"I think you spend more time here than your own house," I chuckle.

Daniel slides his fingertips up the curve of my neck and into the back of my hair. He runs his fingers through my hair, then tugs on some strands and it sends a shiver coiling down my spine. Daniel presses his lips against my forehead and laughs.

"You're probably." He chuckles. "I might need more than my toothbrush here."

"Perhaps you can keep more of your things here. Noah really likes having you around and I was thinking about telling him about our relationship."

Daniel covers his lips with mine and his hands trail down my back and squeeze my ass. He tugs me onto his chest and I straddle his waist. I curl my fingers into his soft hair and deepen our kiss. His tongue dances against mine and heat pulls to my core.

I lean back to catch my breath and his lips trail down my neck and over my collarbone.

"We should get up soon," I say.

Daniel buries his face into the crook of my neck and his warm breath tickles. I squirm against him and fall onto the space beside him. Daniel rolls onto his side and cups my cheek.

"I'm excited to spend the day with you two."

"Don't forget about Craig." I roll my eyes.

Daniel kisses my nose, then my forehead.

"I just want us to all get along."

I melt under his touch but lean across to peck his lips.

"It's adorable and I like that quality about you."

"I also bought Noah a present for today."

"What did you get him?"

"You'll see." He grins.

My alarm buzzes and I groan.

"I should get dressed before I'm thrown out the window." He chuckles.

Daniel climbs out of bed and I admire the way his muscles move as he stretches his arms over his head. He grabs clothing from his backpack and tugs on the t-shirt, covering up his torso. I pull myself out of bed and wander over to the wardrobe. He catches my waist and spins me around. I reach up and peck his lips before stepping away.

I rummage through my underwear drawer and a pair of red undies drops on the floor. Daniel scoops them up and grins.

"Please wear these." He dangles the lacy pair in front of me.

I shove them back into the drawer and look away to hide the blush pooling on my cheeks. Those are cute underwear but very uncomfortable.

Daniel tugs on his pants while I wander into the bathroom to wash my face. He leans against the bathroom frame and watches me in the mirror. His work boots clonk against the tiles as he stands beside me. He places a hand on my waist and kisses the back of my head.

"So I'll see you in about five minutes?" He laughs. "Or will you need more time to pick out your clothes? I can help you find an outfit if you like."

I turn around and lean up so I can press my lips against his.

"See you in five minutes then." I smile.

He grumbles under his breath but tugs on a smile.

Daniel climbs out the window and I change into a pair of leggings and a baggy t-shirt. It should be good enough for today since we're just working on the cubby house. I tie my hair in a bun before walking down to Noah's bedroom.

"Hi, Noah." I smile.

He pokes his head up and rubs his eyes.

"Are you ready to get up? Daniel should be here soon and then we're going to Dad's house to work on your cubby house."

"Yay." Noah leaps out of bed and almost collides against the ground, but he manages to steady himself.

I pick some clothes from his drawer and he gets dressed.

When the doorbell rings, Noah is off. I trail behind him and open the front door.

"Hi, Daniel," Noah says.

"Hey buddy, how are you?"

"We're going to Daddy's house to build my cubby house."

Daniel holds up a tool belt and Noah's mouth drops.

"I thought you might need your own tool belt."

Daniel fastens the belt on Noah and shows him the glasses, tape measure, notebook, and pencils in his belt. He takes the tape measure out of the belt and pulls it out to show him how it works. Noah's eyes go wide with wonder.

Noah explores the items in the tool belt before shoving them back into the pockets.

"You didn't have to do that, but thank you."

Daniel smiles and it makes my heart melt.

"Why don't you get your truck and shoes and then we can go?"

Noah runs down the hallway, giving us a brief moment to ourselves. Daniel places his hand on my waist and kisses my cheek. I look up and nibble on the inside of my lower lip.

"I can't wait to see you in your tool belt," I smirk.

"Just my tool belt?"

My mouth drops and I smile at the thought.

"I hope that's when you're just wearing the red underwear." He winks.

When Noah returns with his shoes, I help him put them on before gathering our things to head to Craig's house.

"Let's get breakfast on the way over. Mumma needs a large coffee for today!"

* * * * *

Noah greets Craig at the front door to show him the tool belt and the things inside of it. Craig crouches down and pretends he's interested in what Noah's showing him.

