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Alexandra and Graham were having a baby. Together. My baby sister. And my ex-husband.
My confidence rivaled that of ten mediocre men. Nothing and no one stood in my way.
What I discovered as I read was that “sleep train” was the polite way of saying I should leave her in bed to scream. There was no way I could do it. She was too precious and had been through too much. If my Tessie girl needed snuggles, then I would give them.
If I looked at her, I was worried I’d give in to the urge to pull over, drop to one knee, and propose just for the prospect of another kiss and to make her forget about Graham. What kind of name was that anyway? He was a pair of pleated khakis in human form.
I gripped the steering wheel, making the leather creak beneath my hands. I didn’t want Vic to date anyone else. Lou wasn’t wrong about how incredible she was. Smart, beautiful, and funny. Plus, she cared deeply and worked hard for the people and things she loved. The thought of losing her created a pit in my gut. And the idea of some other bozo getting a chance with her sent anger coursing through my veins.
I still couldn’t shake the feel of her lips, the scent of her hair. The minute she kissed me, I was a goner.
I love you and respect your choices. Even if those choices are baffling and misguided.”
“Perfect example. Rule number one,” I said. “Don’t flirt with me. You do it all the time.” He shuffled to the doorframe and stretched lazily, like this wasn’t the world’s most painful conversation. “There’s baby drool on my shirt and probably in my hair,” he said. “I can’t flirt.” “Bullshit. You could flirt covered in moose shit. You’re doing it right now. Are you flexing?” “Yes,” he admitted easily. This man. He was shameless. Normally I enjoyed a bit of light flirting, but if this was going to work, we had to create clear boundaries. Despite the way my body temperature rose, I affected a
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“It’s involuntary. Like a muscle spasm. It’s my natural reaction when a hot woman yells at me. You’re lucky I don’t have a boner.”
“You may not be easy, but that doesn’t mean you’re not worth the work.”
“I’m not a piece of meat.” I brushed a kiss against her knuckles. “I’m your piece of meat.”
“When I saw you in that bathing suit this morning, I was dangerously close to popping a boner while holding my child. You’re a goddess, Victoria.”
“Please, that is the opposite of embarrassing. You’re expressing your feelings and processing your trauma. You’re working to be better for your child. Fuck, if we put you on a billboard, every woman on planet earth would line up to date you.” He froze, his gaze darkening. “I don’t need a billboard. I already have a girlfriend.”
My dream girl was in my bed.
My brain was screaming mine,
“I’ve fallen for you a little more every day since I rescued you from the coffee shop bathroom. You’ve become my best friend. And I don’t want to lose you.”
“I’m tired of lying to myself. I care about you. So much. You’ve seen me at my worst, yet you keep showing up. And I trust you with my life. I trust you with my daughter’s life.”
“You don’t have to be anything other than Vic, the beautiful, smart, kind woman who lives downstairs and took pity on me when I couldn’t get my baby to sleep.” He gently kissed my forehead. “I have no idea what the future holds, or even if Tess and I will stay in Lovewell long term, but I want to be with you while I can.”
He wasn’t just the sweet single dad. He wasn’t my fake boyfriend. He was the man I was falling for. It was dangerous and ill advised, but it was inevitable.
“You are mine,” he said between kisses. “And I’m all yours. Anything you want. Take it. Everything I am, everything I have. Please, Vic. Let me be yours.”
“You’re mine, hotshot.”
Standing face to face with her, I not only realized that I was madly in love with her, but I was in love with this whole damn town too.
“You deserve everything. And I’ll spend the rest of my life showing you that. Our happily ever after might not be traditional, but it will be ours.”
