“It’s not cute,” I reply as I sit up straight. “It’s manly.”
She crawls closer, then throws a leg over me, straddling me. Her hands find my face. “It’s cute. The sweetest thing ever.”
“I just want to do right by you and the baby.” My voice cracks in embarrassment.
Tears form in her eyes. “We both appreciate it.”
My hands find her hips. It’s just instinct with her. This is how my body responds to her. Though I don’t know where we stand at the moment. Am I allowed to touch her? To kiss her?
I know we can’t have sex for a week at least. Doctor’s orders.
Her green eyes continue to hold mine, and they hit me—hard. The depth in them. The questions. The fears. But also—what I don’t even deserve—the trust. I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve the flicker of trust that she holds for me, but it twists in my heart.
I don’t say anything. I can’t. Words feel inadequate right now, but I hold her gaze.
Then she leans in—unhurried, cautious—and kisses me.
It’s soft and slow. I feel her hesitation, wondering if I’m going to kiss her back.
I kiss her back, trying to convey how I don’t know how the hell to promise her forever, but am willing to fight like hell for the chance.
She pulls away, my heart pounding in my chest.
“I …” she starts, and I hold my breath, hoping she doesn’t tell me it was a mistake. “Have to pee.”
Her smile tells me we haven’t lost the playful moment.
I return her grin. “I think I read about that in this book. It’ll happen more and more frequently.”
She groans. “You’re going to be so grossed out by me.”
I chuckle as she gets off my lap, not even slightly shy about my hard dick. She knows what she does to me.
When she gets back, she comes right back to the couch, a little slow this time.
“What’s wrong?” I nearly chuck the book across the room.
“What? Oh, I just took another round of medicine. The pain was coming back.”
“How bad was the pain? Nothing too intense, right?” I ask in a panic.
“I’m fine. I promise. I haven’t even taken anything for it since early this morning. It’s been over eight hours. Longer than I’ve gone since I was admitted.”
“Okay. Good.” I sit back down next to her.
She pulls her phone out of her pocket after it vibrates. Though she tries to hide it, I see a trace of sadness on her face as she reads a text.
“Who is it?” I ask.
“Walker,” she whispers. “He wanted to come check on me.”
“Ah, let me guess. He doesn’t want to step foot in my place.”
“I don’t understand why he’s being so unreasonable,” she cries. “I mean, you’re his best friend. He likes you enough to spend his time with you. What’s wrong with me doing the same?”
I sigh, trying to think about this from his perspective. “He’s just hurt. Put your phone down. I’ll handle your brother.”
Her eyebrow lifts suspiciously. “How?”