“Fine,” I agree, because I love that she wants to be this entwined in our lives. “Thank you.” I kiss her once more before helping her off the island. I grab a handful of napkins, along with Camden’s plate, and make my way back to the living room.
“Come and eat, bud,” I tell my son, who’s sitting on the floor playing with his blocks. He comes rushing over and immediately grabs a bite, which is why I didn’t warm it in the microwave. It’s still room temperature, and I didn’t want him to burn his mouth. “Sit up here with Daddy,” I tell him, placing his plate beside me on the table. He reaches for another bite as Sloane comes back into the room.
He climbs on my lap and reaches for another bite as Sloane comes back into the room. She places his sippy cup and a pack of wipes on the table next to us.
“Good thinking,” I tell her.
“Swoan, sit.” My son pats my other leg, and I grin. “You heard the boy. Sloane sits.”
“Cam, my man, are you trying to be daddy’s wingman?” Landry laughs.
“Cam man.” He taps his chest, smearing pizza sauce all over, and I make a mental note to spray it down and put it in the sink to soak at bedtime. Everyone laughs at his reaction, and Sloane takes her rightful spot on my other knee.
The rest of the night, that’s where she remains, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
A few hours later, the house is quiet. Camden’s finally asleep after a much-needed bath to rid him of the pizza he had for dinner and three bedtime stories. Sloane insisted she would clean up the kitchen while I took care of Camden, and while I wanted to tell her to leave it, I knew she wouldn’t listen. Instead, I kissed her, told her thank you, and carried my son upstairs.
The lights are low, and the kitchen is dark, which means Sloane must be in the living room. Sure enough, I find her on the couch, snuggled under a blanket that was never there until she moved in, reading a book.
“Hey,” she says when she spots me. She puts her book aside and gives me her full attention. “Did he have trouble going to sleep?”
“He fought it, but by the end of the third story, he was out like a light,” I say, sitting on the couch and pulling her feet onto my lap.
“Good. I know his nap was late, so I was worried he’d want to stay up and party all night.” She chuckles.
“What about you? Are you ready for bed?” I ask, rubbing her feet.
“Yeah, I was just waiting to see if you needed an assist. If he was going to struggle to go down, I was going to offer to stay up with him. I know you have to be tired after playing a game today.”
“Come on, let’s go to bed.” Standing, I offer her my hand and help her stand. “Is the door locked?”
“Yeah, everything’s locked.”
With her hand in mine, I turn off the lamp she was using, bathing us in darkness, and lead us up the stairs. I take each step slowly, knowing that I’m leading her in the darkness. When we reach the landing, I turn right to head to the room that I’ve been staying in up here, instead of left, where her room is next to Camden’s.
Inside my room, I close the door and guide her to the bed, where I turn on the lamp on the nightstand. The room has a warm, soft glow, which will be all I need to see every inch of her. I glance down at the video baby monitor, and my son is sound asleep, which is good for what I have planned.
“Finally,” I say, turning to face her. I grip the hem of her jersey. “Lift for me.” She lifts her arms in the air without hesitation, and I remove the jersey she’s wearing.
“We’re not throwing that away,” she warns me.
“As long as you never wear it again,” I tell her.
She shrugs. “We’ll see.”
Gripping her around the waist, I pull her close. “It drives me crazy that you wore his number today and not mine.”
“I didn’t think it would matter,” she says, looking up at me under long lashes.
“It matters,” I say, bending to press my lips to hers. I want to devour her, but instead, I take my time, savoring the feel of her mouth pressed to mine. By the time I break the kiss, we’re both breathing heavily.
“Kissing you could become my addiction,” she confesses, smiling up at me.
“You are my addiction,” I tell her. My hands roam over her until I settle on tracing the curve of her spine. “Before we take this further, I need to know we’re on the same page. I have my son to think about, and I swore I’d never bring a woman into his life I wasn’t serious about.”
“I’m already in his life.”
I nod. “You are, but this is also serious. I’ve never wanted anyone the way that I want you. I don’t want to hide us. Not from our friends and not from my son. However, I need to hear you say you’re in this. That you’re as invested in us as I am.”
