Page 64 of In All My Dreams

“I’m the boss, baby.” He kisses the side of my head before pulling away. “I have to dress like the boss. You know, keeping those appearances up and all that.”

I scoff. “Gabe is your best friend; he doesn’t give a damn if you’re the boss. He just wants to hang out with you and remind everyone that he’s next up for that promotion once Damian heads to Alaska to help manage the rigs there.”

Link’s face twists into something unpleasant, like he just got done sucking on a sour lemon.

“Care, I’m not making Gabe my VP. The guy horses around more than anyone I know. Sure, I can trust him with fixing this skeleton of a house, but I can’t trust him to manage my men when I’m needed elsewhere. The whole company would turn into a beer pong tournament within an hour of him taking charge.”

He sounds remorseful, but there’s an underlying emotion seeping out of him that I can’t quite pin down.

Anger, perhaps? Annoyance. Maybe. Either way, I’ve never heard Link speak about Gabe this way. He’s always been his go-to person in a pinch. I never realized that Link didn’t trust him to do the bigger tasks in his absence.

I can’t imagine the burden of having to keep your best friend at arm's length.

I’m extremely grateful I’ve never felt that way about my own best friend. Lydia has been nothing but supportive and lovingsince the day we met. Her falling in love with my husband’s best friend felt like fate. Then when we both got pregnant just a few months apart, it was like a childhood fairytale coming to fruition.

Two best friends living next door to each other, married to the loves of our lives while raising our children together. It’s the type of life we had always prayed for, the ultimate dream.

“Why don’t you ask Lydia if she wants to come hang out for the night. You girls can get wine drunk and watch scary movies while the kids sleep,” Link suggests as I walk out of the bathroom wearing a blue nightgown. He’s sitting on the chair in the corner and pulling his shoes on.

I smile at him and shake my head. “I already have Irene here having a sleepover with Georgia so that Lydia and Ian can have a mother-son date.”

Link looks up at me, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. “What on earth is a mother-son date?”

I shrug my shoulders. “I’m not sure. Lydia just asked if I could keep Irene here tonight so she and Ian could spend some time together. I think she was taking him to dinner and a movie.”

“Weird sort of date,” Link mumbles. “Who takes their children on a date? It’s not like they can get lucky at the end of the night.”

Irritation seeps into my bones.

“Lincoln Harris, there is absolutely nothing weird about spending time with your child. Maybe you should take Georgia on a date one of these nights instead of heading to the pub every night with your ‘boys,’” I snap back. “Then maybe you’d see the benefits of spending one-on-one time with your only child.”

Maybe this is why we will never be blessed with another child. My husband would rather go drinking than spend any time trying to really get to know his daughter. He’s not a bad father—he adores her and spoils the girl rotten. But he doesn’t know how to calm her down from a night terror. He doesn’t know thatshe prefers the blueberry waffles over the chocolate chip ones. He doesn’t know that she would rather play in the mud with Ian than play dolls with Irene.

He doesn’t reallyknowthe child we made together, and it breaks my heart.

But maybe I’m being unfair. Maybe those things are foreign to all fathers. Maybe mothers just pay better attention to the little things like that.

Link stands, and he crosses the room toward the bedroom door. His shoulders are stiff, and I can tell that I’ve upset him with my outburst.

“Hey,” I say, crossing the room and wrapping my arms around him from behind, laying my head against his back. “I’m sorry. That was unfair of me. I think I’m just having one of those days where all this loss feels overwhelming. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”

He turns and pulls me into a tight embrace. “It’s okay, Care. I know all of this has been so much harder on you than it’s ever been on me,” he says gently. “But I know one day we will give Georgia a sibling. I just know it.”

I look up at him, his green eyes twinkling as he stares down at me.

“And I know we will have lots of fun making that happen. In fact, I know something we can do right this moment to up our chances,” he says in a sultry voice, causing my insides to melt as he turns and grips the hem of my nightgown.

I reluctantly pull away from him and playfully slap his chest. “You cad! Go play with your friends,” I tell him, my foul mood dissipating as he laughs with me. “I love you.”

I stretch and go to kiss his cheek, but he turns his face at the last minute and kisses me hard on the lips.

“I love you. Date night, you, me, and Georgia, tomorrow. Be there or be square.” Link chuckles before kissing me one last time and leaving the room.

God, I love that man, even if he’s the biggest fool sometimes.

He pops his head back in before I shut the door behind him. “But you and I, my dear, we have a date tomorrow night, and it involves that pretty lacy nightgown.”

My cheeks blush crimson as he winks at me one last time before finally leaving.

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