Page 100 of Free to Fall

He sounds distracted when he repeats, “Yeah, Laura and Bailey. We ... See you in the morning, Liam.”

I shove my phone back into my pocket, wondering why he didn’t just text me. Pushing aside all thoughts of Laura’s father into a box and throwing away the key, I entertain myself by imagining all the ways I’m going to touch Laura’s body later tonight.

All the ways I plan on dragging my fingers across her smooth skin.

Pleasuring her with my mouth.

In fact, I’m so dedicated to the job, I convince her to stay when she had planned to sneak out and head back to her home.

We both sleep past my alarm the next morning. With that mistake, there’s no chance of Bailey not finding out Laura stayed the night as she thunders down the stairs while I get dressed. Still in my towel from our quick shower, I hear Bailey squeal, “Laura! You had a sleepover.”

“I did, Buttercup.” Laura’s voice is clearly cautious.

“Did Daddy sleep well?” Bailey’s innocent voice asks.

Oh, shit. Instead of us talking to Bailey together, Laura’s getting hit with the difficult questions without me. She coughs repeatedly before I hear Bailey whale on her back. I blatantly eavesdrop to hear Laura force out, “He did.”

I smirk. When I slept, that is.

Laura probes. “How do you feel about that?”

“About what?”

“Me being here when you woke up?”

“Can you wake up here every morning?” Bailey asks.

“Oh, sweetheart,” Laura’s voice murmurs.

“Besides, now Daddy has new pillows. You can take the best one.”

Laura outright laughs at this point. “What if he doesn’t want to give me his favorite?”

“Then he has to learn to share,” Bailey reasons.

My daughter’s absolutely right. I’ll need to learn to share more than “Firmy.” I need to learn to share Laura with Bailey, her job, and her family. My smile fades when I realize what the changes at the end of the summer will bring—less of this special time when we’re all wrapped up together as a family.

What will that do to all of us?

I quickly dress, eager to be downstairs, spending as much time with the two most important women in my life before I have to go to work. Grateful I only have to drive from Darien to Norwalk instead of to Manhattan, I have a few minutes to linger before I leave. The second I enter the kitchen, my glance ping-pongs back and forth between Laura and Bailey.

Bailey beams at me while Laura can’t quite meet my gaze. A huge grin spreads across my face as I press a kiss to the top of her head. Just to drive the point home, I do the same to Laura.

Her cheeks flame even as Bailey laughs and points out, “Laura, your face is as red as a tomato.”

Bailey announces she’s going to get dressed. The second she’s out of the room, I tug Laura close. “Take care of her today.”

She smiles up at me, smoothing the lapels of my jacket. “Of course. We don’t have much going on. I’ll text you our plans.”

“Any possibilities?”

“Swimming. Cookies, maybe.”

I lean down and press my face against the juncture of her neck I know gets her riled up. “I love your ... cookies.”

She swats my waist. “Rude.”

“That may be true, but you know what else is?”

---