Page 45 of I've Got You

A throat clearing had Scott pulling back more fully and looking over my shoulder. A pink hue touched his cheeks, so light I was sure I wouldn’t have seen it if I were a little further away. I stepped to his side. Jenna stood in the doorway, a small smile on her lips and her eyes wet. Her hand was at the bottom of her neck. After a moment, she blinked and stepped toward me. I reached out my hand only for her to sweep it aside and pull me into a tight hug. For a little woman, she was strong.

“Thank you,” she whispered close to my ear, the words barely audible. I held her a little tighter. With one more squeeze, she stepped out of my arms, her mouth stretched wide, her eyes almost dry. “It’s so good to meet you, Davis.” She peered around me. “And this beautiful girl must be Libby.” I turned in my daughter’s direction. She was bouncing on her feet, her knees bending like crazy and her gaze still fixed on Hunter.

“Yes, ma’am. And it looks like she’s besotted with Hunter. I’ve already started preparing speeches to warn off her wannabe dates.”

Jenna laughed. “From what I’ve heard about her daddy, I can imagine you’re not exaggerating.” I wasn’t. Tanner thought it was hilarious. “But I would imagine she’s going to be a force to be reckoned with too.”

I grinned with pride, having no doubt she would. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“I’ll stay here and keep an eye on the kids if you want to finish off, Scott.” She cast a happy glance at her brother.

“Thanks, Jen.” He turned in the direction of the kitchen, grabbing my hand and tugging me along.

“You cooked?” He’d told me he could cook, but I’d yet to eat at his place.

“Why d’you sound so surprised?”

I shrugged. “Not surprised as much as happy that you’re cooking for me,” I replied honestly.

His gray eyes met mine. “Hopefully that happy feeling will stay, as long as it’s edible.”

In the kitchen, I looked around. I was impressed with how tidy everything was. “So, what’s on the menu?”

“Don’t get too excited.” He picked up the oven gloves. “I had to make sure the boys could eat, and Libby would manage too.”

“I have some—”

“No, it’s all good. I made sure she’d be well fed.”

Heat bubbled up my body at Scott’s ability to keep surprising me with his thoughtfulness. “Thank you.” I stepped behind him when he’d placed the hot tray down safely, and pressed a kiss to his neck. His breath hitching was one of the sweetest damn sounds ever.

“My pleasure.” His voice was whisper soft. He turned. With half-lidded eyes, he zeroed in on my mouth. The pinging of the microwave had him jumping, though. I huffed in amusement.

“I’ll get that.” Stepping away reluctantly, I collected the container and set it to the side. “What do you need me to do?”

“If you can sort everyone’s drinks, that would be great.”

“No problem. What would you like?”

He angled his head to look at me. “There’s wine and beer, but I wasn’t sure if you’d be having a drink.”

He was already aware I rarely had anything beyond a single beer when I was driving, especially when I had Libby with me. “I’m good with water.”

He nodded his understanding. “Then that’s fine by me too. Jenna will probably want wine; the white in the fridge will be good.”

I set about organizing drinks for us all, collecting Libby’s sippy cup from her bag in the process. Placing the drinks on the table and Libby’s on the high chair, which I recognized as hers from Tanner’s place, a firm sense of rightness settled over me. Scott was making all the right moves, going above and beyond in ensuring Libby was considered in everything we did. I turned to watch him starting to dish up. He moved around the kitchen, seeming content in the space despite the busyness of his task.

“I was thinking.” I stepped away from the table I’d finish setting. “Maybe after dinner, if Jenna and the boys can do without you, you could come back to mine, help me tuck Libby in for the night, and maybe then we can have something stronger.” He paused, a spoon raised in the air as he threw me a look with such heat that my eyes flared and my pants tightened. “It’ll still be early.” I cocked a shoulder and offered him a smile that I hoped to hell was as seductive as I intended it to be.

“Yes.” With a bob of his head, he threw me a wide grin. “I’d like that. A lot.”

He’d been right. I liked it when he said yes to me. I mentally shook my head, aware we had to get through our early dinner, and I had to maintain a civil conversation with his sister. “Shall I rally the troops?” I indicated my head toward the sitting room.

“That’d be great. Thanks.”

Turning on my heel, I took a deep breath, ready to put on my game face and win Jenna and his nephews over.

My nerves had proved to be unnecessary. By the end of dinner, which had been simple yet tasty, I’d managed to offer Jenna a job as Scott’s replacement, but on a trial run, which Jenna had insisted on. Not only that, but I’d achieved the killer of belches after dinner. Both boys had been so impressed they’d demanded to show me their new bedroom.

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