It’s only natural that when I see him placing Maggie in her high chair, and that he’s alone, I take my chance. He startles a little when I take his arms and spin him around then kiss him like I’ve been dreaming of all day—hard, long, and deep, exactly like I plan to fuck him someday soon.
“Get a room.” Rory’s voice comes from the doorway to the kitchen, and her emotionless tone clearly startles Colby—he’ll get used to it eventually—but I don’t let go of him until I’m good and ready.
“Had a good day?” I ask Colby quietly, and it feels like I can breathe a bit easier when his dark eyes are on me.
“Yeah, we did.” He speaks just as softly, but after a moment he looks away then shifts back. “Maggie and I built a castle with those big blocks you got her, Rory, and she’s about to get cranky, so I better get her something to eat.” I can’t tear my eyes away from his jerky movements, even as it seems he’s dismissed me.
“I hope you don’t mind.” Celly’s voice sounds now, but I still don’t turn to look. “I know what time you fed her last, so I took the liberty of making her some mashed apples and peaches.”
“Oh.” Colby’s surprise is quickly overshadowed by his smile. “She’s never had peaches, but I can’t wait to see what she thinks. Thank you so much, Celly.” God, he’s so nice and considerate, and it doesn’t seem to take a toll on him at all.
“Yeah, thank you,” I say and finally turn to look at Celly. “Please eat with us.” I don’t always ask her, but she knows she’s always welcome. Sometimes she just prefers to eat with the guards in the outbuilding on the other side of the property.
“You just want to know what I know about Frida,” she gently chides me, but since her smile stays intact, I know she doesn’t mind. “I’ll go heat Maggie a bottle and then we’ll eat.”
“Where is everyone else?” I ask Rory, and don’t need to explain.
“Blake was talking to Ryan, who’s on the night shift around the house tonight, and Mac and Duffy were playing one of those dumb games, but I told them to come already because I’m starving.”
Translation: she’s going to start murdering someone if food isn’t in front of her soon, and risking her wrath isn’tsomething they’re dumb enough to do, so they should be along just about now.
I take a seat and pull Maggie’s chair closer to the table, then grab the bowl of mashed apples and pile up one of the little spoons. I don’t know if Colby wants to be the one to feed her the peaches, so I leave them where they are.
Her eyes go huge at the first taste, and I have to laugh in delight. It’s been so long since we’ve had a baby here, and I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed it.
“You don’t have to do that.” The unsure whisper makes me realize what I’ve just done, and I look up at Colby, hating how insecure I feel.
“I don’t mind, but... I’m sorry.” It seems like the right thing to say, but his frown just deepened, though he doesn’t look angry. In fact, I can tell there are about a million questions he wants to ask, and since I do miss them, I try to nod encouragingly. “What is it?”
“Nothing, no.” He shakes his head twice then his face smooths over. “If you don’t mind, then go ahead, you can try giving her a bite of this now.” He pushes the other bowls closer to me, so I take him at his word and feed Maggie her first taste of peaches.
“We’ll need about a crate of peaches, Celly,” I say after she reacts by pulling on the cuffs of my shirt with all her might.
Laughter rings out, and it’s then that I realize Mac, Blake, and Duffy have arrived, but when I get a look at Colby’s happy smile—the first true one I’ve seen—I know I did the right thing.
One step at a time, I’m going to win his heart over, and he doesn’t stand a chance, because I didn’t either.
And it turns out, trying to win him over is actually fun.
“All right,she’s down for the night, and I have this brand-new, totally unnecessarily expensive monitor Rory bought in case she wakes up,” Colby says as soon as he walks into the library.
“Good,” I murmur. “Want one?” I gesture to the tumbler of whiskey I just poured for myself.
“Whiskey?” I nod. “No thanks. I can’t handle much more than a beer nowadays.”
“That’s a shame.” I speak without thinking. “I think it’d be fun to see you drunk.”
“I’ll get drunk once we’ve dealt with these assholes and they’re in jail.”
“They’re not going to jail,” I tell him, wondering if he truly thinks that’s the end-goal here.
“Oh.” His eyes open in surprise and I can physically see him digesting the news. He sits down slowly in one of the two brown leather sofas in front of the fireplace. “It’s just that...” I keep pouring my drink, deciding to give him time to gather his thoughts, but when he still doesn’t speak by the time I’m sitting next to him, I know I’m going to have to push.
“What?” I ask.
“When I came back to the city and started working as an anchorman, I had to turn in all my research to the police. I actually had a good relationship with the commissioner of the NYPD. I guess it just hit me that I’m... Well, it’s stupid, forget it.”
“It’s not stupid,” I say, maybe a bit more forcefully than necessary. “I’ve only ever livedthislife. I’ve never had to adapt to such a drastic change, except when I took over the family. I think you’re allowed some time to adjust.”
