He stares down at me and licks his lips before his expression shifts unexpectedly. “Nuh-uh.” He shakes his head and backs away slightly. “I’m … I’ve gotta …” Then he clears his throat and puts a few feet of space between us.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, frowning.
“Big Bad Wolf,” he chokes out, poking himself in the chest. “I’m going to lock myself in my room. Please don’t follow me.”
I follow orders and stay behind, stifling a grin and studying his bubble butt as I watch him scamper off to his own bedroom.
CHAPTER 40
daisy
I smile backat Charley when she coos at me from over Blake’s shoulder in the pew in front of us. It makes me feel so nice to be recognized by her that I think my heart could burst. That is, until she turns her eyes to Landry beside me, and her entire face lights up. She immediately begins bouncing excitedly and reaches out for him, and his expression mirrors hers as he leans forward to take her into his arms. Then Penny whines from her spot in Loren’s lap when she notices she’s been abandoned, and he turns to scoop her up, too.
No offense to Father Conrad, since I’m sure he’s gearing up to deliver a lovely homily, on this, the Super Bowl of Masses. But it’s hard to concentrate on anything else but Landry and the twins now, and I can’t imagine God would have made babies this cute unless he were trying to give us a taste of true joy and happiness, right?
Though I must admit, at this point in my life there is a very fine line between lust and baby fever. And the man sitting beside me is currently giving me a healthy dose of both.
It’s a good thing I made it to confession earlier today.
I’m teasing Penny and making her giggle by yanking her pacifier out of her mouth and giving it back when Landry leans down and whispers near my ear, “Aren’t you supposed to be paying attention?”
“Shh,” I scold him. “Let me have this.”
His brow lifts. “I thought you saidno expectations.”
I gasp and nudge him. “I meant that you have to share these babies with me in case I never get to have my own,” I say through my teeth, trying not to smirk.
“Never say never, Blondie,” he mumbles, staring intently at my mouth.
And we’ve officially crossed that line.
I clear my throat and turn my attention back to my game with Penny, and Loren turns to shoot us a knowing look under the guise of checking on the twins.
Penny eventually climbs into my lap and falls asleep in my arms, allowing me to participate in the rest of the Mass, and I admittedly enjoy holding her on the walk up to the communion rail. It’s almost as sweet as the sight of Landry and Charley smiling at me when I return to our pew, as if they’re both happy to see me. A girl could get used to all this.
I reluctantly return my borrowed baby once Mass is over, and Blake leans around Charley to smirk at me when he notices Landry’s hand resting on the small of my back.
“We’ll meet y’all at Dad’s in a few. We’re going home to change,” Landry tells Loren.
“To ‘change,’ riiighhtt …” She shifts Penny in her arms so she can free her hands to make air quotes, and I tell LandryI told you soin side-eye. But to my surprise, he simply grins at his sister’s assumptions.
“I’d need more than a few minutes for that,” he replies evenly, his hand fisting into the back of my dress and making me weak in the knees again. I should probably elbow him or at least scold him for the comment, but I can’t bring myself to do anything beyond making another deposit in that bank of Landry fantasies. It’s funny how it seems to have grown exponentially overnight.
“That’s not church-parking-lot-appropriate humor, bro,” Blake says, his brow lifting appreciatively. “I like it.”
Loren wrinkles her nose in distaste. “Not a fan myself.” Then she narrows her eyes as she glances back and forth between us. “I thought you were staying with your parents for the holidays, Daisy. But I’m glad you’re joining us after all.”
I feel my cheeks flush. “Thank you for inviting me.”
Then the four of us stand there for a moment before Landry blurts out, “Daisy made bread pudding. Come on, let’s go,” and drags me awkwardly to the Jeep.
I giggle at him when we climb inside, and he turns to smirk at me. “Come on, that was smooth, right?”
“Sure,” I snort. “They’ll never suspect a thing.”
He takes me home to change into something more comfortable, as promised, but the only thing I bother swapping is my shoes when I realize he’s waiting outside my bedroom door.
“I’ve got an idea,” he says as soon as I emerge, holding up his phone. There’s a three-minute timer on the screen. “We can’t do much in three minutes, right?”
