“Make sure no books are playing. You can listen to that when we get home.”
I ignore the way he says home as if we live together. “Stop.” I place my hands over my face. “I can’t believe that happened.”
“It’s nothing. The worst part is that I know my mom reads that shit.” He shudders.
“Hey.” I smack at his arm lightly. “It’s not shit. It's literary genius with lots of heart and steam.”
“That’s not what I meant. I’m not calling your book shit, but damn, Tink. I do not need to be thinking about my parents doing any of… that.”
“Come on, Tank. You have eight brothers. How do you think you all got here?” I tease.
“Come on, trouble.” He turns and walks out of the house. By the time I catch up with him, he has everything loaded, and he’s holding the passenger door open for me.
On impulse, I rise on my tiptoes and kiss beneath his jaw. “Thanks, Sterling.”
His arms wrap around me, and he pulls me into a hug. “Alyssa—” he starts, but I ease away.
“We better get going. It’s still warm, and it’s lunchtime.” Breathless, I climb into the truck on my own and buckle in. Once he’s satisfied that I’m secure, he closes the door. I gulp in the air and watch as he saunters around the front of the truck, making his way to his side. Something in his voice said he wanted to talk, and I know that we need to. There’s this charge between us that we’ve been ignoring, and then there’s the kiss that I’ll never forget. We just can’t talk about that now. We have food to deliver, and I have a baby to snuggle.
* * *
“Alyssa, this is too much,” Palmer says, peering into the bag that Sterling just placed on the counter.
“It’s nothing,” I tell her. “How are you feeling?”
“Tired, a little sore, but my heart is so full.” Tears well in her eyes. “Sorry, hormones,” she says, wiping at her eyes.
“Look, baby girl. Someone came to meet you.” Brooks walks into the kitchen bare-chested with a tiny bundle of pink resting against his chest. Sterling meets him halfway and bends to kiss Remi on the top of her head. The two chat, and it’s a whole lot of hotness standing before us.
“Damn,” I mutter.
“Right?” Palmer laughs.
“Sorry,” I say sheepishly.
Palmer waves her hand in the air. “I get it. You should see it through my eyes. The man I love is holding the baby girl we created out of that love. It’s—” She waves her hands in front of her face as if that will stop the emotions. “—intense,” she finally says.
“I’m so happy for both of you.” I pull her into a hug, and we break apart, smiling. “Is there anything I can do for you while I’m here?” I look around the kitchen, but it’s spotless.
“I think we’re good. We’ve been keeping up with it. It helps that we’re not cooking and just warming up food. Carol brought paper plates and all that to cut down on dishes,” she says, covering a yawn. “Sorry, she was up most of the night.”
“Good idea.” Then one of my own hits me. “Why don’t you and Brooks go grab a nap? I’ll stay with Remi.”
“What about me?” Sterling asks. I look up to find him holding his niece in a similar fashion. She’s resting on his chest, and his large hand spans almost her entire body. I’ve heard the term ovary explosion many times. I’ve read it in multiple books, but I’ve never experienced it.
Until now.
Holy. Shit.
I pull in a calming breath and hope like hell the others can’t see what he does to me. “I’ll be locking you out of the house if you don’t give me that baby.” I hold my arms out, and Sterling grins.
He moves toward me and places her in my arms. “Remi, I’d like you to meet your aunt Alyssa.”
My eyes snap to his, and he’s smiling down at me. With Blakely, I was just Alyssa. My heart is dancing in my chest, but I don’t have time to process his words because there’s a beautiful baby girl in my arms.
“Hi, Remi,” I say softly. “Guys, she’s precious.”
“Just like her momma,” Brooks says, wrapping his arms around Palmer.