“Because I’m going to write a report about this and it’s going to go on record. If you come back on Mr. Bay’s property, he’ll then be able to get an injunction against you.” The officer looks to me and almost apologetically says, “I’ll need your ID too, Mr. Bay.”
“Gladly,” I say with a smile as I reach into my back pocket for my wallet.Chapter 21PepperI settle into Legend’s bed, propping myself up with several pillows against the headboard. Reaching over to the bedside table, I grab the book I’ve been reading and realize that we’ve settled in as a “couple” together. I stay over here the nights he’s in town and he doesn’t even have to ask anymore.
It’s just expected—by both of us—that I’ll stay.
I’ve got a toothbrush in his bathroom and whatever romance novel I’m reading on his bedside table.
It’s not what I’d ever expected to happen between my surly neighbor and me, but there’s nowhere I’d rather be.
Legend walks into the bedroom and shoots me a smile. He goes to the baby monitor on the bedside table and fiddles with the volume. Charlie will wake up at least twice during the night to be fed, and Legend will handle it all alone, despite my offers to help. He’ll simply loosen his hold on me and whisper before rolling out of bed, “I got this. Go back to sleep.”
He’s amazing and I admire him for the father he’s become.
I ogle the man as he undresses, completely comfortable in his own skin. But why wouldn’t he be? He’s built like a Greek god with rippling muscles over a strong stature.
He strips to his boxers but leaves them on. This is usually how he comes to bed and he told me once he wanted me to work for what I wanted underneath. I’m wearing one of his T-shirts like I usually do and only because I tend to be chilly, but I forego my panties so he doesn’t have to work hard for what he wants.
Legend comes to the bed and flops on it, snagging my book out of my hand. He rolls to his side and holds it up to study the cover. He reads the title out loud: “Lost and Found Sisters. Any good?”
“It’s phenomenal but then again, anything Jill Shalvis writes is pure gold,” I tell him as I take the book back from him. “But it’s not your style of book.”
Legend braces his head in his hand and studies me. “How do you know?”
“Because I know,” I maintain as I put the book back on the bedside table, pretty confident he would not like women’s fiction and romance. I roll onto my side to face him, sliding an arm under a pillow and fluffing it up so my head can rest on it. “You seem pretty calm tonight despite the excitement of the day.”
Yes. Watching a police officer run Lida off was highly entertaining, and also relieving. She’s on notice now that she can’t come back.
Legend shrugs. “I have an amazing child sleeping safely in her crib, a career I love, and a phenomenally sexy woman I’m crazy about in my bed. Why should I be worrying about anything else?”
“You make good points,” I reply with a laugh. “I think Lida knows you’re serious about things and she needs to go through the proper channels now.”
“I hope so.” Legend reaches out and takes my hand, but he does nothing but hold it lightly. “Can I ask you something personal?”
My heart skips a beat but there’s only one answer to that question. “Of course, you can.”
Legend squeezes my hand, his expression somber. “We’ve never talked about your inability to have children. I want to know how you feel about it.”
And this will be the moment I look back on my life and realize I fell in love with Legend Bay. His question overwhelms me with so many emotions because he cared enough to ask, and it takes me a moment to answer.
My moment concerns him and he hastens to say, “But if that’s too personal—”
I shake my head and squeeze his hand hard. “No. Not too personal. It just means a lot that you’d care about it to ask.”
“I care about you, Pepper,” he tells me earnestly. “And you’re so wonderful with Charlie, you’re meant to be a mother one day. So I was curious about your feelings.”
No clue if it’s returned, but yeah…I love him.
“And I will be,” I tell him with confidence. “Be a mother, that is. Adoption is a beautiful option for me.”
He smiles as if a fond memory strikes him. “When you were helping me pick out names for Charlie. Your first suggestion was Emma but then you took it back because you said you might want it one day for your own.”