Page 5 of The Light to My Darkness (The Light to My Darkness 1)

I looked at the grocery bag on the counter. I hadn't even noticed that he brought one in. I smiled at him. "Fruit and chocolate?"

He laughed and slid the bag down the counter toward me. I opened it up and pulled out the bananas and Dove ice cream bars.

"This is why I love you. You're a mind reader." I pushed the apple aside and grabbed a banana instead. In two seconds flat I was biting into the food I had been desperately craving. "Mmm."

"Are you trying to torture me?" he asked.

I looked back up at James as I finished chewing. "There is no way that you're turned on right now. I'm huge." I gestured to my stomach. "And it's not like I'm sucking on this seductively. I just took the biggest bite."

"You're not huge. You're pregnant." He ran his palm along my stomach. "With my daughter. And I think you're absolutely gorgeous."

"It's a boy, James!"

A smile spread across his face. "It's definitely a girl."

"I swear it's not."

He raised his left eyebrow. "Do you want to bet?"

"Everyone else already has a wager going." I took another bite of the banana. "We might as well too. What did you have in mind?"

"Winner gets whatever they want."

I laughed. "That's rather vague. So you're saying that if it's a boy, I can have anything I want? Anything at all?"

"And if it's a girl, I can have anything I want." His eyes scanned down my body.

"Deal. But all you have to do is ask. I'll give you whatever you want right now." I glanced at the clock on the wall. "We should have a few minutes before..." my words were cut short by his lips crashing against mine. I loved that he craved me the way I craved crazy foods. And him. I certainly never stopped craving him.

I pulled on his tie to deepen the kiss. He groaned into my mouth. I loved that sound. Yes, we were rarely alone anymore. But we knew how to take advantage of those few moments in between the hectic ones.

We both jumped when we heard the front door open.

"We're home!" Ellen called from the foyer.

James ran the tip of his nose down the length of mine. "To be continued?"

"Of course." I straightened his tie. A continuation could mean anything from a few hours to several days, but neither one of us were upset. Maybe a couple years ago we would have been annoyed by the interruption. But we were a family now. "I love you."

"I love you so much." He placed a swift kiss against my lips.

"Daddy!" the sweetest little voice squealed from the doorway of the kitchen.

Chapter 3

Friday

I turned to see the brightest smile, the rosiest cheeks, and the curliest mop of red hair running toward us. Scarlett collided with James' leg and wrapped her little arms around it.

"Hey, pumpkin." James ruffled her hair and bent down to lift her into his arms. Scarlett easily settled onto his hip, which was probably her favorite seat in the world.

I smiled at the scene. No, I wasn't the least bit upset about the interruption. James had two girls in his life now. And I was okay with sharing him. He was the most wonderful father.

"Daddy, Ellie took me to the park!"

Ellen smiled from the doorway. Scarlett had been pronouncing Ellen's name as Ellie ever since she had learned how to talk. I was pretty sure she was able to pronounce Ellen now, but Ellen seemed to like the nickname.

"I can see that," James said and lightly tapped the tip of Scarlett's nose. There was a splatter of mud on the side of it and her dress had several grass stains.

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