with you for your ability to buy me things, it's never been about that. I just feel like I got cheated out of buying my first house.” I sighed, crossing my arms and staring out into the backyard.

Matt sighed deeply. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I didn’t think you’d react this way. I wanted us to have our place and I wanted you to love it. You already loving this place made that decision so much easier. I didn’t mean to cheat you out of buying a house. I didn’t think about that and I’m sorry. “ Huffing out a breath, Matt walked around the kitchen but didn’t say anything else.
The two of us were quiet for a little while and I pictured everything Matt mentioned…everything I had pictured when I first saw the house. Matt was right, this was the perfect place to raise our kids.

Suddenly, I felt Matt’s presence behind me before he even touched me. His arms wrapped around my waist as he pulled me into his chest, kissing my temple. “I can just imagine you standing in this kitchen making breakfast for the kids. Singing along to whatever is playing that morning, dancing around in your fuzzy socks and making the kids laugh. I can see you making their lunches before sending them off to school.” He kissed my ear, lightly nipping at my ear lobe.

I quickly spun around and wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing him deeply. “Thank you.” I whispered between kisses. “I was being a bitch and you were being nothing but sweet. I’m sorry, Matt. Everything you mentioned was everything I felt and could see when I first saw this house. That’s why I was so upset that I didn’t get it.”

Matt kissed me deeply to shut me up. “I understand, like I said, I just got excited and got ahead of myself. I should have come to you when I found out.”

I shook my head, cupping his cheek. “No, I should have told you when I found the place because like you said, this involves you and the kids as well. I was being selfish.”

“Let’s agree that we both messed up and move on because I haven’t told you what else I can picture happening in this kitchen.” He said, his voice husky.

Shivers passed through my body as I ran my hands through his hair. “And what would that be Mr. Sanders?”

Without warning he lifted me into his arms, causing me to shriek in surprise. He walked us over to the island in the middle of the kitchen and plopped me on the countertop before stepping between my legs. I hooked my ankles around his waist and pulled him closer to me, leaning down to capture his lips in a passionate kiss.

“You know,” Matt smirked, pulling away from me. “Once the kids are here and running around, we won’t be able to do this very often.” His dimples popping as he licked his lips and runs his hands up the inside of my things, brushing his fingers over my covered mound.

I hissed out a breath at the sensation. “The kids go to bed early. We could make this a regular thing.” I whispered, flexing my hips and leaning back on the counter.

Matt simply shook his head and move to hover over me. “We don’t want them to walk in on us, now do we Carrie?” He hooked his fingers in the elastic of my flannel pants, gently pulling them down my legs. “I don’t need to be explaining to our kids what I’m doing to you on the counter.” He chuckled darkly.

“Matthew” I chastised him, with a laugh that quickly turned into a moan when Matt roughly filled me with his fingers.

“That’s right, baby, say my name. Let the new neighbors know who makes you feel this good.” His fingers slowly slid in and out of me, causing my head to fall back as I moaned again. I looked up at Matt and licked my lips at the dominate look in his eyes. “You know Caroline, you give off some mixed signals. It might confuse someone who doesn’t know how to help you.” He removed his fingers and took a step away from me, pushing at his sweatpants. I moaned when I realized that he had been going commando all afternoon and I was a little disappointed that I was just now finding this out. With the gleam still in his eyes, he spread my legs and teased me with the head of his cock. “Lucky for you Caroline, I know exactly how to help you.” He said before filling me in one solid thrust causing me to scream out.

“Fuck Matt!” I moaned,. If there was one thing I loved about our relationship, was the way Matt knew how to read me and definitely knew how to fuck me. “Harder Matt, please.” I moved so I was laying flat on the counter and nearly came when Matt braced his arms, boxing me in as he crawled over me. Effectively driving himself deeper into me.

“Look around the room Carrie, can you see us fucking on this counter regularly? Because I sure as fuck can.” He moaned when I tightened my muscles around him. “I can see you pregnant and standing in this very spot making lunches for the kids in the morning. I’d sneak up behind you and kiss you on the back of the neck, right on that spot that makes you shiver. Then as soon as the kids were at school I’d bend you over this counter or maybe pin you to the fridge and take you from behind,” he growled low in my ear.

I came at his words and the deep thrusts he was delivering. I could easily imagine the picture he was painting and that thought alone caused my already spasaming muscles to clench even more. I ran my nails down his back, loving the way he tensed over me before his thrusts became sloppy and he came with a loud groan. After we both came, we were breathing heavy just staring at each other.

“I love you, so much Matt.” I whispered hoarsely kissing him deeply.

“Love you too, my Sweet Caroline.” He smiled, pulling out of me with a slightly wince. “I’m sorry if I went too far there. I let my mind get away from me.”

I shook my head and ran my hand through his now damp hair, placing it on his cheek. “I loved every second of it.” I smiled and bit my lip. “Did you mean it?” I asked softly.

Matt cocked his head. “Mean what, baby?”

“About picturing me pregnant?”

Matt stood up and pulled me up into a sitting position. “I’ve been picturing you pregnant since that day on the beach when we first started dating.”

I gasped. I knew exactly what night he was talking about. The night I told him about this house…well my dream house, which this one was pretty damn close. That’s why he out bid me.

He remembered.

Before either one of us could say anything to each other, Matt’s phone rang.

“It’s Zacky. You should answer that.” I mumbled, kissing his chest.

“Hey Z, you’re on speaker with Care and I. What’s up? Everyone okay?”

Zacky chuckled. “We’re fine, but we’ve been sitting in the driveway for a few minutes now. I heard Carrie and kept the kids occupied.” I blushed at my best friend’s words as Matt chuckled and kissed the top of my head. “Is it safe to bring them in yet? They’re pretty excited.” Zacky continued.

Matt and I laughed and quickly scrambled to get ourselves dressed again. “Yeah, bring them in.” Matt said, hanging up the phone. He turned to me and tucked some loose hair behind my ear. “For what it’s worth, Caroline. I’ve always regretted that Jesse and Carly aren’t yours and the second that we’re ready, I’m knocking you up.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at his words. “Real romantic, Matthew.” I laughed again as I kissed him.

Just then the door burst open and three young ones came running in followed closely by a smirking Zacky and April. I blushed and hid my face in Matt’s arm as he continued to laugh at my embarrassment. Zacky looked around the empty rooms before his eyes landed on the kitchen counters. He shuddered and looked back at Matt and I with a raised eyebrow and wicked grin.

“I hope you disinfect that before eating off it.” He said, venturing further into the house.

Once I recovered, Matt and I quickly showed the kids the new house.

I stood back and watched as Matt stood in the middle on the room that would be the girls’, holding them both and discussing how they wanted to decorate it. I could hear the excited chatter of Lilly quickly followed by Carly’s agreements. I couldn’t stop smiling.

“Carrie.” Jesse joined me. “Do I really get to decorate one of these rooms as mine?” He asked, not taking his eyes off his dad.

I looked down at the boy and smiled. “Yeah, Jess, you do. I want you to feel like this is your home too. I hope you’re okay with me and Lilly staying in Cali and being close by you guys.” I moved so I was crouched in front of him. “I don’t want you or Carly to feel like your just here because your dad and I are dating. I want this to be your space too. So whatever you want in that room, you can have.”

Jesse smiled and wrapped his arms around my neck, hugging me. “Thanks, Carrie. I’m glad you guys are staying.”

“Me too!” Carly chimed in.

I stood up and looked over at me.

“Me too.” Matt echoed, smiling at me. “Come on guys, lets go home.”

Home.