Too Late To Love Me I Already Left With His Twins (Lydia and Dave) novel Chapter 336

Lydia

Ava answered first. “I think it’s nice. I like that you’re not making it too big. I think it should feel like us, not like we’re trying to impress people.”

I listened carefully.

“And I like that there’ll be a garden,” she continued. “It feels more comfortable. People can sit together and talk. And I think the lights will look pretty in the evening.”

“What about you, Eli?”

“I still think dinosaurs would make it better.”

I closed my eyes.

“But,” he added quickly, “the garden is good too. And the cake must be big enough for everybody. Also, I think Dad should wear a nice suit.”

Dave looked offended. “A nice suit?”

“Yes. Not one of those boring ones.”

“Boring ones?”

“You know. The ones that make people look like they’re going to an office meeting.”

I covered my mouth to hide my laughter.

Dave looked at me. “Are you enjoying this?”

“Very much.”

“Excellent. I’ll remember that when your wedding dress looks like a bedsheet.”

I gasped. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Anything you want, milady,” he said, leaning over to kiss my cheek. “It’s your day. I’m happy as long as you’re happy.”

I smiled despite myself.

And just like that, the wedding felt a little more real. Not because of the venue or the flowers or the endless list of things Anna wanted us to decide, but because I could picture the people I loved sitting beneath those lights, laughing together, making memories with us.

That was what I wanted.

Not a perfect wedding. Just a day that felt like ours.

After the wedding discussion, Dave announced that he had something for the children.

Eli’s head snapped towards him.

“Gifts?”

Dave grinned. “You could say that.”

“Dad!” Eli practically bounced off the sofa. “What did you get me?”

“Patience, young man.”

“Dad!”

“I’m joking.”

Dave reached for the bags he had left near the entrance and brought them into the living room. Ava watched with a small smile, trying to appear more composed than her brother, although the way she leaned forward betrayed her curiosity.

Dave handed Eli his first package.

Eli tore into it with the urgency of someone who had just been informed that the world would end in five minutes. When he saw what was inside, he let out a delighted shout.

“Dad! No way!”

It was a dinosaur building set, complete with pieces he could assemble into a moving model.

Dave looked pleased with himself. “I remembered you talking about wanting to build something complicated.”

Eli immediately began inspecting the box. “It has moving parts! Look, Mom! Look!”

“I can see it, sweetheart.”

“And it says it takes hours to build!”

“Wonderful. That means you’ll be occupied for hours.”

He hugged Dave around the waist. “Thank you, Dad!”

Dave ruffled his hair. “You’re welcome, buddy.”

Ava received her gift next. Dave handed her a neatly wrapped box, and she opened it more carefully than her brother had opened his.

Inside was a science kit with experiments she could work through herself, along with a notebook for recording her observations.

Her eyes widened.

“You got me this?”

“I did. I remembered how much you enjoy figuring things out.”

Ava ran her fingers over the notebook cover. “I can write down what happens in every experiment?”

“That’s the plan.”

She smiled, then leaned forward and hugged him. “Thank you, Dad.”

Dave held her for a moment longer before letting her go.

Watching them, I felt that familiar warmth settle in my chest. He paid attention to the little things. The things the children mentioned casually and probably forgot they had said. Somehow, he remembered.

It was one of the things I loved about him.

Dinner was lively, largely because Eli insisted on explaining the entire dinosaur set while eating, and Ava kept correcting his descriptions of the experiments she intended to perform.

“I’m telling you, the dinosaur’s head moves,” Eli said.

“It’s a model, Eli. Of course it moves if you build it properly.”

“I’m going to make it roar.”

“It’s not going to roar.”

“Maybe it will.”

“It doesn’t have a speaker.”

“Maybe I’ll add one.”

I looked at Dave. “Do you see what you’ve done?”

He smiled innocently. “Encouraged creativity?”

“Created a problem I’ll have to live with.”

After dinner, the children reluctantly agreed to put their gifts away until morning. We went through the usual bedtime routine, with Eli asking approximately twelve questions after I had already told him goodnight and Ava requesting one more hug before settling under her blanket.

I kissed them both, reminded them to sleep, and finally escaped when neither child could think of another reason to keep me in the room.

By the time I returned to our bedroom, Dave was already waiting for me.

And, for once, I had him all to myself.

“So,” I said, climbing onto the bed beside him. “How was your trip?”

Dave leaned back against the headboard. “Interesting.”

“That’s suspiciously vague.”

“Would you prefer a detailed report?”

“I would prefer the truth.”

He considered that. “The truth is that I spent three hours in an airport listening to a man argue with a vending machine.”

I turned to him. “A vending machine?”

“He kept pressing the same button, expecting it to produce a different result. Eventually, he started threatening it.”

“Perhaps the machine owed him money.”

“That’s what I thought. Then he kicked it.”

“Did he get his snack?”

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