“Is she finally asleep, baby?” he asked, placing a palm on Clara’s denim-clad knee.
“Yeah. It was a fight, but she gave in eventually.”
“Stubborn like her mama.”
“I think it’s her daddy who’s the stubborn one.”
He grinned up at her. “Maybe.”
I chuckled, thinking of my first time minding my twin nephews as toddlers.
Mav cocked a brow. “That was the sound of someone with experience. You don’t have kids do you?”
I shook my head. “No. I have nephews. Twin terrors. They might’ve been the reason that saying ‘sleep is for the weak’ was coined.”
“I bet they have secret meetings and plot against us.”
“Perhaps. They’re cute little buggers, though.”
“Is that something you want in the future? To settle down and have a family?”
Her question was gentle and honest, but my stomach churned. I hadn’t thought too hard about it. “I don’t really know.”
The smirk on Mav’s lips made Clara giggle. “Well, I can tell you from experience, it don’t matter if you plan on it or not. When you meet the right one, you’ll know. The only thing you’ll want from then on is to be hers.”
“Sometimes you’re a real swoony bastard, you know that?”
Pride washed over him. “Isn’t it why you fell for me in the first place?”
“Yeah. You’re right.”
“I just wish I hadn’t wasted so much time not letting myself have you.”
She kissed him softly. “We’re making up for it now.”
Settling back in my chair, I watched the stars twinkle across the vast expanse of the Montana sky and wondered if he was right. Had the right one come along already? Was I wasting time without her? But she wanted to go slow, be friends, take our time. That meant I had to play it cool and just be there until she realized we were more than that. She needed to know I was the right one for her. And I just had to prove it.
BECCA
“What do you mean Taylor Savage is coming over for dinner?” Scarlett asked as she stared me down from across the prep table.
The two of us were working together, creating tiny fondant decorations for wedding cupcakes. We were working on handmade sugar flowers, then it would be time to decorate. This was one of the biggest events of our year, and the photographs would be shared on social media and in bridal magazines because this client was so high profile.
“I mean Taylor Savage is coming over for dinner.”
“As in the hockey player?”
“Yeah.”
“But he’s ahockeyplayer.” My sister stared at me like I had lobsters crawling out of my ears.
“I don’t see why that’s a problem.”
“You swore off athletes.”
My chest tightened. Yes, my last serious boyfriend in college had hurt me. He’d been determined to go pro. Got drafted by the NFL. And then left me. But this was different. Taylor was already established in his career. He wasn’t at the stage where he’d drop everything to get what he wanted.
“Yeah, I know that. I know. I just have to see this through. I can’t explain it. There’s just something really charming about him.”