Page 216 of Small Town Firsts
He stretched out his legs, still holding the empty bowls of ice cream. Just the shift of his pose widened his legs enough for me to see exactly what was going on in his jeans—and the late day sun definitely wasn’t creating any shadows. That gloriousness was all Seth.
I wet my lips and looked up into his eyes. He did the same, except on him the gesture was lazy and lion-like. A king surveying his backyard kingdom, and I was one of his belongings. That should’ve set my hackles up, but instead, all it gave me was a flutter, way down low.
“I’ll be right in,” he said.
Nodding, I juggled his daughter in my arms and smiled. “You ready for bath time and a story? MaybeMr. Peppermint and the Pushy Poodles?”
“Yes!” She gave me a loud smacking kiss right on the mouth. “Love you, Ally.”
It didn’t matter that “love you, Ally” sounded likelub eww, Awee.It was probably the sweetest moment of my life.
Sucking in a breath, I tipped my head down to hers. “Love you right back.”
The rustle of grass behind me gave me a second to regroup before Seth pulsed his hips against my ass. He truly didn’t care that he was harder than wood and just the feel of him against me was enough to soak my panties. In fact, he’d probably done that intentionally.
Casually, he looped his arm around my waist and caught his fingers in the unused belt loops of my dress. “My two favorite girls,” he murmured, his breath warm on the nape of my neck.
More flutters, by the dozen this time.
I passed Laurie’s balloon to Seth and watched as he tied it to a chair. Then we trooped together toward the back porch stairs. “In we go.”
“Not you, Daddy,” Laurie said, and Seth gave a big sigh.
“Yes, I know, banned from my own bathroom. Or am I now exiled from the house too?”
Laurie clutched her balloon and stuck out her lower lip while she thought. “Come in.”
“Thank you, Princess Laurie.” Seth ate up the steps with his long-legged strides and opened the back door just in time to let us pass. “After you, Princess Ally Cat.”
“Cat?” Laurie’s head came up and she grinned toothily. “I like cats.” She turned her head and stared hard at her father. “My little sissy wants a cat.”
I lifted my brows. I’d heard much talk about how Laurie wanted another sibling, and supposedly it had spurned Seth’s crazy babymaking idea. But I’d never heard Laurie actually talk about the sibling as if she was real—one who could make pet requests, no less.
“Your little sissy?” I asked through the cotton in my throat. “Did you fill out an order form?”
Laurie giggled and dangled from my neck, stretching her arm out as far as she could so she could encompass her father. “Boys suck.”
“Nice, kiddo.” Seth sighed and tweaked her nose, meeting my gaze over her head. “My child has very specific requests. They seem to get more specific by the day.”
The way he was looking at me again… God, it was as if he could see inside my womb and plant a kid there—a girl, because hey, ask and ye shall receive—from the sheer force of his stare alone.
He could definitely get me in the mood to practice, that was for sure.
“Or a dog,” Laurie added. “My sissy likes dogs too.”
It was so weird to laugh about something that potentially had a big effect on my life too. If she got that sissy she wanted, it’d be via my girl parts. And I didn’t mind that thought.
One bit.
“Good to know.” I brushed a kiss over Laurie’s forehead and sneaked a glance at Seth. “We’ll see how that whole ordering thing works out.”
It was a dangerous thing to say. To pretend we were a little happy family. A happy,normalfamily, who wasn’t playing house for the sole purpose of procreation.
But right now, with Seth’s gaze hot on mine, and his hand on the small of my back, it certainly didn’t feel like we were playing.
Nor did it when we tucked a freshly clean Laurie in her bed—Seth had waited in his bedroom, as requested—and she asked me to read her story. I figured she’d want her dad to read it to her since he was right there, but nope, she pushed the book into my hand then patted both sides of her bed so we could sit on either side.
My voice was trembling as I started to read about Mr. Peppermint’s pushy poodles. The story was lighthearted and fun, and Laurie giggled as the pushiest puppy fell face-first in a puddle. But by the time the puppy was plopped in the kitchen sink to get cleaned up, Laurie had fallen asleep, her cheek smushed adorably into the pillow and her damp ringlets draping like spun gold across her face.
