Page 56 of When Morning Comes (Arrow Creek 2)

“You and I need a night alone that doesn’t involve something normal like dinner or a movie, though I’m always happy to feed you.” I grin at her and propel us forward.

“Are you trying to say I’m fat?”

I stop us abrupt from the entrance. “Fuck, no,” I growl, intensely angry at her flippant remark. “Don’t say that shit again.”

I lock eyes with her to convey how serious I am. Being surrounded by women my entire life, it’s easy to understand all the pressure they feel on a daily basis to look their absolute best. It’s also fucking bullshit, if you ask me. I may have a bag of balls hanging between my legs, but I can give a damn straight opinion. Understanding it and allowing them to talk badly about themselves in front of me are two different things, and I won’t tolerate the latter.

“The mother of my child isn’t going to insult herself in front of me. Let’s get that straight, yeah?”

Kiersten makes cute as hell wide eyes and chews her lower lip. “Sorry, dude.”

The look entices me to reach out and tug her lip free from her teeth with my thumb. “That’s a start.”

God, those crystal blue eyes are gorgeous. She’s the entire package wrapped up in humor, spirit, and life. It doesn’t hurt that she’s beautiful as hell and as bright as the goddamned sun, either.

She clears her throat, pulling me from my intense admiration.

?

??You’re probably getting cold. We should keep moving,” I say to save the moment. Taking her hand again, we continue our stroll through the arc and into a city of lights.

“Whoa.” She looks around in wonder. “Look, there’s the Eiffel Tower. Ohh! There’s the Statue of Liberty.”

Notable buildings decorate each side of the path, made from hundreds upon hundreds of string lights. Rhett told me how incredible it was, but nothing could compare to seeing the details myself. Knowing how badly Kiersten wanted to see it makes it that much more impressive in my eyes.

The initial awe of the places tamps down the longer we stroll, and we carry on an easy conversation while enjoying the city of lights.

“Do you want to grab a hot chocolate?” I gesture with my head toward a snack stand fifty feet ahead. The cold bites into my exposed skin, making a little extra heat necessary and raising concern to how Kiersten’s faring.

“How’s there hot chocolate if the place is closed? Wait a sec.” She stops short, forcing me to stop as well. “You still haven’t explained how we’re here.”

“I drove us.”

“That’s not what I mean.”

If it wouldn’t be creepy, I’d pull out my phone and snap a picture of her right now. Gray beanie with a brown pom-pom on top, rosy cheeks and blushed nose, and a big puffy black coat with her belly protruding beautifully, but the best part is her perky grin.

I tug on her hand to keep us moving. We need to keep our blood pumping because we’re not done yet.

“First, snacks. Then … I’ll answer the second part of your question.”

I swear I hear her stomp as she follows my lead.

“You can be so infuriating, did you know that? I hope our son takes after me in that department.”

Our son. I bite the inside of my cheek to keep the embarrassing grin inside.

“Oh, as if you aren’t ever stubborn, hardheaded, persistent, inflexible Oof!”

A hard shove in the middle sends me into a bank of snow.

“Huh. That shut you up quicker than I thought it would.”

A quip readies itself on my tongue when my breath catches in my throat. Backdropped by the glowing string lights, she appears goddamn near ethereal. The spot over my heart grows both warm and achy at these rapid-fire thoughts about a woman labeled as simply my friend. I’m committing the biggest act of betrayal in my life, and at the same time, nothing feels more right.

No. I blink and try to rid myself of those thoughts. They aren’t correct. I’m not betraying anybody. At least, not anymore.

The need to touch her, to ground myself here in the moment, consumes me. Kicking out my ankle, I bring it just below her knees and sweep toward me, knocking her forward off balance. At the same time, I jackknife out of the snowbank to catch her deftly in my arms. My thighs tightly secure her hips, careful of her belly, and lower her down on top of me in the snow.

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