This kiss…is on fire.
Desire rushes through me like flames jumping from one cell to another and before I know it I’m clawing at the thick muscles of his ass through his pants, pulling him closer to where I ache for him, to where I—
A high-pitched squeal of laughter pierces the air, and Nash and I flinch apart with twin sounds of surprise.
I turn to see Felicity awake in her stroller, laughing her head off, kicking her legs and pumping her fists as she giggles up at us.
“Apparently she thinks kissing is pretty funny.” Laughing, Nash bends to pick up the stuffed skunk Felicity’s knocked out of the stroller, pressing it back into her eager arms before he stands.
I meet his gaze, my heart skipping a beat when I see the happiness and hope I’m feeling reflected in his eyes.
“Do you think we’ve scarred her for life?” I ask, fighting the urge to pull his lips back to mine.
We’ve already made a spectacle of ourselves. Thank goodness Felicity seems to be the only one who caught us in the act.
“Nah,” he says with a crooked grin. “But I’m sure we’ll get around to it. Even good parents screw up every once and a while. No matter how hard they try not to.”
My breath catches and a sliver of fear cuts through the haze of desire, clearing my head.
Parents.
Nash and I raising Felicity together.
Am I ready to think about that?
Giving a romantic relationship a chance is one thing, thinking about making a forever family together is something else entirely.
I was so determined to have forever with Liam and look how that turned out. All it did was lead to years of fighting and crying and suffering over something that should have been dead and buried a long time ago. I can’t let myself lose my head that way again, not over anyone, even a guy like Nash.
Yes, he’s been amazing to both Felicity and me so far, but he has a bad side, too. Hell, his bad side was the only side I saw for years after the camp disaster. And sure, we were just kids, but can I really—
“Don’t go down the rabbit hole,” he says, cutting into my thoughts as he takes my hand and gives my fingers a squeeze. “And don’t be afraid. We’ll just take each day as it comes.”
I frown up at him. “How did you know what I was thinking?”
“I’m getting pretty good at reading you, Red,” Nash murmurs. “And so we’re clear, I meant what I said back there. I’m so glad you came back into my life before I settled for something less than the real thing.” He pauses, searching my face. “I’ve never felt this kind of connection with anyone else.”
“Me, either,” I murmur.
“So why not go for it?” he asks, excitement flickering in his eyes. “We’re already married. Why not see if we can make this marriage something we’re both excited to wake up to every morning?”
I exhale. “Well, a few reasons off the top of my head. One, we barely know each other anymore. Two—”
“Not true. You know me. And I know you. Even better, I know exactly what you want in a man.”
Brows lifting, I cross my arms over my chest. “Oh yeah? Enlighten me, Geary.”
“You want a man who will love Felicity like she’s his own. I already do,” he says, banishing the comeback on the tip of my tongue. He is so good with her. A dream come true, really. “You want a man who will respect you and keep his promises, and that’s the only kind of man I ever want to be.” He steps closer, making my nerve endings hum all over again. “And you want someone who will love you so much it’s almost sinful, a man who will worship you, make you feel like a goddess every damned day.”
I swallow. “I don’t want to be worshiped,” I protest, though maybe a part of me does. The part that still dreams of romance and happily ever after. The part that wants to love my man the same way, with every piece of my mind, body, and soul.
“Yes, you do,” Nash says without missing a beat. “Because that’s the way a man loves a woman he wants to spend the rest of his life with. Anything less than worship isn’t going to last fifty years and through thousands of dirty diapers.”
“There won’t be thousands,” I say, tackling the least terrifying thing he just said. “I think I can have Felicity potty-trained before she’s two.”
Nash nods. “That’s fine. But what if we decide to have eight or ten more?”
My eyes fly open so wide the sockets immediately start to ache and Nash laughs so hard he sets Felicity to giggling again, too.
“Not funny,” I say, slapping his chest with the back of one hand.