He tucked his hand into mine. “It’s perfect. Now, how about we get out of here and hit the winter market?”
“I’d love that,” I said. “Let’s go collect Lina.” As I said it, I was struck with how natural it felt to say that, as if I were a part of the family, too. Warmth flooded me as I thought about being folded into Dakota and Lina’s family.
Dakota gave me a quizzical look, most likely because I’d been silent for a long moment. “You okay?”
I nodded and smiled, giving his hand a squeeze. “I’ve never been better.”
Chapter 13
Dakota
Thewintermarketwasmagical and having Colin spend time with Caroline and me just added to the feeling. She took to him so easily, folding him in as if he were already a part of the family, and by the time we’d made it home, she was sleeping in the back seat, hugging a hand-crocheted princess doll he’d purchased for her at the market.
I put the car into park and went to the back seat to scoop her up. As I unbuckled her, she yawned and her blue eyes fluttered open. “Where’s Mr. Colin?”
“Shh,” I said, holding her close and hoping she’d fall back asleep.
“Mr. Colin?”
He was at my side in a second and he reached out to rub her back. “Hey, Lina. I’m here.”
“Willyoucarry me?”
He chuckled and took her out of my arms. “Of course, honey.”
As Colin carried my little girl up the front steps and waited for me to unlock the door, my heart squeezed tight with happiness. I opened the door for them and he murmured that he’d be rightback before he carried Lina down the hall to her bubblegum pink bedroom to put her to bed. I sat on the couch and waited for him to emerge, which he did a few minutes later.
When he did, he smiled and took a seat next to me. “Hey,” he murmured, bumping his shoulder into mine.
“Hey there.”
“I just wanted to thank you for including me tonight.”
I shrugged. “You’re the one who talked me into coming for the cookie exchange.”
“I meant after, at the market. Letting me spend time with Caroline, letting me put her to bed. It was nice. It felt like having family around again.”
I rubbed the back of my neck and nodded. “I get it. But you don’t need to thank me. I like having you around.” I leaned toward him, putting one hand on the couch between us. “In fact, I don’t know if I’ve told you lately just howmuchI like having you around.”
“Oh? Maybe you should.”
I leaned in a little closer, closing the gap between us and kissing him. Colin sighed softly into the kiss, pulling me to him and letting me lower him to the couch. Once he was lying down, I moved a hand to his side and slid it under his shirt. He groaned softly and arched his back into my touch.
Slowly, I trailed my lips from his mouth to his neck, leaving gentle bites along his skin. He panted and writhed under me and the sounds encouraged me, made me want to give him more. I moved my hand between us and teased at his nipple, testing the waters to see how he responded. A soft moan escaped him when I pinched it gently, and encouraged, I did it again, harder, rolling it between my fingers.
“Fuck,” he hissed.
I lifted my head to whisper in his ear. “You like that?”
He didn’t say anything, just let out another soft sound of pleasure, breath hitching in his throat. After a moment, he put a hand on my shoulder, stopping me.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
He stuttered as I continued my teasing of his nipples. “Are you sure we should—you know, keep doing this—while Lina’s in the other room?”
Lina. It was like cold water had been splashed on me. He was right, of course. We’d been caught kissing by her once, and to my great relief, she hadn’t brought it up again, but if we kept going, the chances of us getting caught were extremely high.
I pulled away and sat back, Colin making a pouty sound in the back of his throat. “You’re right,” I murmured, my voice thick with disappointment.
