Page 124 of Set Me On Fire

“Sounds ominous…” I croaked and he handed me a glass of water.

“Ominous.” He nodded. “Yeah, that’s not a bad word for them. Rambunctious, impulsive.” His eyes rolled mine and he smiled. “Little terrors.”

“So good practise if we have a son?” I asked, rolling towards him just to feel him cradle me against his chest.

“Good reason to pray for a daughter. One as pretty as her mum.” I stared into his eyes, sure I looked like a right mess right now, but you’d never know it. He looked so damn pleased with himself. “So time to get out of bed. I know you can barely keep your hands off me?—”

“Pretty sure you were the one copping a feel last night, and often,” I muttered.

“But it's time to get ready.” He leapt out of bed, making clear he wasn’t perfect. Charlie was a bloody morning person. “Wanna come and climb trees with me, Millie?”

I shook my head, smiling at his enthusiasm.

“Couldn’t think of anything I’d want more.”

Chapter 55

Charlie

“So you made it.”

Astrid opened the door and looked me up and down with a slight frown, but whatever she had to say next was drowned out by the thunder of baby elephants on the stairs.

Make that my nephews.

“Grab your water bottles!” my sister shouted over her shoulder. “And the sunscreen!” Her eyes narrowed as she focussed back on me. “You’ll make sure they put it on this time?”

“Yes, I’ll?—”

“And reapply it within the hour?”

Because her ex was such a deadbeat, Astrid had been forced to become both mother and father to her boys, and she did so with deadly precision.

“I know.”

“Put a reminder in your phone,” she said, glancing at my pocket, but when she moved her head, something in my car caught her attention.

Millie.

I could almost see her pupils expanding as her gaze sharpened.

“Who’s that?”

She sucked in a breath, ready to read me the riot act, and that’s why I’d told Millie to stay in the car. My sister was a ballbuster of epic proportions and it was already bad enough that my awesome, fun date was now going to be spent trying to stop my nephews from gnawing down the rope bridges strung up between the trees with their teeth, let alone Millie being grilled by Astrid.

“My date,” I said, stepping between my sister and my car.

“Date?” When her eyes snapped back to me, that should’ve been a relief, but it wasn’t. Astrid’s hackles were up as she stared at me. “Charlie, we talked about this.”

“Yes, I know, but?—”

“Is this why you spaced on today, because of some girl? Jesus, Charlie.”

“Muuum…” came a familiar wail from inside the house. “We can’t find the sunscreen!”

“It’s under the kitchen sink!” she shouted back.

“It wasn’t?—”

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