Page 84 of Reveal

“At what?” He looks over to me and then back to Lucy.

“The dad thing. Have you ever thought about having kids?” I say the words and then realize what they sound like. And of course he responds at the same time I realize my gaffe.

“Are you offering?” His laugh rings out.

“No. That’s not what I meant. I just meant . . . you’re good with kids. Surprisingly good—”

“Kids I can handle. They’re a lot like men. You give them the shiny things that make the most noise and they’re satisfied. Now women, on the other hand . . . I fail at understanding.”

“So you want kids, then?”

He purses his lips and angles his head to the side in the way he does when he really ponders something. “I’ve never really thought about it. That sounds stupid, but I haven’t. My stance on relationships was that they were temporary at best.”

“That’s promising,” I tease with a nudge.

“Yeah, but . . . when you don’t have something, don’t grow up with a set ideal, the thought of living it is scary.”

“Isn’t that the truth,” I murmur.

“You can talk about it with me, you know.”

“What do you mean?” I ask the question, although I already know the answer.

“Connecticut. Samantha. Your uncle. I promise you I have a good record keeping secrets.” He squeezes my hand. “At least my clients think so.”

“Thank you,” I say softly. “There’s nothing more to tell.”

“I know, but . . . I’m here.” He pulls me in tighter against him.

I look up at him and press my lips against his. It’s a soft kiss but one packed with so much emotion that it’s hard to open my eyes when the moment ends.

So I don’t. I just rest my forehead against his and breathe him in, surrounded by a silence sprinkled with Lucy’s laughter and the distant sounds of the city.

“You’re wrong, by the way,” I whisper against his lips.

“About?”

“You understand women better than you think.”

Another brush of lips.

“No. I understand you.” A rub of his nose against mine. “You changed things, Vaughn. You changed them in ways I never saw coming.”

Those words are like the soft sigh my soul has needed after so many years of holding my breath.

My mind wanders to places I rarely let it go. To futures and possibilities. One that has Ryker in it. I’ve been living in the next moment—one bill after another. I’ve been living for Lucy, with her as the endgame in mind.

But what if I wish for more?

What if I wish for one that has happily ever afters fit for the princess dancing in front of us?

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Vaughn

“At some point we need to talk about Carter,” Ryker says when he puts the car in park in my driveway.

“Please don’t ruin tonight,” I say.