“But you looked pale and shaky when I mentioned you being good with kids.”
“I didn’t think you wanted them, and I’d be okay with not having any and just being the fun uncle. But if it’s something you want, I think it would be great.”
“Really?” I ask carefully.
“Really,” he says, sweeping his hand through my hair and moving closer to me. “I’m all-in, Cane. Whatever adventure you want to go on, I’m right there with you.”
“Having kids isn’t something you do because your partner wants a kid.”
“You really think I’d suggest having kids if I didn’t want them? That I’d just go along with it?”
I think that over for half a second and then chuckle. “Hell no. You don’t do anything you don’t want to do.”
“True, and I wouldn’t expect you to either. I didn’t think you wanted kids, but seeing how good you are with Amber and how much you cared about making that vanity for her...” His hand moves to my cheek, and his eyes hold me in a trance. “You’d be incredible.”
“I don’t know when we’ll actually be ready for a kid or if it will even be possible for us.”
“Maybe we could start by fostering.” Archie actually looks a little nervous putting that out there, and it’s my turn to comfort him, placing my hand on the soft scruff covering his cheek. Archie didn’t grow up with parents. He was in the system.
“That would be incredible.”
“Yeah?” He sounds excited now, his eyes lighting up.
“Yeah.” I look around the large living room and open floor plan of our house. “There are so many kids who need a good home, and we have a good home.”
“We do.” I feel his cheek twitch with a smile underneath my palm. “We really do.”
He leans in to kiss me softly, and the kiss quickly turns heated as I tuck his body under mine.
“We’re going to burn the cookies again, aren’t we?” he asks, his lips still attacking mine but neither of us bothering to move from this couch.
“It’s fine. There’ll be plenty of treats at the party,” I say, kissing the hell out of him, my hands roaming over his hard body.
I don’t know when we’ll take that step to foster, but thinking about the possibilities—about having a family with this man—is exciting and terrifying, but mostly exciting.
I can’t wait for all the things.
4
JACKSON
Iring the doorbell again and stand on Cane and Archie’s porch, my hands tucked into the pockets of my coat while the cold wind whips around and hits my face. My date, Rebecca, is a good sport as she stands next to me, but she’s bouncing on one foot and then the other, trying to keep warm. That can’t be easy in the high-heeled boots she’s wearing.
At least she has enough sense to be bundled up in a warm coat and scarf, though she didn’t want to mess up her hair with a hat.
“Sorry. I don’t know what’s taking them so long,” I say apologetically to Rebecca, whose nose has turned red from the cold.
“No big deal,” she says, a bright smile on her pretty face. We’ve only been dating for a couple of months—but I like her. She’s nice, and things with her are easy and uncomplicated. “It’s really cold today though, huh?” she says, a little breathless in the cold air.
I ring the doorbell again. “You can go wait in my truck if you want. It’s way too cold out here.”
She just waves me off, her smile once again big and on display. And okay, that’s the one thing I don’t exactly love about her—she seems too eager to please. I don’t know why it irks me. It should probably be endearing, but I don’t like it. I want her to push back. I don’t want her to just agree with me. I want to know what she likes and dislikes. I want her to go wait in the damn truck when I know she’s cold.
But she doesn’t. She stands there like a good little trooper until Archie finally opens the door, his red hair disheveled and his clothes rumpled.
“Really?” I ask, wanting to be annoyed but more amused because it’s pretty obvious why they kept us waiting out in the cold for so long. My theory is only confirmed when Cane walks by, buttoning up his jeans and looking guilty, his cheeks a rosy shade of pink. “You guys knew we were coming.”
“Yeah well...” Archie says with a devious smirk. “We needed to come first.” He winks at me, and I cackle when his boyfriend nudges him with his elbow in the side.
