Page 91 of Accidental Mile High Daddy
He snorted, crossing the decking toward the array. “Don’t start.”
“You havesucha type,” I grinned, looking up at him.
“Yeah, well,” he started, slowly setting me down on the cushions like I weighed nothing, “I’d have taken you back to Massachusetts for another one if the trees weren’t dead and we wouldn’t freeze our asses off. And I’m pretty sure your OB said no more flying.”
“Aww,” I teased. “You missed our first date.”
He rolled his eyes as he threw a blanket around my shoulders before sitting down opposite me. “You thinkthatwas our first date? Not the restaurant back in Tulum?”
I leaned back into the cushions, lifting my knees a little and resting my hand on my stomach. “Nah. Tulum was nice, and don’t get me wrong, it had first-date vibes, but you weren’t serious then. Massachusetts was serious-Matt.”
“What was Tulum then?”
“Horny-Matt-who-had-feelings-but-had-no-idea-what-to-do-with-them,” I said simply. “Obviously.”
He rolled his eyes, but his lips played at the corners. “Eat your damn dessert, you menace.”
We sat in easy quiet as I picked at all the little desserts he’d arranged, trusting him this time not to poison me. He poured out two glasses of the zero-percent rosé, and I picked mineup, tilting my head toward the sky. “Full moon’s out,” I said, tilting my chin toward it high up in the sky. “If we get attacked by werewolves, I’m not waiting for you to fight them off. I’m beelining inside and locking the door.”
He snorted. “Appreciate the loyalty.”
“I’m justsaying,” I grinned. “Putting the mother of your kids in danger just for a date? Shameful.”
He laughed, stretching his legs a bit, one hand reaching over casually to cover mine. But he was fidgeting — just barely, his thumb tapping, his weight shifting on his rear. His jaw clenched a little, then relaxed, like he was mentally cataloguing every little movement he made.
I sniffed at the wine once, then took a sip. “This tastes like the grapes got cold feet and chickened out of being wine.”
His mouth twitched. “It’s the best zero-percent I could find.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Thebest? Are you trying to bribe me into silence, or seduce me?”
“Yes.”
I snorted. “You’re still going to have to wait another few months for much more than a hand job,” I said.
“You say that like you’re not begging me every night to say,‘fuck the OB’s rules’and take you,” he countered, his head turning to me,somethingflickering behind those stupidly attractive hazel eyes.
“Yeah because I haven’t had an orgasm in over a fuckingmonth,” I whined. “I’m desperate.”
Matt tutted. “Too risky.”
I glared at him.
He chuckled, his fingers squeezing mine. “I promise I’ll give you so many that your brain stops working the second you’re not on pelvic rest anymore,” he said softly. “Don’t think I’m not forever grateful for you going through this. I’ll be severely in your debt for the rest of my life for it.”
I blinked. That—that was sweeter than I was expecting from him.
He turned slightly, his body angling toward mine. “I wanted to talk to you about something,” he murmured, his voice a little quieter.
Heat prickled my cheeks. “Right, it’s all making sense now,” I teased, but the normal spark in my voice was dampened, my nerves rising just a little. “Is this the part where you finally say you love me? I mean, you’ve only moved me into your house and rearranged your entire life for me. The suspense is unbearable.”
Deflection. It was stupid, but it was the only way I knew how to deal with things right now.
He smiled, but it was a bit crooked, his gaze flicking away from me and then back like he wasn’t entirely confident for once.
“I meant it,” he said, “when I told you I wanted to do this properly, back at the hospital. I didn’t know exactly what that meant at the time. I just knew that I desperately didn’t want to keep making you feel like you were holding your breath, just waiting for me to disappear.”
I stilled.
