“I guess you can leave,” I reply, my voice heavy with resignation, feeling a weight settle in my chest. Before he can respond, I settle into the armchair beside the crib, helping Julian position himself for the feed.
I don’t want Will to leave. But he doesn’t have a good reason to stay anymore. I don’t particularly feel hot and heavy after having served as a feeding station, and I’m pretty sure it’s ruined the magic for him, too. “I’ll be fine with him.”
“Sophie.” He kneels next to me and cups my cheek. “Let me stay.”
“Will …” I don’t want to have to tell him explicitly that nothing more is going to happen tonight. Why would he even want to?
“Please,” he murmurs, leaning closer while keeping a respectful distance between our lips.
“It’s okay if you don’t want to do anything. I just want to be with you. Is that okay?”
My face softens. “You really want to stay?”
The piercing look he gives me is powerful enough to eradicate all doubt left in my heart. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
CHAPTER 24
WILL
“Stop that.” Sophie’s words are loud and infused with seriousness, but she can’t help smiling regardless.
We’re both sitting at her kitchen table with our laptops open in front of us. Her house is imbued with the scent of freshly brewed coffee and the sweetness of maple and butternut squash emanating from the soup Sophie made earlier. Outside, the sun shines intermittently as clouds roll across the sky, but every time it comes out, a sliver of it makes its way from the patio glass and onto Sophie’s face. Her face is lit from within in addition to the sun’s highlights.
It’s been a few weeks since the first night Sophie let me stay. When I heard the long-awaited “yes” cross her lips, unadulterated joy cascaded through me. True to my word, I didn’t push her. After she successfully placed a sleeping Julian back in his crib, we simply held each other on her couch, right up until she fell asleep on my shoulder, leaving me to bask in the warmth of her head and her sweet vanilla-lavender scent.
After soaking it in for a long moment, I carried her to her bed and tucked her in. She was so exhausted she barely stirred. Everything in my body screamed at me to nestle next to her,to be close to her warmth, but I didn’t dare. Not without her consent.
Instead, I slept on the living room couch, revelling in my luck simply for being allowed to sleep there.
Since then, we’ve seen each other almost every day. Whether it’s working together on her business, interviewing potential candidates for her to hire, spending time with the girls when they’re with her, or revering her lips when the kids are asleep, I can’t get enough of her.
Every night, I become the luckiest man in the world again and get to kiss her. To touch her. But we haven’t taken things any farther than that first night. Julian always wakes up at his usual time, which Sophie warned me about, but on top of that, he’s in a particularly bad phase right now. Something about a sleep regression, Sophie explained.
That’s all okay with me. Sophie is a mother first. A wonderful one at that. And I will never forget it.
“Stop what?” I raise my eyebrows and feign innocence, returning to the present moment.
Sophie squints her eyes and pouts her lips. Lips I want nothing more than to kiss right now. “Oh my God. I’m not going to get any work done. You’re doing it on purpose.”
“What? You mean, this?” I repeat the motion that brought offense earlier; a quick swipe of my hand through my hair with my exposed forearm flexing way more than necessary.
Sophie’s cheeks flush. “I’m going to kick you out.” The corner of her lips rise, even though it looks like she’s fighting it, hard.
Okay, maybe I know exactly what I’m doing.
But I can’t help it. When Sophie blushes for me, or whimpers whenever I walk by her and squeeze her ass, it sends a delicious cocktail of sensations through my entire body. I spent so long wanting her that seeing her openly express that returned sentiment is gratifying in ways I never expected.
Julian’s cries pierce through our playful flirting, halting the exchange. As Sophie begins to rise, I motion for her to stay put, and I stand instead. “I’ve got him. You stay focused,” I say, pointing to her laptop with a teasing smile.
“I’d be focused if it weren’t for you!” she calls out as I head down the hallway to Julian’s room.
Julian stops crying the moment he sees me. He’s quickly grown accustomed to my presence. Since I’ve been here to help, Sophie hasn’t needed to send him to thehalte-garderieat all, allowing us to spend more time together.
I pick him up, and my heart skips a beat as he greets me with a big, gummy smile. “Hey, Julian. Looks like that nap did you some good.” He was particularly cranky when I finally got him down an hour ago. “Come on, let’s go see your mama.” I carry him to the kitchen, pour myself a cup of coffee, and bring the carafe to the table to top off Sophie’s cup. As I do, she cranes her neck to look up at me, giving me a gentle stroke on my side.
Little touches. Little moments. It’s everything I’ve dreamed of and more.
While Sophie wraps up her work—comparing notes between candidates to decide who advances to the next stage of the hiring process—I set Julian down next to his pile of toys near the table. I know he’ll need to drink soon, but for now, I want to give Sophie as much uninterrupted focus time as possible. I keep Julian entertained for a few minutes, playing with him before returning to my own laptop.
