“She loved him a lot, didn’t she? Your stepdad, I mean.”
“She did.” There’s a frog in his throat. Emotion I’m sure he’d much prefer I didn’t hear.
I push anyway. “Why didn’t she ever remarry?”
“I don’t think she ever will.” He looks back to the ceiling. “She likes to tell me that she had enough love for one lifetime with him. That anything else is greedy.”
“That’s not true. Wanting love is never greedy.”
Briggs’ chuckle is dry. “Were you serious earlier?”
“About what?”
Briggs shifts to his side, propping himself up on an elbow. The shift is intense, because he suddenly feels far bigger than he had simply laying on his back next to me. He feels imposing in the best kind of way. I can’t deny that I sort of want him to impose more.
His words echo in my mind,“I won’t touch you.”
“Wanting three or four kids.”
I laugh, but it’s nervous. “Yeah. I was serious.”
“Wow.” His brows jump with the shock of my response. “That’s a lot.”
“Too much?” I don’t realize I’m holding my breath until he shakes his head.
“No. Not too much.” His eyes fall to my lips when I smile and my heart kicks in my chest.
I ask breathlessly, “Do you want kids?”
“Yeah.”
“How many?”
“I always figured I’d have two. Eventually.”
“Four is only two more.”
His brows shoot upward, and his laugh is tinged with incredulity. “For a woman who likes her sleep as much as you, I’m surprised.”
“I’m up every morning bright and early.”
“And you’re in bed bright and early, too,” he teases.
“It’s summer. The sun takes an age to set.” I huff my defense, but I can feel a sting of red in my cheeks. More, though, I can’t deny the ache in my core. He’s so close, I can smell him. Leather and cologne and earth.
There’s a pause where nothing but our shallow breathing and Senior’s light snores fill the space. Briggs asks, “What else do you want, Lilah?”
Gosh, is it normal to feel so breathless in bed with a man you’re not sleeping with? It can’t be. I’m losing my marbles.
I clear my throat. “You mean from life?”
Briggs nods once. “Yeah.”
“I want to be happy.”
“Doesn’t everybody?”
“I imagine.”
