“Nope. Want me to lock the truck?”
“Yeah.” I wait for her to lock the door and then we’re off.
“They have trails we can walk on, if you want,” she suggests.
One hand on the stroller, I reach out with the other and pull her to my side. “What, you two didn’t have this little excursion planned out?” I tease.
“We were thinking more of just rolling with it and seeing where the day takes us, right, bud?” She looks down at Knox. “I’ve lost my sidekick.”
“I guess you’ll just have to settle for me.” I kiss her temple then release her to push the stroller.
Chapter 32
The weather is beautiful; it’s a warm high-seventies today, and the sun is shining. I don’t know what made me think of the park; I guess I just wanted to do something that would include Knox. I know how Ridge feels about leaving him when he’s with his parents so much during the week.
Looking down at the sleeping baby, I see the sun is in his eyes. I grab Ridge by the elbow to slow him down. “Hey, hold up.” He stops immediately. I reach out and pull the canopy of the stroller over Knox, so the sun isn’t beating down on him. I go to pull away and Ridge places his hand over mine.
“You’re good,” he says with a wink. I don’t argue, leaving my hand where it is. The scene we create I’m sure is an intimate one, one of a new family. My heart hurts for Melissa, and for Ridge and Knox.
“So, why a nurse?” he asks out of the blue.
“I’ve just always liked helping people. And I love kids. I worked at a pediatric hospital before moving home.”
“You’re good with them.”
“I think maybe it’s because I was an only child. Whenever little cousins came around, I was always begging to hold them or playing with them.” I pause for a second before turning to him. “What about you? Always want to take over the family business?”
“Yes. I grew up idolizing my father. He worked hard and still had time for the three of us. I knew I wanted to be just like him.”
“And kids? Did you see yourself being a father?” I don’t know why I ask that. It’s not like he has a choice in the matter, but I want kids. If this is really going anywhere or leads to more, that’s important to me.
“Yeah, I did. I assumed I would find the one, just like my dad talked about with Mom. Still to this day, anytime he’s gone, even just to the store, before he leaves and as soon as he’s back, he has to kiss her.” He stops as if remembering, a small smile tipping his lips. “Dad used to tell us as kids that he knew from the moment he met her that she was his future. I wanted that. I still do.” He looks over at me, slows his walk, bends down and kisses my temple.
I’m glad he insisted I hold on to him; otherwise, I’d be a puddle of goo, right here on the paved walkway of the park.
“My parents’ have a similar story,” I say, once I’ve composed myself. “They met in college, fell hard and fast, and they’re still going strong today.”
“Big shoes to fill,” he replies.
“Yeah. Honestly, I had all but given up that I would ever find that.” We stop to sit on a park bench beside the small lake. He parks the stroller so the sun isn’t in the baby’s eyes, then settles on the bench next to me. His arm rests across my shoulders, and he pulls me close.
“And now?” he asks, his voice low.
“Now.” I stop to collect my thoughts. “Now, the dream of having what my parents’ have is back in full bloom, I just. . . .”
“Just what?” he murmurs.
“Now I know who I want it to be.” The words tumble out before I can stop them. His voice, his scent—he scrambles my brain. He’s getting the real me.
His lips are close to my ear when he whispers, “Let it be me.”
Holy shit! Is this really my life right now? Reaching down, I pinch my leg and jump from the sting.
“What are you doing?” he asks. I can hear it in his voice that he thinks what I just did is crazy.
“I had to know.”
“Had to know what, sweet girl?”
I look up at him and get lost in his dark eyes. “I had to know if this was real. I was making sure you aren’t just a figment of my imagination.”
He chuckles. “No, baby, I’m not. I’m one hundred percent real, and I’m yours.” He says it like there’s no question. His statement is final.
“What does that mean exactly?” There I go again, not thinking before I speak. I look around to make sure no one’s listening in on our conversation. It’s just the three of us.
“That means exactly what I said. I’m yours. I want this, and I want you.”
“But that means . . . what? We’re dating? Ridge, this is all really fast and confusing and I—”
“We’re more than dating. You’re more than just someone I’m dating casually. Don’t ask me to explain it because I can’t. I just know it. There’s this coiling deep in my gut and it constricts at the thought of us not being together. I’m trusting that to lead us into our future.”
“Do I get a say in this?” I ask him.
He studies me for a long time before replying. “No. Not unless you say you agree with me. I don’t give up easy and I won’t now, not when it comes to you.”
Swoon!
“You ready for some lunch? I’m starving.”
“Yes.”
We stand to leave. Ridge grabs my hand and places it back in the crook of his arm while he pushes the stroller. The walk back is quiet, like we’re both taking the time to process what we just talked about.
“Okay, so how do we get him out of this thing?” he asks with a worried expression.
“Try the button on the handle,” I suggest.
Sure enough, it works, and Ridge is able to free the car seat from the stroller. I manage to load up the diaper bag and fold down the stroller just as he reaches me on the other side of the truck. “I got that, babe.” He takes it from me and lifts it effortlessly into the backseat.
“I probably need to look at getting another vehicle. An SUV or something,” he says, shoving the diaper bag in the backseat as well.
“You could’ve put it in the bed of the truck,” I tell him.
“Yeah, but what if it’s raining and I need the stroller and we have a bunch of other stuff? We won’t be able to use the bed of the truck.”
“You could get one of those bed cover things,” I suggest.
“I could, but this is a business truck. It’s probably time I get something that doesn’t have Beckett Construction sprawled down the side.”
“That’s who you are.”
“It is,” he agrees. “But I’m also a dad now.”
“You’re a good man, Ridge Beckett.”
He reaches over and laces his fingers through mine, letting our combined hands rest on the center console. “I want to be, for you and for him. I want to be.”
I don’t know what to say to that. ‘Thank you?’ ‘I’m falling for you hard and fast, and I hope like hell you catch me?’ For once, I keep my mouth shut as we drive to the diner just down from my office.