Page 41 of Twenty Years Later

"Nah. Take a breather, Alex." Finally getting Gabby from her seat, she swirled her around. "Hi, wee one. Should we take a little tour?"

Bouncing Gabby on her hip, Jayda headed for the front door, pointing out a little hidden fairy house along the way. "Here we go," she cooed. "Let's check out all the goodies inside. So many new toys for you to play with."

I followed, beyond curious to see how Jayda lived. Once she opened the door, the first thing that struck me was how bright and airy everything seemed, sunlight streaming in through the many windows. The layout was so open I could see into the kitchen and dining room at what looked like the far end of the house.

"Well?" Jayda asked, her eyes lit up. "What do you think?"

"Honestly? It's beautiful here."

I could see touches of Jayda everywhere—flowers, artwork on the walls, neutral calm colors, plush cushions on her couches, even a large fireplace that set off the entire room.

Feeling her gaze still on me, I added, "It feels like you... like home."

I stopped looking around to meet her eyes, and damn, if someone else was watching, even they would have seen the sparks flying between us. Her chest rose and fell as we stared at each other. God, I had missed being with her so much.

Not able to ignore any longer the intense need to touch her, I closed the space between us and pulled her into my side since she still held Gabby.

Her free arm went around my waist as she squeezed in. "Group hug," she said to a now-quiet Gabby.

Something leaped in my chest as my arms went around them both. This was how it was supposed to be. This was my heaven.

We stayed like that for a few moments as I breathed in Jayda's scent—a mix of vanilla and strawberries, probably her shampoo—her head fitting right below my chin and resting on my chest. The way her body fit into mine... I couldn't even describe it.

It just felt right.

Gabby could only handle so much of the group hug and began to fidget. "Okay," Jayda said. "Let's show you your room and all the toys. And Alex?"

"Yeah?" I said, shrugging out of my coat and grabbing the suitcase.

"This place is totally baby proof. Believe me, Audrey has tried to get into absolutely everything." She waved toward the fireplace which was surrounded by safety panels. "Someday, I'll be able to take down all the gates everywhere and put out my vases."

I laughed. "Hopefully. Although it's hard to imagine."

"Exactly. But it's actually getting better now. I think age two was the trickiest. I had to put clamps on every single drawer, the fridge, the toilets. Oh, and the little plugs for the sockets weren't even enough. I had to take some out completely and put those monstrosities on." She pointed to a large outlet cover in the corner.

"Well, they say curiosity is good, right?"

"Supposedly." She shook her head, laughing, and started toward the stairs where there was another gate at the bottom and one at the top. "I probably don't even need these anymore for Audrey. She's pretty good at steps now. But it just keeps her on the same floor as me. I don't need her going upstairs while I'm trying to cook down here."

"That makes sense. Especially if you're going to burn something," I teased.

"Not funny," she said with a laugh. "But definitely true."

I was soon distracted by her hips swaying as she went up the stairs in front of me. I'd never seen her in jeans before, and they hugged her body in all the right places. As she unlocked the top gate and held it open for me, I took a deep breath.

This was going to be a tough weekend.

The guest room was perfect, a huge bed with a little crib for Gabby nearby, plus tons of toys and board books in a big bin that Jayda had brought in for our visit.

After we dropped off our stuff, we toured the rest of the house and then headed to the kitchen to start dinner. Jayda grabbed a bunch of toys, and Gabby hung out on a large plush rug, thrilled to check them all out.

"So," Jayda began, "what do you think we should have for dinner? Mac and cheese?"

I couldn't resist her anymore and grabbed her to me. "You think you're so funny. I'm never going to live that one down, am I?"

Peeking up at me with those beautiful eyes, my heart lurched inside my chest. Her body was flush with mine, and I had to fight the urge to take her right there.

Damn, I wanted her. I couldn't get enough of her.

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