His jaw tightens, and a feral growl emanates from deep inside his chest.
And I swoon.
I know I’ll have to explain this to Junie at some point. I know it won’t go the way I hope it does.
But I also know that this man will champion my daughter and build her up and go out of his way to make sure she’s comfortable if he wants to have a part in my life.
He knows I’m a package deal, whether she’s in high school or beyond.
And I trust him.
I trust him to care for her feelings and her needs and her wishes, and I’d trust him even if he weren’t lying on my living room rug half-naked with me.
“She doesn’t hate you,” I whisper to him.
He grunts.
“She doesn’t,” I repeat, stronger. “She just doesn’t want you to hurt me.”
His thumb stills. “I don’t want to hurt you either.”
“And I don’t want to hurt you. But I also don’t want to let you walk out of my door without a promise that we can do this again. Because I like you. Naked. Clothed. Tearing down barns. Cleaning out secret foot-fetish shrines. Talking. Listening. Understanding. Seeing my daughter for who she is and building her up for what she can do. I like you.”
He studies me in the flickering glow of the firelight. “You told me not all that long ago that you need to figure out who you are before you get involved with anyone else.”
“Sometimes figuring out who you are and who you want to be involves figuring out who to trust to go on the journey with you.”
His lips part and then slowly close again.
“Junie says I’m having a rebound and you’ll hurt me. ButI like you. I like you a little more every day, and I like when you trust me, and I like when you let me see you. Whatever happens tomorrow, or next week or next month or whenever, I won’t regret that you’ve been part of my journey.”
He blinks and shakes his head.
“I know. I’m a little ridiculous.”
“No. You’re not.” He blinks again. “You just have a lot more Tony in you than I thought you did.”
“Oh.”
He lifts his brows.
“Does that mean this just got awkward?” I whisper.
His grin is slow, butoh my God, does it take my breath away. “Rest assured, at no point tonight have I felt like I’m naked with your uncle.”
I cringe. “You’re making this worse.”
His chuckle reverberates through my soul. “How about I make it better?” he murmurs as his hand slides down my bare hip and he leans in to press a kiss to my jaw.
My nipples tighten in excitement, and my already-satisfied vagina starts to smile in anticipation again. “I suppose you can try.”
This time, I get a full-on laugh.
It’s beautiful.
Much like everything he does to my body for the rest of the night.
Chapter 29
