“Now are you ready for the first part of our day to start?”
“Maddi . . .”
“I’ll hear her,” I say, sliding my hand up her back to cup her head. I capture her hair in my grasp, then use it to tilt her head to the side right before my mouth hits hers. The moment our lips meet, her hands—which were resting on my waist—dig into my skin through my T-shirt. I lick across the seam of her lips, and she opens for me. I kiss her deeply, taking everything she’s willing to give and then some. I only let up when I hear Maddi getting ready to rush into the room. I pull my mouth from hers and smile when I see the dazed look in her eyes.
“I’m ready!” Maddi cries on cue.
I laugh.
Courtney’s fingers tense at my sides before she drops her forehead to my chest and giggles. Hearing that carefree sound come from her, I wrap my arms around her in a hug and then kiss the top of her head.
“Get on your shoes, honey,” I tell Maddi over the top of Courtney’s head.
She nods with a bright smile before rushing to do as she was told.
“Please don’t be too good to be true.”
At Courtney’s quietly spoken words, I look down at the top of her head. I rest my lips there, thinking the exact same thing about her.
Chapter 9
WARMTH
COURTNEY
Getting into the elevator at work, I check the time on my cell phone and smile when I see the image on the screen of Madeline laughing while Merida licks her face. I didn’t even know that Madeline had gotten hold of my phone at some point yesterday until I went to call Lucas—to let him know I got home okay last night—and saw my new screensaver.
Glancing at the time, I see that I’m actually twenty minutes early. I get off the elevator and head down the carpeted hall toward the office I share with Abby. Before I even reach the door I spot her at her desk. I wonder how long she’s been there. Ours is one of the largest corner offices on the floor. Abby’s desk is in the back of the room, and is set up so she has a view out the floor-to-ceiling glass windows and the door. My desk faces the door so clients see me first. I doubt I would love sharing such a close space with anyone but Abby. She’s always in a good mood unless she’s not getting what she wants from a client’s spouse—which does happen from time to time.
Not wanting to disturb Abby, who is on the phone, I go to my desk and quietly drop my bag, then pick up the notes that I left for myself on Friday.
“So how was your weekend?” Abby startles me, and I spin to face her.
“It was . . .” I try to think of the right words to use to describe how unbelievably perfect it was.
Yes, this whole thing is scary, but it feels good being with Lucas and Maddi.
“It was what?” Abby questions, having given up on waiting for me to find my words and answer.
“It was perfect, Abby. So perfect that it was a little scary.”
I drop my notes on top of my desk, then head across the office toward the small kitchen, where there is already a pot of coffee brewing.
“Why is it scary?” she asks as I pour us each a cup.
I set her cup on her desk. “We basically spent the entire weekend together—Maddi, Lucas, and I. I even ended up spending the night at their place on Saturday after we adopted Merida,” I say, knowing she knows who Merida is since I sent her a photo of her Saturday night after Maddi and I chose her name.
“You spent the night? Have you . . . ?”
“No.” I shake my head. “I fell asleep reading to Madeline, and Lucas carried me to his bed. I didn’t even wake up. When I did wake up, I tried to leave. He wouldn’t let me.”
“He wouldn’t let you leave?” Her eyes are wide—not with worry, but with awe.
“No, he wouldn’t.”
“Wow,” she breathes.
I can’t help but smile, because it was “wow.” I was a tad annoyed at him at the time for his high-handedness, but I really didn’t want to leave, either. I liked him holding me. Not that I will ever admit that I like his bossy side, since I’m pretty sure that should be considered a negative.
“Then you spent Sunday with them?”
“Yeah. Madeline didn’t want me to leave. They ended up coming back to my place with me . . .” I look out the window behind her. “I think I’m falling in love with them both, which is insane.”
“It’s not insane if it feels right.” Her quiet words pull my attention from the view.
“Yeah, but it is too soon after—”
“Stop.” She cuts me off, her face and voice hard. “Tom and your past do not factor into this. You don’t need to feel guilty about being happy, babe. You deserve to be happy. From what I can see, Lucas is making you feel that way. So why question it?”
“I know logically that you’re right. I’m just worried that this is too good to be true.”
“What does Lucas say? Does he think this is going too fast?”
“No. If anything, I think he wants it to move faster. He told me that he likes having me with him and Maddi. I think . . . I think he wanted me to stay last night. But . . .”
“Maybe you should stop listening to that voice in your head and start listening to him.”
“It would be different if he didn’t have a daughter and it was just him that I had to think about,” I admit before taking a sip of coffee.
“Yeah, but he does have a daughter. I get the feeling that he likes having you around her and in their lives.”
“I don’t want her to get hurt if things don’t work out between her dad and me.”
I don’t want to get hurt, either, though. I know losing Lucas would be hard, but I would also be losing Maddi. I don’t know if my heart would be able to handle the loss of both of them.
“I’m sorry to say this, babe, but in life you can’t protect children from everything. If things between you and Lucas don’t work out, it’s going to suck, but she’s a kid. She will bounce back. So will Lucas, and so will you. I think you know that firsthand.”
“I do,” I agree with a heavy sigh.
“Don’t run from this to protect yourself, because you’ll actually end up causing yourself pain. Enjoy it, take it one day at a time, and see where it goes,” she says.
I think about the weekend. I think about how happy I was with Lucas and Maddi, and then I think about the fact that I really want more weekends just like that.
“When did you join Team Lucas?”
She looks thoughtful for a moment before answering. “He’s good for you. I really like how he looks at you.”
“How he looks at me?” I frown, and she grins in return.
“Yeah. Like he wants to toss you over his shoulder and carry you away to his cave, where he will protect you with his life and give you everything you could ever want.”
“He doesn’t look at me like that,” I say as my heart starts to pound against my rib cage.
“Yeah, babe. He does.” She holds my gaze.
I lick my bottom lip, not sure what to do with that information. I only know that I like hearing it a lot. Maybe too much.
“We should get to work,” I finally say.
Abby laughs. “Yeah, let’s do that. Right after you tell me when you’re seeing him again.”
“I’m not sure,” I admit.
Just then my cell beeps, so I make my way to my bag to grab it.
“He didn’t make plans with you?” she asks.
I shrug. “We didn’t make plans after last night, but I assume I’ll see him at some point this week.”
I look at my phone and see a message from Lucas on my screen. My stomach does a little dip as I read.
Maddi in her whirlwind morning decided we should have tacos tonight.
Is he telling me because he wants me to join them?
I really want to join him and Maddi for tacos.
I don’t blame her. Tacos are awesome.
After I press “Send,” I hold my breath. The little bubble appears on the screen, telling me he’s already replying.
Does dinner at six work for you?
I reply yes immediately, then wonder if I should have waited for a few minutes. I instantly forget my doubt when I see his reply come through.