Page 76 of The Off-Limits Rule: Extended Edition

“Yes. But only on the condition that you owe me ten nights of babysitting.”

He chuckles and turns his eyes to Levi. “Deal. I’ve missed that kid. Is he mad at me?”

“Nah,” I say, all too happy to rub a little salt in his wound. “He’s had me.”

Drew’s eyes slowly cut to mine, but there’s humor there underneath the tough façade—also maybe a little gratitude. He gives me a silent nod, and that small gesture feels loaded with more meaning than any words ever could. I nod back. It’s settled. I’m officially welcomed into the family.

“Hey, guys,” Lucy says from her inverted position. “Is the room starting to get darker to you?”

Lucy doesn’t pass out, but she does wobble adorably when Drew sets her back on her feet. I wrap my arm around her shoulders, pull her back against my chest, and kiss the side of her face. It feels good to be openly affectionate like this in front of Drew. His gaze definitely still hitches on us for a fraction of a second, but he forces a smile and turns to Levi.

He takes my seat beside the bed and offers to do a shift sitting with the kid until Brent gets here in a little bit, so I can take Lucy to get some food. She never ate dinner, and I know she’s starving but unwilling to leave Levi. Now, with Drew here, she finally lets me guide her out of the room. In the cafeteria, we find Lucy’s parents and end up spending a whole hour laughing and getting to know one another over Jell-O and nasty plastic-wrapped turkey sandwiches because the kitchen is closed.

Despite the less-than-mediocre food, it’s good. Her parents are hilarious, just like her and Drew. Claire takes my hand from across the table and thanks me for being so good to her daughter—which makes Lucy’s cheeks turn my favorite shade of raspberry sorbet. Then her dad leans back so Claire can’t see him and mouths,Respect my daughter…or else,which is terrifying on somany levels, and I will definitely have a nightmare about it tonight.

After the frightening threat, Drew calls to say Brent is there, and Levi is awake and asking for us. Us—as in me and Lucy. It’s the wildest thing, going from a life of bachelorhood and late-night drinking to having a four-year-old in a tiny hospital gown wrap me around his finger and ask me to sing him “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” eighteen times and me doing it gladly.

Around midnight, after Brent went home with a promise to come back in the morning and then take the overnight shift tomorrow, I look across the hospital bed where Levi is asleep holding my hand, to Lucy who is passed out, legs curled up in the seat with her, wearing one of my sweatshirts that pretty much swallows her whole. It’s a sight I don’t think I’ll ever forget and certainly never wantto.

Chapter 34

Lucy

It’s been a few days since Levi’s surgery, and thankfully, he is recovering quickly. I have barely left the house since we got home from the hospital, but since he’s feeling more like himself today, I left him with Drew and headed for Cooper’s house to finally put together his new furniture.

“Hellooooo,” I call out as I struggle to shove the front door open. It feels like a sumo wrestler is on the other side, and when I get through, I see why.

My eyes widen at the enormous wall of brown furniture boxes piled up all around the entryway, and I can’t help but feel a little guilty at the sight. Did I really order this much stuff for him? Felt like a lot less in the online cart.

“LUCY!” Cooper yells from somewhere past the cardboard tower. “You got some ‘splainin’ to do!”

Ladies and gentlemen, if you are looking for Cooper’s fault, I have found it. He uses thisI Love Lucyjoke more times than anyone ever should. I forgive him his faults, though, when hishandsome face peeks up over the row of boxes and I can tell he’s not wearing a shirt. Suddenly, I’m in a ninja warrior competition and scaling these boxes becauseI will win my prize.

I crest the top of the tower and spot Cooper on the other side. He’s wearing black gym shorts slung low on his waist and no shirt. He is sort of a nudist, I’ve learned. If he’s home, that shirt is coming off.

He takes my hand and guides me down off the box wall, and I land in his arms. He smiles down at me, nose to nose, and then his eyes drop to my mouth. That—the moment where his gaze settles on exactly what it is he’s after—never fails to make my stomach leap. The freshly showered, damp-hair look he has going on doesn’t hurt either.

“Hi,” he says in this low, delicious, grumbly way. “How long do we have until you have to get back?”

“A few hours.”

He lifts an eyebrow, his smile turning devilish. Maybe Jessie was right about how little furniture we would actually end up putting together. “Hmm, well, we’re going to have to get to it, because we havea lotof work to do in the bedroom.”

Cooper bends down and hauls me up over his shoulder like a brute. I love it. I especially love the view of his back as he carries me through his living room and down the hall. My stomach is buzzing with nerves, and I’m anticipating a lovely evening—until Cooper finally sets me down and makes a sweeping gesture toward the frightening number of boxes stacked against the walls in his room.

That’s when I remember the extent of my late-night shopping spree. Cooper told me he was ready to commit to furniture but wanted me to pick it all out for him. The gesture was not lost on me since he once told me he would wait until he’d found thewoman he wanted to marry to make all the big purchases, and oh boy did I! I don’t think he meant to buy everything for the house at once, but that’s on him. He should have been more specific.

I make a hissing sound and turn my eyes to a glowering Cooper. He folds his arms, which is really unfair of him because it makes his biceps bulge out and the sexy veins in his forearms pop, but judging by the look on his face, it would be ill-advised to touch him at this moment. Or maybe it would be theperfecttime to touch him?

“So…just to be clear, youactuallymeant we have work to do back here?” I say, pouting.

He shakes his head slowly like a disappointed parent. “I thought you were ordering a few things for each room.”

“Well, it started that way.” I take a step away from his grumpy look and bump into a box. “But then I saw a lamp I thought you would really love and would go great with your wall color…which then reminded me that you didn’t have a bedside table, so naturally I had to order you one.”

“Naturally. So where does the…” He trails off to read the tall slender box in front of him. “…faux fiddle leaf fig with matte blush plantercome into play?”

I widen my eyes like he’s a chump for not seeing the answer on his own. “Once we get the new drapes hung on this side and put your new dresser over here, that corner would have looked ridiculously bare.” I put my hands on my hips and lift an eyebrow. “You don’t want to look ridiculous, do you?”

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