I smiled. “I like her, too.”
“You’d be good at this,” he murmured.
The words were so quiet, I wasn’t sure I heard them right, but someone else yelled for him before I could even look up. He groaned under his breath. “Duty calls.”
“I’ll be here,” I said, bouncing Reagan gently when I felt her starting to go limp in my arms.
He brushed his fingers along my cheek before stepping away and I watched him go, holding someone else’s baby and feeling like I was holding a question I wasn’t ready to face. I’d always wanted kids and so had Trent, but did that mean that we would ever have them together?
CHAPTER 38
TRENT
By the time we finally made it home, the night had gone quiet with only the sound of crickets chirping in the air. Charlotte kicked off her heels in the foyer like she’d been doing it her whole life and I didn’t know why it affected me the way it did, but it did.
Suddenly, all I wanted was to pull her into my arms and hold her there forever. I almost did it too, but then she glanced at me, her head tilting. “Are Jameson and Sadie staying here tonight?”
“No,” I said, locking the door behind us. “Mom insisted they stay at the lodge. Something about them needing space with the kids and Jameson needing a real bed or he’d beuseless as a bull with no hornstomorrow.”
Charlotte laughed, the sound quiet and warm.God, I love that sound.
She shook her head as we headed toward the stairs, her hands already at the side of her face to slide one earring out of her lobe. “Like there’s not enough space here for the kids. Or real beds, but I get it. She wants her grandchildren with her, under her roof while they’re here.”
“Yeah, I know. I almost pointed out that our beds are newer than hers, but she was so excited about the possibility thatHailey and Briar might come climb in bed with her in the morning that I just let it go.”
We drifted into the bedroom like we’d done it a thousand times before, even though we hadn’t done any sort of nighttime routine together yet. So far, we’d managed to keep missing each other when it came to this part of the night.
She gathered her hair up, pins clicking softly as she pulled them free. Then she sat at my bathroom counter, opening a little travel pouch that had been sitting on the vanity.
She glanced at me over her shoulder. “You don’t mind if I…?”
“Not at all.” I shook my head. “It’s your house too, Charlotte. While you’re at it, you should unpack that thing. You’re not living out of suitcases in your own home.”
Her eyes softened like she didn’t quite believe it but wanted to. I leaned against the doorway and watched her take off the other earring, then her makeup. Each swipe took her a little closer to the bare-faced version of her I was starting to crave seeing.
I brushed my teeth beside her while she washed her face, and the domesticity of it blindsided me. It was stupid, sinks side by side, her toothbrush next to mine, but it hit deep in a place I didn’t talk about. Not with anyone.
“How did you feel about today?” I asked, drying my hands and trying to sound casual. “Did you enjoy your first Shepard Labor Day barbecue?”
“I survived,” she said, smiling at me in the mirror. “That feels like an achievement.”
“You handled it really well.”
She snorted. “I was mostly introduced to people whose names I’ll never remember.”
“No,” I said, gently nudging her hip with my own so she’d look at me. “You handled it well. Better than I honestly expected. Don’t sell yourself short.”
She paused, the towel in her hands going still. “Is that a compliment?”
“Yeah, it is. I’m…”Proud of you. So damn proud, I can’t count the number of times I looked at you today and thought, that’s my wife.“I’m impressed.”
A flush crept up her chest and she turned away for a moment, like she wasn’t sure what to do with that. I cleared my throat, trying to break the weight of the moment. “So, how many charities signed you up for committees and events you’d never have volunteered for?”
“They’re not after me.” She rolled her eyes. “If anything, they’re after your money.”
“Ourmoney,” I corrected, grabbing a T-shirt from my dresser, but she shook her head, her mouth firm.
“No, Trent. Yours. I plan on getting my inheritance. It’s rightfully mine. I’m married now. That was the deal.”
