“Don’t be insulted. Being able to handle yourself verbally in any situation is a strength, not a weakness.”
“Then you could have been one too,” he said, popping her shoulder with his finger. “Because if anyone can calm a room with a few words, it’s you.”
“You’re right, I can. And I consider it a strength. Are you ready to go? I can’t wait to get my hands on Luca.”
Something they hadn’t talked about once and information he wanted to know. Was he moving fast? Most likely, but why not get all the facts he could when an opportunity was presented?
“Do you want kids?”
“I do. And you?”
“Absolutely. Not that I’ve been around them much.”
He just knew he’d do a better job than his parents did with him.
“Today you’ll find out if babies make you want to climb the wall.”
“Natalie,” he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “My parents make me leave the state fast enough that I’m afraid the hair on my ass is going to catch fire through my jeans.”
She burst into a fit of laughter. “Gross, detailed, but considering what I’ve witnessed, pretty accurate.”
“There you go. Babies? I’m not scared of them.”
“Then we can go and find out if it’s something that makes you want to run or stay.”
Stay. Always stay.
Especially if Natalie was by his side.
26
BETTER TO SHARE IT
“He’s cute,” Avery whispered to her in her parents’ kitchen two hours later.
“He is, isn’t he,” she said.
“Look at him with Luca. I thought Carter had the magic touch with a fussy baby.”
It was getting harder to take her eyes off the man she was slowly, maybe already, losing her heart to. And as she watched Arik cradling Luca effortlessly in one arm, dancing a toy in front of the baby’s face with a soft smile, she knew the shift had happened. Her heart wasn’t slipping anymore...it was his.
Could she tell him?
No. Not yet. Too soon and too many doubts about the future.
“He’s a natural,” she said.
“Are you sure?” Avery asked. “Looks as if he’s done this for years.”
“Nope. He said he’s never been around kids much. He’s an only child and has one cousin several years younger than him.”
“I don’t need to tell you how sexy it is to see a man with a child,” her sister-in-law said. “I saw it with Carter and Josie.My heart melted into an ooey gooey mess each time they were together.”
“Yeah,” she said, her voice dragging out as if in song.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” her mother said, moving closer to her.
“I can’t help it. I’m holding back though.”
