His face turned the color of strawberries, making his baby blues stand out against his blush.
“Yeah,” I said, unable to resist teasing him. “You gonna give me a kiss, too?”
He cleared his throat. “I only have one pick on me.”
“Maybe you can give me one later.” I snapped my mouth shut.What the hell?I’d never been so bold before, but something about this guy made me feel wild and daring.
Paxton leaned forward, stretching his chest across the bed to push his face next to my ear, and whispered, “Does that mean you’ll be my Wendy?”
I glanced out of my peripheral vision to Lana, who’d taken the book from Paxton’s hands and poured over the illustrations.
Would I be his Wendy?I wanted to be his everything. Instead of spilling my heart, I pressed my lips to his cheek. “Yes,” I breathed.
He pulled away, a sly grin on his lips, then turned to Lana. “Hey, no fingers on the pages.” Carefully, he took it from her. “Now, two more paragraphs then you have to go to sleep.”
“But I wanna fly with them to the Neverland,” Lana whined.
“Tomorrow night.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and pouted her bottom lip. “But—”
“No buts. That was the deal. If you don’t go to sleep, I won’t read the next part tomorrow.”
“Hmph.” She laid down and pushed herself into her covers.
He finished the page, leaving the characters at a pivotal cliffhanger, then shut the book. “If Moira says you behaved tomorrow, then we’ll read another chapter, okay?”
She gave a begrudging nod. “Fine.”
He bent over and tucked her in.
I stood on the other side and gave her forehead a kiss. “Goodnight, little zombie killer.”
Paxton flicked off the lamp.
“Night Terri and Pax.”
We left her room and I closed the door.
Moira bustled toward us from the end of the hallway. “My, that’s the quickest I’ve ever seen her settle for bed.” She glanced at the book in Paxton’s clutched hand. “I never tried reading some of the classics to her. Didn’t figure she’d appreciate them. Or maybe you got the magic voice, Paxton.”
“It’s fun. Reminds me of when my mom used to read to me.” He swallowed and rubbed his chin.
“Well, son,” she said as she laid a hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “I’m sure your mother would be delighted to know you’re carrying on her tradition.”
He nodded, dropping his gaze to his shoes.
“All right. I’m headed to bed. Y’all get to your rooms and stay there.” She gave me her trademark arched eyebrow. “You understand?”
“Yes, ma’am.” I rolled my eyes.
“Someone has to keep order around here,” she mumbled as she walked away. “Lord knows it ain’t those clueless parents…”
Her voice faded as she rounded the corner to head downstairs.
“Well, goodnight, Pax.” I swiveled toward my room, but he shot out a hand and grabbed me by the wrist, tugging me closer.
I stared up at him.
