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It was their giggles that woke her up. Ben shushed them through his own chuckles as he followed behind them, their little feet pattering across the floor. Bea had to fight her own grin to keep up the illusion that she was asleep. Clearly, the girls wanted to surprise her in bed with breakfast. They’d done it before, without any help. In fear of the two setting fire to the house or hurting themselves, they’d had a stern talking to about it. Since Ben made them promise to wake one of them the next time they wanted to make breakfast, they’d done so this time.
Early that morning, Prescott and Parker had climbed into their parents’ large bed for some sleepy snuggles. Bea was so proud of the two girls for listening to their Daddy, that she had to pretend to still be asleep. It helped that they were Ben’s little princesses who loved him fiercely. Scottie had always been a Daddy’s girl while Parker had clung onto her Mommy for almost two years before she grew to love Ben more than anyone. Ben had fought for Parker’s affection and had cried real tears the first morning their youngest crawled into his arms and kissed him good morning before Bea.
“Shh,” Ben shushed their giggles again through his smile as he carefully carried a large tray full of breakfast foods, endlessly amused by his girls, “We can’t wake Mommy yet, sweets. It’ll ruin the surprise.”
While he could immediately tell that his beloved was already awake, she was doing a convincing job of pretending to still be asleep. Convincing enough for a four and three-year-old, anyway. Ben was already so in love with his wife before she became the incredible mother that she is. Watching her take amazing care of their girls made him fall more in love with her; more and more every day.
Scottie shushed her younger sister with a finger to her lips despite her own incessant giggles. Ben and Bea knew she couldn’t help it, she was such a giggly and smiley little girl who they adored endlessly. Parker was a little more reserved and Ben had to earn her giggles by being her fun and silly Daddy. The sound of his girls’ laughter was Ben’s favorite sound, it almost pained him to shush Parker’s giggles so he just shook his head in amusement. Bea was awake anyway, so it hardly mattered.
Parker watched on as Scottie pulled herself up onto the bed where Bea was lying, trying to copy her movements exactly so she could do it too. The younger admired her older sister more and more every day and wanted to be just like her.
Bea and Ben knew Parker just had to find out who she was and that she would as she grew. Before she began admiring Prescott so closely, she’d taken after their mother. Parker would try to brush her hair in the mirror or tap makeup brushes across her face the way she’d seen Bea do countless times before or want to match clothes, usually dresses, with her. It worried Bea and Ben at first, that Parker seemed to be more of a follower than a leader like Scottie. But they’d promised as a couple that they’d never put pressure on their children to be any type of way, that they’d love and support their children unconditionally.
Parker grunted and struggled as she tried hauling herself up onto the large bed that her parents shared. Scottie turned around and held a little hand out to her baby sister for help, which she took. Ben had to use his quick reflexes to balance the tray and catch Parker by the back of her nightgown when she slipped from Scottie’s grasp and nearly fell to the floor. From the sensation of falling, Parker got spooked and whined. The toddler was clearly fighting back tears with her arms out to Ben who cooed in sympathy. That’s when Bea finally rose from her false slumber.
“Oh no,” Bea crooned as she sat up and scooped her baby into her arms, “What happened, my love? Did you get scared?”
“Dada!” Parker cried and made grabby hands at Ben, making Bea pout and kiss her chubby cheek.
She almost missed being the center of Parker’s attention, but was so proud of her youngest for opening her heart to her father. It was hard for Parker to open up to anyone, even Ben. But now, they were two peas in a pod. Prescott was also a Daddy’s girl, but she was more open to sharing her parents than Parker was most days. Parker could be possessive of Ben at times, which was something they were working on amending.
“C’mere, princess,” Ben pouted as he set the tray of food down at the foot of the large bed, taking the baby girl from his wife’s arms, “Daddy’s sorry he didn’t catch you faster, honey.”
Luckily, Parker just rubbed her tears into Ben’s worn sleep shirt before emerging with a toothy grin. Her pink nose and cheeks perfectly framed her precious smile, so Ben pressed a smacking kiss to her cheek. Their girls were beautiful with their long blonde hair and sparkling blue-green eyes. Scottie’s hair had a bit of a curl to it and was more sandy like Ben’s. Her sister had their father’s dimples and huge smile. Bea and Ben would love their girls no matter what, they just happened to be the cutest babies in the world.
“Mama hasn’t gotten a single ‘good morning’ kiss,” Bea butt in with a pout and her arms crossed over her chest, “I’m starting to feel left out.”
“Well, we can’t have that,” Ben tsked and shook his head before pressing a kiss to his wife’s head, “Let’s all give Mama the kisses she’s due.”
“Good morning, Mommy!” Scottie cheered and laid a smacking kiss on Bea’s cheek, making her giggle and scoop the little one into her arms, “Daddy helped us make you breakfast!”
“He did?” Bea asked with a beaming smile as she finally looked over to the tray Ben had been holding, then made eyes at her husband, “That was very nice of you three.”
“It was all their idea,” Ben told her with a knowing smile, “I just did the heavy lifting.”
“Gotta put all that muscle to use,” she chuckled and grabbed a blueberry from the bowl of fruit on the tray before popping it into her mouth, “You guys are going to help me eat all of this, right? I can’t possibly finish it alone.”
“I wan’ pancakes!” Parker instantly agreed before holding her arms out to Bea with her lips puckered.
Bea took Parker into her free arm and gladly took her good morning kiss. As affectionate as they were with each other, the couple wasn’t at all surprised by how affectionate their daughters turned out to be. Kisses and snuggles were a common thing in their home and within their family. Ben had limited contact with his family since losing his mother, but Bea’s family was very involved in Parker and Prescott’s lives. The girls adored their grandparents and their loving aunties, Halle and Claudia.
Their uncle Pete was also their godfather who loved to spoil them whenever given the chance.
“Then, help me eat these ones!” Bea said as she slyly tickled her girls’ sides, making them break out into matching fits of giggles, “I can’t finish them all by myself!”
Ben smiled at the sight and sound of his two favorite girls giggling as his third favorite girl tickled them silly. He still couldn’t believe his luck that he checked all of Bea’s boxes. If his good looks and fun spirit weren’t enough, his massive heart and undying loyalty were overkill. Bea herself was still in awe that she’d made a family with someone so unlike Jonathan. She’d wasted so much of her life thinking he was the only man for her. Luckily, Bea and Ben found their futures intertwined with one another. Their present was already so beautiful, neither of them could imagine it could get any better.