“How are you guys settling in?” Em asked as we stood around the kitchen island.
“Good,” I replied truthfully. “Riley loves school. And work is fine. We’re settling into the house. I started going to the gym.” I was debating whether I should share that I was spending time with Cash when the man himself walked through the slider with a sniffling Riley in his arms.
For a split second I was so shocked by the sight, I froze. Then I was in motion, moving toward my daughter. Years of experience had taught me that this type of cry didn’t warrant any panic, but I still wanted to comfort her.
“What happened, baby?” I asked gently.
“She slipped and scraped her knee,” Cash responded for her. “You have some Band-Aids and Neosporin?” he asked over his shoulder toward Wren as Riley clung to him as though she’d known him all her life.
Considering Riley’s typical skittishness around men, I was shocked to see her behave this way.
Wren nodded. “In the guest bath.”
He strode in that direction as I fought to keep up with his long legs. “What are you doing? I can take it from here,” I protested in frustration.
He sat Riley gently on the countertop. “It’s okay, baby,” he assured me gently. “I got this.”
I gritted my teeth, not wanting to rant at him in front of Riley.
Riley looked at me with tear-filled eyes. “I didn’t get to meet Rosie.”
“Rosie?”
“The pig,” Cash explained as he carefully put some Neosporin on Riley’s knee. “I’ll take you back out there, darlin’,” he assured Riley.
She smiled hesitantly up at him through tears.
I stared at the two of them, flabbergasted. What universe had I been transported to?
“Um, maybe I should just take Riley home,” I put in.
“No, Mama!” Riley exclaimed. “It’s fun here!”
“Yeah, Mama,” Cash murmured, his blue eyes trained on me. “It’s fun here.”
I made a grumbling sound of frustration that he ignored, turning eyes back to Ri. “All right, sweetheart, you’re all set. Good as new,” he told her after he’d finished putting a Band-Aid on. “What do you say we go back out and try this again?” he offered.
“Yes!” Riley exclaimed before turning worried eyes to me. “I can, right, Mama?”
“How about I take you?” I bargained.
“Tell you what, sweetheart,” Cash spoke up, “why don’t you go find Wren and let me talk to your mom for a minute?” he asked.
“Okay,” she agreed all too readily as he helped her off the counter. She skipped out of the bathroom and down the hall as I stood in openmouthed shock at being completely railroaded.
“You… but…,” I blathered as he closed the bathroom door and stepped into my space. “She’s mine,” I finally settled on.
His gaze swept over my face, landing a beat on my lips, making my stomach clench. “She is. And she’s perfect,” he murmured, looking down at me, making the small space feel impossibly smaller. In a move so swift I barely registered it, he gripped my hips and placed me on the counter, moving in between my legs. “And you are so fucking gorgeous, if I don’t get my hands on you soon, I’m going to lose my mind,” he growled.
“I’m not trying to play some game. I’m not trying to be coy. I actually don’t think I even know how to do that,” I muttered, causing a tender smile to quirk his gorgeous lips. “But I haven’t let a man into my life in a long time and I have Riley… she’s my priority. We’re still getting settled, everything is so new. My nan just died….”
I don’t know how long I would have kept talking, but suddenly, his mouth was on mine. His hands cupped the sides of my face as his lips coaxed mine open, his tongue meeting mine, a delicious growl rumbling deep in his chest.
My core liquified, heart hammering as I lost the battle willingly and wrapped my legs around him, pulling him closer. In that moment, there was no denying him. There was no worry, no thought at all beyond pure need. His hands went to my hair, pulling gently as he took the kiss deeper.
A knock at the door had him pulling back, his forehead pressed to mine. “Just a minute,” he rasped to whoever was at the door. He pulled back, eyes roving over my face. “Fuck, I knew once I got a taste of you that’d be it.”
“I should get back to Riley.” I felt guilty that I’d left her so long.