I stood in my kitchen, leaning on the counter as I held a cup of coffee. I heard the door open as Ben yelled, "Anyone home?"

"Mommy!" Kami ran in and hugged my leg.

"Hey, sweetheart," I said as I rubbed her head.

Ben walked in, "How was the date?"

"Amazing," I said.

"Looks like it," he said as he grabbed a mug and poured a cup of coffee.

Then I heard the door open again, "Anyone home?" People have decided not to knock anymore.

"In the kitchen," Ben yelled.

The twins walked in with the girls.

"Zara! Zoe! Avie!" Kami squealed.

"Hey, shrimp," Zara greeted her.

"Zara, will you paint my nails?" she asked.

"Sure, what color do you want?"

"I want sparkles," she said.

"Then sparkles it is," she said to her.

"Zara, can you take the girls?" Tara asked her.

"Yes, Mom," she said as she ushered the girls out of the kitchen.

"So, how was the date?" Kara asked.

"It was incredible until Vicky showed up," I said with a look.

"What did she want?" Tara asked.

"Oh, you know, to act like the selfish twit she is," I said to them.

"That woman is something else. I can't stand her," Tara huffed.

"Twin, you can't stand a lot of people. What else is new?"

"I can't stand her, especially. How she got custody is beyond me," Tara said.

"I felt terrible for Georgia. She was up past her bedtime when she brought her," I sighed. "But Scott was amazing with her. He has her all week," I said to them.

"He needs to take her to court and get custody," Ben said. "She would be better with him than her mother, and trust me, she's no pick."

"Well, Scott did ask me to be his girlfriend."What?!" They all said in unison.

I gave them a look as I took a sip of coffee.

"Please tell me you said yes," Kara said.

Then I heard a knock at the door, "Excuse me."

As I walked away, I heard Kara say, "You can't leave us hanging like that! Get back here!"

"I have to answer the door!"

I walked over to the door to see Scott and Georgia there.

"Hi, Miss Lina!" Georgia smiled.

"Hey, sweetie, the girls are getting their nails painted with sparkly paint. Why don't you join them?"

"Yay! Bye, Daddy!" She yelled as she ran upstairs. Scott chuckled, as did I. Then he pulled me to him and kissed me.

"Hi."

"Hi." I smiled.

"Come on in; everyone is in the kitchen having coffee," I told him. I closed the door, and he followed me into the kitchen. As we walked in, I said, "You all remember Scott, my boyfriend." I walked over to the counter and took a seat, acting casual. They all stood there, stunned.

He walked over and wrapped his arms around me from behind. Five, four, three, two, then the twins squealed.

Scott chuckled as I laughed. Ben walked over to Scott, and we stopped laughing.

"I'm only going to say this once. Treat Lina and Kami good. If you do, then we're cool. If you don't, then well, I feel pity for when I break your legs," he said then smiled.

The twins looked at us, "Don't worry. I plan on treating her very well." Scott looked at me and smiled.

"Good, then we have nothing to worry about, do we?"

"Nope."

He went back over to his cup of coffee. Nothing like tension to start a day off right.

*********
Everyone stayed for lunch, and we all talked. It was nice that we were all able to get along. I know Ben and Scott had a tense moment, but eventually, they could talk and get to know each other. I was relieved. It's always tricky when the ex meets the new person in your life.

Even though Ben and I were divorced, we remained best friends. We were that way before we started dating and stayed that way after we divorced. I was lucky in that aspect.

"So, Scott, when are you going to take Vicky to court for custody," Tara asked.

"I'm meeting with my attorney tomorrow. Hopefully, this time, we get a better judge," he said.

"That woman doesn't deserve to raise a child," Kara added.

"Mmm," Tara said.

Then Kami came in and tugged on Scott's shirt sleeve.

"Yes, sweetie?"

"Mister Scott, do you like my mommy?"

"I like your mommy very much so."

"Are you going to come over more?"

"Yes, and hopefully bring Georgia with me," he smiled.

"Are you going to be my daddy like daddy and Rob?"

We all looked at each other.

"Well, I'm not sure yet, maybe."

"I hope so. Because you bring cake," Kami smiled.

We all started laughing.

Ben looked at her, "Is that what takes you to like people, is cake?"

"Daddy's cake is life, and so is chocolate. Miss Tara says so," she said innocently.

"Is that so?"

"Yes," she said as Tara shrugged. I couldn't help but laugh.

Then we heard someone come in and yell, "I got cake!"

"Yay!" The girls yelled. Rob walked in carrying a cake and placed it on the counter. He walked over to Ben and kissed him.

"Sorry I'm late," he said.

"Did you bring chocolate cake," Tara asked.

"Of course."

"Then you're forgiven," she said as she got up and started slicing the cake. I shook my head. Ever want Tara to forgive you? Give her chocolate cake.

We all had cake and filled with Rob on what was going on.

"I don't understand, with everything you have told me, how was she able to get custody," he asked Scott.

"I had a lousy judge and a lousy attorney at the time. I found another attorney. Hopefully, he's better than the last one."

"What's his name?"

"Davis Miller," Scott said. Rob gave him a look, as did Ben. It couldn't be right.

"Something wrong," Scott asked him.

"Everything is wrong. Call Davis tomorrow and cancel your meeting with him."

"What? Why?"

"Because he is a terrible attorney. He has never won a case, and he can't be trusted. If you want custody, I will be your attorney," Rob told him.

Scott looked at him as Ben said, "Rob is an attorney in family law. He has won almost every case in which he's involved in custody disputes. He's the one that helped mediate custody with Kami."

Scott looked at him, then at me.

"Rob is fair, and no, Ben didn't get involved with him at the time. They got involved a year later," I reasoned.

He looked at them, "I don't care how much it costs. I want my daughter. She deserves a stable home with love. She's not getting that with Victoria. All Victoria sees her as is a gravy train, and it needs to stop."

We all looked at Scott. My heart ached for him. Most guys don't care about the kids, but Scott did. He was like Ben in that aspect. When it came to the kids, they were more important than anything. That endeared him to me even more.

"Then it's settled. I'll take the case and file a motion tomorrow. Where is your ex at now?"

"The Bahamas, probably with her new boy toy," he said through gritted teeth. I reached over and placed my hand on his, giving it a gentle squeeze. He relaxed when I did that.

"Good, I will file for child abandonment, which will give you temporary custody until the hearing. Relax and let me do the work. I will forewarn you; it will get messy, and people will get dragged into it," Rob advised.

We looked at him.

"Expect trouble, but given enough evidence, it won't matter. I'm also going to advise you not to discuss this with anyone. The fewer people that know, the better, less ammunition used in court," he explained.

I had a feeling things were going to get rough. We were also advised to keep our relationship quiet. The fewer people knew about us, the better.

With Ben and me, it didn't matter because we were both single and weren't with someone. Plus, we worked at being as amicable as possible towards each other.

I just hated this. I didn't want to hide anything, but I also knew how important it was to Scott. Eventually, people would find out about us, but we would keep it quiet until after the custody hearing.

It looks like we are staying in, which was fine by me.