This is what falling in love is supposed to feel like. An irresistible force, a tidal wave that pulls you under, spins you around, and turns your entire world upside down in the best way. I don’t care that there are toys all over my living room floor and a highchair blocking the sliding glass door out to the deck. I don’t care that I’ve gone without sleep for most of the nights since Aria moved in or that I know we’ll have more sleepless nights ahead as we deal with baby teeth, little kid sniffles, nightmares, and all the things that wake parents in the night.
I’m ready for it. All of it.
I can’t wait.
As long as I get to do all those things with her.
“She’s asleep,” Aria whispers as she steps out of the baby’s room into the hallway, closing the door softly behind her.
I lean back against the wall, studying her troubled face. “Having second thoughts?”
She shakes her head. “No.” She bites her lip, laughing beneath her breath as her gaze falls to the carpet. “Just a little nervous. It’s been a while for me.”
“Been a while for me, too.”
She rolls her eyes. “Um, no I mean it’s really been a while, Nash. Like, in some cultures, I’m considered a virgin again by now.”
I grin. “Are there cultures like that?”
“I don’t know,” she says with a shrug. “Probably not, but there should be. After going so long without anyone seeing you naked it starts to feel kind of scary again, you know?” She exhales with a wave of her hand. “Never mind. Don’t answer that. You’re too pretty to worry about what you look like naked, and I’m sure you’ve never gone over a year without sex.”
My brows shoot up.
Over a year.
That means she hasn’t slept with anyone since Felicity was born, apparently not even her ex.
No wonder she’s nervous. I’ve heard my sisters talk about their post-baby body woes enough to know it’s something that bothers a lot of women. But my sisters have husbands who love them, who insist they’re still beautiful, stretch marks and all.
I can imagine how hard it must have been for Aria, to have her marriage fall apart while she was recovering from childbirth and no one there to remind her that she’s still every bit as beautiful as she was before she had a baby.
Tonight, I vow to make her feel that way, to make her feel like the most beautiful woman in the world. It should be easy enough. In my eyes, she always has been.
I take her hand. “There’s no reason to be nervous. I’ve got you.”
Her features soften. “Yeah, you do. Hopefully you won’t come to regret that a few months down the line.”
“Why would I regret it?”
She lifts a shoulder and lets it fall, her throat working as she says, “My ex… cheated. A lot. I started to wonder if maybe there was something wrong with me. In the bedroom. Or out of the bedroom. I don’t know. Maybe both.”
“There is nothing wrong with you,” I say, the pain in her eyes hitting me like a karate chop to the throat.
My jaw clenches.
I already hated her ex for the way he’s treated Felicity, but now…
“You said I deserved better than Rachael,” I say. “Well, you sure as hell deserved better than that douchebag. There’s nothing wrong with you. He’s just a selfish, shitty excuse for a husband and a father.”
“That’s sweet of you to say,” she whispers, but I hear the doubt lingering beneath the words.
I cup her face in my hands, leaning down until my eyes are level with hers. “Aria March, you are beautiful, inside and out. You are a wonderful mother and a good friend and I’ve had more fun sleep training a fussy baby with you than I have on any date in the past five years.”
Her lips twitch. “You must have been on a lot of bad dates.”
“So many,” I tease, loving the sound of her soft laughter. “And in addition to your other excellent qualities, you’re an amazing kisser. You have nothing to worry about in the bedroom.”
Her tongue slips out to dampen her lips. “You can’t know that for sure. I could be super bad at all the other stuff.”
“I doubt it, but if you are…” I drop my hands to her waist, drawing her against me. “Then I’ll be your sex tutor.”
Her eyes flash. “Yeah? You’d do that for me?”
“I would,” I say, dipping my head closer to hers.
She lifts her chin. “Nash?”
“Yes?” I ask, brushing my lips against hers.
“I’m pretty sure I don’t need a sex tutor.”
“I’m pretty sure you don’t either.” I kiss her again, soft and light, relishing the feel of her breath warm on my lips.
“I’m also pretty sure I’m going to die if we’re not naked and in your bed in five minutes.”