Page 48 of The Vineyard Crush

Ethan’s low rasp jolts me abruptly out of my lust-fogged trance. It takes a monumental effort to tear my gaze away from the virile, magnetic masculinity beside me to find him offering a bottle of inky Petite Sirah to Ridge.

Ridge leans in fractionally to accept the glass, once again causing his solid thigh to brush up against my bare leg. A shudder wracks through me from the simple, incendiary contact, raising chills of pure yearning all along the sensitized flesh. This man is pure, rugged temptation made flesh - all sun-bronzed skin and sinewy muscle barely leashed, mesmerizing eyes and rough, calloused hands that could so easily overpower and claim and…. Don’t look down, Emma. Don’t look—

Oh God, get it together, Emma. I squeeze my thighs together discreetly in a fruitless bid to alleviate the telltale pulsing ache blossoming between them. This is neither the time nor place to be having such deliriously indecent fantasies. We’re about to watch a children’s movie, for heaven’s sake!

I shift a little closer to Lily, using the excuse of tucking the blanket around her. Maybe if I put a little fake-distance barrier between me and that distractingly handsome man, I can actually focus on the movie and You know, instead of obsessing over how good he looks, how nice he smells, or wondering how those strong arms would feel wrapped around me…

Get it together, Emma. It’s just a family movie night with your brother and his best friend - who also happens to be the man of your literal dreams. No pressure at all…

I shifted a bit on the cushions, trying to get comfortable as the opening credits began to roll. As the film progressed, the spacious ranch house seemed to shrink inward until it felt delightfully hushed and intimate, a cozy cocoon insulating us from the rest of the world.

Ridge settled onto the cozy living room floor, reclining back against the plush sofa as he dimmed the lights. With a slight grimace, I took a sip of the rich cabernet Ethan had poured, the bold flavor still an acquired taste on my tongue.

My initial struggle to focus on the storyline gradually melted away, my senses becoming hyper-attuned to every soft creak of the floorboards, every flutter of Lily’s breath where her sunshine curls spilt across my lap.

At some point, Ridge had shifted again, his midnight locks brushing whisper-light against my calf each time he adjusted his position. I found myself surreptitiously studying the angles of his profile gilded in the flickering blue light - the sharp jaw he needed to shave, those thick lashes fanning across weathered cheeks, the faint laugh lines etched at the corners of his eyes and mouth.

When his head lolled against my knee during a lull of quiet dialogue, those silken strands tickled my bare skin in shuddery intimacy, in a position that couldn’t possibly be comfortable. Yet he looked utterly at peace—maybe the first true rest he’d managed in ages.

The tiniest smile played at the corners of my mouth. My heartstrings tugged unexpectedly at the tender tableau. My breath hitched, but Ridge didn’t stir - he had fallen into a light doze, one calloused hand splayed possessively across Avery’s gently rising and falling tummy where she slumbered in the haven of his lap.

The movie played on, but all I could concentrate on was the measured cadence of Ridge’s breathing, the earthy sting of his scent surrounding me, twisting deliriously with the buttery aroma of popcorn and red wine.

Lily had stretched out along the length of the sofa, sockfeet grazing Ethan’s thigh while pillowing her crown on my lap. We traded occasional murmurs, discussing pivotal scenes or cracking jokes at the cheesier moments. Lily’s whispered commentaries broke the trance periodically, her hazel eyes alight with childish glee as she recounted particularly beloved scenes.

I mustered genuine smiles for her, nodding along and tracing my fingertips through her golden tresses absently. But my mind remained awash with dizzying sensations, body taught in hyper-awareness of the man just inches away…

All too soon, the credits rolled, and Lily let out a jaw-cracking yawn, stretching languorously beside me. I blinked dazedly, shaking off the remnants of my stupor as she rubbed at her eyes and gazed up at me with unabashed adoration.

“Need to get my favorite movie buddy to bed before she turns into a pumpkin on me.”

Somehow, I maneuvered upright without jostling the guys too severely, managing to cradle a fully conked-out Avery against my chest. Lily shuffled groggily ahead of me down the hall, pausing beside the open doorway of the toddler’s bedroom.

“C’mere, munchkin,” I whispered. “You’re safe and loved and this is your castle.”

After settling Avery into her embroidered bedding with a murmured lullaby, I guided Lily to her own chambers decked out in a fairy princess theme. She slipped beneath the canopied coverlet without protest, clutching her tattered plush unicorn. Heavy lids were already drifting shut.

“Emma?” That sleep-thickened tone made my insides squeeze with a fierce protective adoration.

“Yes, sweetheart?” I sank onto the mattress edge, brushing the pad of my thumb over her peach-soft cheek.

“Will you stay with me? Please?” She gazed up with those big, dewy hazel eyes, suddenly seeming so small and vulnerable.

“Of course, honey.” I slid beneath the lavender-scented sheets, cradling Lily against me as she burrowed into my embrace. “Why would I ever leave, hmm?”

A tremulous sigh gusted across my collarbone. “Cause mommy did.”

The words socked me in the gut—an audible blow that manifested as a physical ache behind my sternum. My arms instinctively tightened around the little girl’s slight frame as something ferocious and protective roared to life within me.

“Oh, sweetpea.” I pressed a fervent kiss to the apple-scented crown of her head. “I’m right here and I’ll always stay. Right next door whenever you need me, no matter what.”

Those pudgy little arms wound around my neck in a fierce clutch. “Love you, ‘mma.”

“Love you most, my precious girl,” I whispered around the lump of emotion clogging my throat.

And I meant it with every fiber of my being. These children had burrowed straight into the softness of my heart, embedding themselves there indefinitely.

The moment Lily’s soft snuffles filled the fairy princess bedroom, signaling she’d drifted off to dreamland, I carefully extricated myself from her clinging embrace. As much as I longed to bask in this feeling—of being utterly needed in such an innocent, soul-nourishing way—the magnetic pull of another presence commanded my full attention.

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