“Are you—”
I know where she’s going with this, and I cut her off at the pass. “Not turning you down.” I lean down and give her a firm kiss on the lips. “I just want you to be sure, Win. Because once we…” I lock eyes with her. Her blue eyes are swimming with emotion. “Once we take that step, it will change everything between us. Even if it’s just sex.”
Just sex.
I nearly scoff at the very concept. I already know without a shadow of a doubt that sex with Winter is going to alter my universe. Permanently.
* * *
Winter
Liam greets Hunter and me at his front door. “A two for one babysitting deal, huh?” he jokes as he kisses me on the cheek.
“I used to babysit as a teenager,” I say. “I doubt I remember anything though. Being an only child didn’t give me a lot of experience with little kids.”
Cathy’s in the living room with Lulu in her arms. “You’ll be fine,” she says to me as I hug her hello. “I don’t know what I’m doing half the time either.”
“She’s adorable.” I smile at Lulu, who tries to lunge out of her mama’s arms toward Hunter behind me.
“She does that every time Hunter comes over,” Cathy says with a laugh.
Hunter appeases his niece by taking her into his arms and kissing her cheek. She squeals with delight.
And my heart damn near melts in a puddle right on the floor.
Because Hunter’s guard just drops around Lulu. He’s so relaxed, so…happy. His expression is open and filled with love as he snuggles Lulu into his chest.
Cathy leads me into the kitchen and shows me where everything is. As she’s pointing out where the plates and utensils are, I notice Liam and Hunter in deep conversation in the living room.
Hunter’s eyes flash with anger, and Liam puts his hand on Hunt’s shoulder like he’s urging him to calm down.
Cathy finishes her tour, she and Liam say goodbye, and they’re gone.
It’s just Hunter, me, and a baby.
I’m happy for the distraction after the way I made a fool of myself earlier when I propositioned him—literally. My cheeks burn at the memory, and I force those thoughts out of my mind and smile as Hunter swings Lulu into the air, making sure to never let her go.
“I’m starved,” he says to me. “Are you?”
“Sure. But you know how good I am at cooking. Shall we order a pizza?” I ask.
He glances over at me. “Like old times.”
I smile. “You remember.”
“Of course I remember. It was our first kiss.”
“Yes.” I smile back at him. “It was.”
We were at a classmate’s party, and everyone was drinking. Hunter and I were the only ones who admitted to being hungry, and we were desperately craving a pizza.
All the restaurants we tried were already closed for the night or didn’t deliver. Finally, we lucked out with the last place we called.
We smuggled that pizza like a secret treasure into an empty bedroom where we sat on the floor and devoured every slice. And yes, we kissed. A lot.
Over Lulu’s head, Hunter’s eyes fix on my mouth.
I’m so turned on I have to avert my gaze. “I’ll get my phone.”
