“And now?”
Now I trusted him. Trusted that he was a man of his word and that he would never try and hurt me.
Instead of telling him that, I popped up onto my tiptoes and pressed my lips to his, trying to show him with action thatI wasn’t sure I could easily put into words. His hands settled on my hips, and the volatile emotions from before were gone.
When he pulled away, he placed his forehead against mine, and I relished his closeness.
“I’m sorry for not telling you sooner,” I said.
“I know. I just… I wish I hadn’t missed out on the first part of her life. But even if you told me when we ran into each other, that wouldn’t have changed the past.”
“So, you want to be in her life going forward?”
“Absolutely.” There was no hesitation. “I want to be with both of you from now on.”
My heart stuttered. “Are you sure? I mean, isn’t this moving too fast?”
“It’s been four years since we met.”
I rolled my eyes at his smirk, even though he had a point.
“Seriously,” he continued. “I know you haven’t been back in my life long, but you left an impression back then, and I want you even more now. I’ve never cared about a woman the way I care about you.”
My breath caught. There was nothing but sincerity in his eyes, and that made me believe his words. It didn’t matter that we’d only slept together once four years ago, and I’d only come back into his life last week. This connection was real.
“You and Alexis will both keep living here, under my protection.”
“Are you asking or telling me?”
“You don’t want to go anywhere, baby. You belong with me.”
I chuckled. “You’re so bossy. You know, relationships should growbeforepeople move in together.”
“We already have a child together.”
I grinned. “I guess that means we’re doing this whole thing backwards.”
“I don’t care. I want you here. I want Alexis here. Let me continue keeping you guys safe while we explore things between us.”
I agreed, but in my heart, I knew that he was right. We belonged here. I was pretty sure I was already falling for him.