“Yeah, right.” She gave a very unladylike snort. “Believe me, if I intended to leave a bruise, you’d know it. That was just a little love tap, honey.”
Before she could return to her desk, Jackson hauled her onto his lap, positioning her until she was straddling his lap. Scarlett wriggled in protest for a few moments, as though she was about to get up, but then heaved a sigh and settled down, wrapping her arms around his neck.
“I do need to get some work done this afternoon, you know,” she reminded him, all the while trying to ignore his rapidly hardening erection as it nestled between her thighs. “And we have a client appointment in a couple of hours.”
“I know. But while we’re on the subject, let’s talk for just a few minutes about the possibility of maybe having kids one day. And quit giving me that look, babe. I’m onto all of your tricks by now, and that murderous glare doesn’t scare me in the least. I’m well aware that your bark is way worse than your bite.”
Scarlett wrinkled her nose at him. “That’s only because I’ve been in a much better mood these past few years. Doesn’t mean if I get pissed off enough that I won’t try to rip you a new one.”
“You won’t,” replied Jackson confidently. “Like it or not, Mrs. Gilmore, you’ve definitely mellowed since you met me.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” she retorted, poking him in the chest with her index finger. “And don’t call me Mrs. Gilmore here at the office. Here I’m still Ms. Strohman. There’s a sign on the front door that says so, along with several hundred business cards.”
And since she’d pulled the “ladies first” card on him, her name was listed first - Strohman & Gilmore Design & Construction. It had been the most minor of concessions Jackson had made in order to convince her not to make one of the tiny homes their place of residence.
“Back to the subject at hand,” he told her firmly, well aware that she was fond of changing the topic of conversation when she didn’t want to talk about something. “Now, I’m well aware that we haven’t even been married a full year yet, that this business is taking up a whole lot of our time, and that we’re both still young. But maybe in say two or three or even five years down the road we might want to consider starting a family. And before you start spouting all that BS about not having a maternal bone in your body, I’m onto you about that falsehood, too. I’ve seen you playing and hanging out with your cousins, especially with Kim’s youngest. And while you might not see it yourself, I do - you’d make a great mother someday, Scarlett.”
She waved a hand in dismissal. “There’s a big difference between playing flag football with the older kids or reading a story to the little ones and raising one of my own. I’ve never had to change a diaper or figure out what a baby is supposed to eat or how to potty train one - God, what a terrifying thought! I have zero idea about how to be a mother, Jackson. It’s not like I had any sort of role model growing up, after all.”
“I know,” he soothed her. “That doesn’t mean you don’t have the instinct for it. I’ve already seen too many times to count how kindhearted you are beneath that sassy mouth and bossy attitude. You’re protective and defensive of the people closest to you, and if that person was your own child I know you’d be like a tigress or mama bear looking after her cub. And,” he added, “you wouldn’t be doing stuff alone, you know. My father was probably the least hands on parent in existence but I’d be just the opposite. In fact, I’d even be willing to stay at home with the baby for the first few months and take on the “Mister Mom” role if you wanted to go back to work.”
Scarlett eyed him warily. “Can I get that in writing?” she asked sarcastically. “Though on second thought - never mind. I already know that you’re more than a man of your word. And I’m just guessing that if we had a baby those maternal instincts you mentioned would kick in big time and there’s no way I’d want to be separated from my kid all day. So we’d better make plans to add on to this office space one of these days - enough room for a crib and playpen and whatever other stuff a baby needs. The beauty of owning our own business and being the boss is that we make the rules. And one of those rules would be we get to bring our kid to work whenever we want.”
A wide smile broke across Jackson’s features. “I like that rule. And as soon as you draw up the design for this room addition I’ll get to work building it.”
“Whoa.” She held up a hand. “I said one of these days, Gilmore, not next month. You’re right - we’ve got a lot on our plates right now with the business, we’re both still young, and there’s no need to rush. Let’s make a deal, hmm?”
He sighed. “I’m always a little terrified when you want to negotiate but let’s hear the details.”
Scarlett leaned down and dropped a kiss on his mouth. “Nothing to be scared about - though I do admit I’m a hell of a negotiator. All I was going to suggest was that we give it another year or so and then bring the subject up again. Maybe after our second wedding anniversary?”
Jackson nodded, looking relieved that it could actually be that easy. “Sounds reasonable to me.”
She held up a cautionary index finger. “And no guarantees, okay? All I’m agreeing to is discussing the idea in more detail. In the meanwhile I’ll give it some serious thought, see if I can somehow envision myself as a mother. And no pressure on your end. Got it?”
“Clear as a bell. Won’t bring the subject up for another year or so. You’re right in that we’ve got plenty to keep us busy until then - growing this business, working in some time to take a vacation or two, adding another room to this building.”
Scarlett frowned. “I already told you there wasn’t a rush on that.”
He gave her a deliberately lecherous grin, squeezing her ass as he did so. “Oh, I wasn’t referring to adding a nursery. That’s definitely premature. But I do think we should seriously consider adding on a bedroom or at least a loft space with a nice comfy bed. It would - uh, come in handy for times like this.”
Very suggestively he moved her hips to and fro against his crotch, then hissed as her hand slid between their bodies to gently squeeze his rapidly hardening erection.
“I see what you mean,” she purred huskily. “Tell you what. I’ll get to work on drawing up the plans for the addition tonight and you can start building it tomorrow. In the meanwhile, I suggest you lock the front door while I pull down all the shades. Lucky for you I insisted on buying a sofa for this place.”
Jackson threaded a hand into her red-gold curls and kissed her very, very thoroughly. “I’m lucky all right,” he whispered. “And my luck changed for the better the day I walked through the door of that coffee shop and summoned up the nerve to talk to you. Best decision I ever made, even if you scared the hell out of me.”
Scarlett’s blue eyes twinkled merrily. “I don’t still scare you, do I?”
He hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. “Of course not. Most of the time, anyway. When you aren’t cranky from working too many hours or you haven’t skipped breakfast and lunch or some vendor or customer hasn’t pissed you off. Those times - well, you might still terrify me just a little.”