The rest of it was because he needed to get his arms around her.
He leaned in and whispered to her. “I love that my friends did this, but damn, I wish we were home.”
Noelle laughed softly. “Does this have to do with the baby?”
He stopped short and whirled her around so her back was to his front.
They were facing the play area and watching Ciela run around with the S.W.A.T. team and other kids in the park.
He put his palms flat against her belly and felt her shiver all through her body. “It’s a little about the baby, but it’s all about you, baby. About us. Damn,” he leaned in and nuzzled against her ear, “I’m a lucky man.”
“We,” she sighed and leaned back against him, “are a lucky family.”
Duval couldn’t agree with her more.
His mother called him almost daily to make sure he wasn’t messing things up. She knew, almost more than he did, that Noelle was everything he’d never deserved.
Every time his mother called, he heard what he already knew. “You better not mess this up, McCrae.”
‘I know, Ma… I know.’
Leaning in closer, he whispered into her ear. “When do you want the big shindig wedding?”
He swore he could feel her rolling her eyes.
“I don’t need it.”
“You don’t, but I want everyone to know how fucking lucky I am.”
She turned in his arms, narrowing her gaze to look up into his eyes. “Do you want a big wedding?”
* * *
NOELLE
She knew the look crossing his face.
He was pretty closed lipped about many aspects of his life.
There were a handful of people in her life who she studied to understand their expressions beyond the bone underpinnings.
McCrae was one of those people, now.
She knew that he was holding back.
“You want a big party?” The bridge of her nose wrinkled a little. “I’d think that was the last thing you want. Knowing your mom, she’d go all out.”
He shrugged and smiled, but there seemed to be quite a bit of weight on his shoulders. “It would make her happy to plan the party, if you didn’t want to.”
“And you?” She reached out her hands and trailed her fingers down from his elbows to his wrists and finally, she held his hands. “Do you want a party?”
“I have you and CeeCee,” he smiled at her. “But I want a party, too. I want every asshole out there to know that you’re mine.”
That sounded more like McCrae.
“And twirling you around in one of those pretty white dresses sounds pretty good, too.”
Her eyes widened at that. “I never thought I’d wear one again.”