"Wow, that's really cool."

"Daniel got it for me."

"That's nice of him."

He stands up and looks at us with a smile. I feel awkward but Daniel looks happy. He grabs his own tool belt and some tools from the car and we go inside.

"Hey, mate." Daniel waves.

"Thanks for coming to help with the cubby house."

Craig takes us through to the backyard and while they inspect the cubby house, I retreat into the shade the orange tree provides. I should have brought a book, at least this would have helped the time pass.

Daniel cracks his tape measure out and Noah does the same. Daniel measures the length of the cubby house and Noah tries to do the same but the tape measure snaps back. Daniel jots some notes down, so Noah scribbles in his notebook.

"The structure of the building is in good condition and it's a decent-sized cubby house. What should we do to it?"

"Can we paint it?" Noah smiles.

"What colour should we paint it?" Craig asks.

Noah frowns and tilts his head to the side and ponders.

"Blue." He smiles.

"What else should we do with it?"

"Um." He frowns.

"What about a shed? We can hang shelves for your tools and a workbench for your creations."

Noah's eyes light up and it warms my heart.

"Yay." He shouts.

"We need to clean it first before we paint. Perhaps Mum can help?" Daniel looks at me and I pout.

"Where's the broom? I can sweep the cubby house."

Craig appears with the broom and I sweep the exterior of the cubby house while they create a plan for what to build on the inside. Something tickles my arm and I look down and there's a spider crawling across my arm.

"Ahhh," I scream.

I flail my arm and the spider drops to the ground and I run into someones hard body. Arms wrap around me and I look up, only to see Craig laughing.

"You're still afraid of spiders?" Craigh laughs.

I stumble back a few more steps until I'm in Daniel's arms. He places his hands on my waist and rubs it.

"Don't worry, I will protect you."

"Don't worry." Craig squishes the spider with his boot. "I've already taken care of it."

I fight the urge to roll my eyes.

"I think it's Noah's nap time. I'll take him inside while you two work on this." Noah pouts, but he follows me to his bedroom. Noah kicks off his shoes and I lay next to him on the bed reading stories. Once he's asleep, I wander outside and those two are laughing about something.

Craig looks at me and smirks.

"Ellie's a good dance." He winks.

I roll my eyes.

"How's the cubby house coming along? Made any plans for it?" Hopefully, everything can be done today, because I'm not coming a second time. It's just weird.

"Craig had some scrap wood, so we're making some shelves from it."

"Oh cool."

"Do you want to help?"

"Help?"

"I can show you how to cut the wood."

"I don't know." I bite my lip.

Daniel holds his hand out for me and I shuffle over. I grab the hand saw and he covers his hand with mine. His other hand rests on my waist and his thumb rubs calming circles against my skin. He squeezes my hand and we cut the wood in half. I give the saw back to Daniel and step away from the construction zone going on.

"Do you guys want a glass of water?"

"Yes," they reply.

I walk inside and Daniel follows. He grabs my waist and spins me around, kissing me on the lips.

Craig coughs and I pull back. Daniel steals another kiss before turning around a looking at Craig with an unapologetic smile.

"I think the glasses are in this cupboard, right?" I point to the one above the sink and Criag nods.

Noah grizzles.

"I'll check on Noah," Craig says.

Once he's gone, I look at Daniel and raise my eyebrow.

"What?" He shrugs.

"You know."

"I'm not sorry after the comments he's been making."

"I told you this was a bad idea."

"My brother said it was a bad idea as well."

"I don't care for Craig's games, I'm just here because you and Noah are here," I say.

"I like seeing Noah happy over the cubby house, so it's worth it."

"Now you kind of understand why I endure it." I sigh.

He kisses my cheek. "You're a strong woman, Ellie."

Craig and Noah walk out of the hallway, so I put more space between us. I need to tell Noah about our relationship but I don't want him to find out like this.

"Hey buddy, do you want to see the progress we've made?" Daniel comments.

"If you're going paint shopping, maybe you can pick up lunch?" I smile

Daniel nods.

"Can we get chicken nuggets?" Noah grins.

Daniel looks at me and I nod.

"Sure."

We go outside and Noah gasps at the new tools and the wood that's been cut to make a shelf. It's a small change, but the wonder in his eyes is worth enduring all of this. 

* * * * *