Chris appraised her slowly from the top of her head to her toes and back. Usually, she’d feel gawky and self-conscious, maybe cover up, but not under his stare. He made her feel beautiful with the way he looked at her. “You’re gorgeous.” He approached her slowly, like a hunter stalking his prey, and raised his hand to her cheek. “I’ll take you home, but can I have a few more minutes first?”
She slipped her arms around his neck. “A few minutes won’t hurt, right?”
Two hours later, Bronte raced into the hospital with Chris trailing behind. She hoped no one would notice how long it took them to arrive, but the waiting room was empty, save for her dad and Zoe, who was busy coloring.
“Aunt Bean!” Zoe hooked on to her legs. “Mommy is giving me a brother!”
“I know. Are you excited?”
“Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!” The little girl hopped over to Chris. “Hi, are you here to see my brother, too?”
“Yep.” He took her outstretched hand and followed her to the table where a coloring book and crayons were spread out. He greeted Bronte’s dad with a handshake. “Congratulations, Grandpa. This family has a thing for spending holidays in the hospital.”
Her father grinned. “This time, it’s for a great reason.”
His eyes drifted between Chris and Bronte, and she leaned over to kiss his cheek, a warning in her eyes. Her dad had a knack for letting embarrassing things drop at the most inopportune time.
“I didn’t say anything.” He held up his hands. “Though, I couldn’t help but notice your car was parked outside of our house today, yet you weren’t visiting your dear old dad. Curious.”
“Daddy.” Her cheeks heated as she slouched into a chair next to him.
“Imagine my surprise. My Beanie Baby has a life of her own.”
Chris covered his laugh with a cough. Why wasn’t he as mortified as she was? He had been caught with his pants down, so to speak.
“Zoe, what are you coloring?” Chris asked. “Princesses? Can I color too?”
“Yeah, here.” She clumsily ripped out a page for him. “You color Snow White. I color Ariel.”
He sat down next to her and diligently went to work on the birds flying around Snow White’s head.
“How’s it going?” Bronte asked when her father checked his watch.
“Good, I guess. Your mom’s in there with your sister. Tommy keeps coming out to give updates.”
“Yeah? He’s nervous?”
“It never gets easier. Each time your wife is in labor, it’s as nerve-racking as the first time. With you, I barely got your mother out of the car before you were poking your head out. I thought I was going to have to pull over on the side of the road and deliver you myself.”
Bronte laughed, imagining how frazzled her dad must’ve been.
“Oh, sure, it’s funny now, but I was losing my mind. Your mother was screaming at me, and I was stuck behind a car going twenty miles an hour.”
“Is that the reason Bronte drives so slow now? Because it was her first experience on the road?” Chris asked, grinning at them over his shoulder.
She nudged the toe of her shoe into his lower back. “I do not drive slow. I follow the rules of the road. You, on the other hand…”
He pursed his lips, and her gaze automatically dropped to them. His tongue poked out, wetting them, the corner of his mouth kicking up, and she raised her eyes back up to his. They crinkled in a wicked smile.
Twenty-four hours ago, she was so mad at him, she could barely look at him. Now, all she wanted to do was stare. This man was hers. To stare at, to touch and kiss, to hold his hand as he drove way over the speed limit, to celebrate holidays and births.
He belonged to her.
And to the world. But she couldn’t think about that. Not yet, not after their amazing night together. Maybe once they had more time, she’d be able to understand the full picture of what it meant to be with CJ Cunningham, but for now, Chris was here.
Hers.
From the flare of his nose and the chest-expanding breath he took, she could guess what he was thinking right then too.