I smiled at Nova, who had gotten overly quiet since we arrived. Her mood had been all over the place this evening.
Meanwhile, I chose to play the same role as my father when I was growing up. I remained a rock. Nothing fazed my good mood.
Even if Nova decided to skip fooling around in her SUV, I would remain undaunted. I was winning this woman’s heart and becoming a part of her daughters’ lives. Days ago, I stressed being a husband and father.Now, everything felt easy.
As Nova got the girls to sleep in their beds, I walked into the family room where Lula sat with Exile. Nova’s brother was stuck between focusing on his lusty wife and the guy he wanted to leave.
“Is there something you’re waiting for?” Exile asked me.
“Nova and I haven’t said goodnight.”
“Send her a text,” Exile muttered.
Lula snorted. “I ought to find your behavior obnoxious, but this possessive big brother crap is sexy.”
Exile stopped glaring at me long enough to notice her hand on his thigh. I saw him struggle between his husband and brother roles.
His behavior seemed weird to me. I wasn’t the enemy. Nova wasn’t a child. After leaving her abusive husband, she had moved to a new state, given birth, raised two girls, and renovated a house. She hadn’t become a recluse after the shooting. Nova had proven herself strong, even if she and her brother acted like she needed babying.
“The girls are asleep,” Nova said, appearing from the hallway. “Boone and I are going out to my SUV to be alone.”
I smiled at how she’d changed into a skirt. Exile might have noticed the same thing. He frowned at me and then at his sister.
“Be alone here in the house. Lula and I are heading to bed, and Dillon is already in her room.”
Without a moment of hesitation, Nova replied, “No.”
I smiled as she walked to the front door. “Night, Lula.”
“Have fun, Boone.”
A scowling Exile didn’t appreciate his wife’s unwillingness to cockblock. Smiling at his irritation, I followed Nova outside to the porch, where she shivered. I slid off my jacket and helped her warm up.
“Won’t you be cold?” she asked as we walked to her SUV parked on the driveway.
“I’ll be warm soon enough.”
Nova flashed me a naughty grin before handing over her key fob. I drove us to a quiet area where Clint’s house would eventually be built.
“What would you think about living next door to Clint and Ivy one day?” I asked as we switched to the back seat. “This is the lot where they would likely build. Would living next door to them be too much, or would you like having them as neighbors?”
Nova looked around, barely able to see as the last of the sunlight disappeared over the horizon. She crawled onto my lap and cupped my jaw.
“How can you be so sure about us?”
“Aren’t you?”
“I only know how I feel. I’ve never been very good at reading other people.”
“Well, I love you, Nova. I didn’t think it could happen so quickly, but you’re everything I hoped you’d be. So, while we might not be ready to live together yet, I know it’ll eventually happen.”
After glancing around the quiet, unused road, Nova studied me.
My hands gripped her waist as I explained, “For so much of your life, you’ve been a chess piece moved around the board by others. With me, I want you to have choices. If you don’t want to live here, I want you to say so. If you want our relationship to move quickly, we’ll press our feet down on the accelerator. If youneed more time, we’ll ease on the brake. You’re the one driving us toward our future. I’ll enjoy the ride no matter what speed you take.”
Nova opened her mouth to speak. I felt her struggling with what to say. Rather than sharing her heart’s confusion, she simply kissed me.
My hands enjoyed her soft curves. Nova murmured against my lips when my thumbs caressed her nipples. Her hips rolled reflexively.
