When they broke apart with ragged breaths, he still kept her close. “I want all of that too, Fallon. All of it. This isn’t just a temporary thing. I know we originally planned on you being here for three weeks, but…I want you to stay. I know you have plans and you’re going to keep applying for jobs, and whatever you want to do is more than fine with me. We’ll make it all work somehow.”
She pulled back slightly. “What are you saying?”
Oh, God…what was he saying?
And was he really prepared to say it all right now?
Yes.
“I’m saying I’m falling in love with you,” he said earnestly. “I don’t want you here just as Asher’s nanny or as a family friend; I want you here because of how I feel about you, because I want you and need you. I want you to be here because maybe you feel the same about me. And I know how much you love Asher and watching you care for him has been…you’ve been…”
God, I’m rambling like an idiot!
She mimicked his move and caressed his cheek. “I have loved every minute of it. These have been some of the best weeks of my life. You have to know that.”
“Mine too.” Then he let out a small laugh. “The day I found Asher on my porch, I didn’t think I’d be able to do this. But then you showed up and made everything better. I can never thank you enough for that.”
“You don’t need to thank me, Jamie.”
Carefully, he maneuvered them so she was lying down beside him. “I do need to thank you, or, at the very least, show my appreciation,” he said silkily, and Fallon caught on immediately.
“Ooh…I’m listening…”
Slowly, he moved over her. “Let me show you, Fallon. Let me love you.”
“Yes…”
So he did.
And it was the best Sunday ever.
“I don’t feel good about this…”
“Nonsense. It’s going to be fine.”
“But what if something goes wrong?”
“Then they’ll call us.”
“What if we can’t get back here in time?”
Chuckling, Jamie grasped her by the shoulders and gave her a playful shake. “You need to relax. Arianna and Will are going to stay with Asher so you and I can go out for a little while. It’s not a big deal. Everything’s going to be fine. Besides, I thought you’d be more excited about getting out on an actual date!”
She looked around nervously. “I know I’m being silly. Asher’s got a solid schedule and your sister knows exactly what to do, but…it feels weird to be out.” Then she laughed softly. “Wow…he’s not even my baby and I feel like a part of me is missing without him being with us. Sorry!”
“For what? Acting like a real mom?” With a small snort, he said, “Fallon, this is exactly the sort of thing that makes you so amazing. You’re upset about leaving him for a couple of hours. Jenn left him for weeks. Who do you think the better mom is?”
Her eyes closed as she shook her head. “I don’t want to even go there. Let’s go and have something to eat and enjoy ourselves.”
“That’s my girl!”
He had made reservations at a seafood place up in Beaufort and was excited about them being able to do this. When he mentioned it to his uncle, his first response was that he should totally do it. Then he had to decide which sibling to call to babysit. Ari and Will were making wedding plans and talking about how much they couldn’t wait to start a family, so he figured they’d be the first ones to ask. Fortunately, his sister jumped at the chance—right after she nearly caused him to go deaf when she screeched with pure joy into the phone.
Needless to say, he now knew exactly who to call if they ever needed a backup babysitter.
They walked into the restaurant and were seated immediately. The atmosphere was casual but romantic and when he looked across the table, he couldn’t help but smile.
“You look gorgeous tonight,” he told her, and, as expected, she blushed.
“And you look very handsome yourself.”
They discussed the menu and ordered their dinners and, for the first time in weeks, he wasn’t sure what to talk about. He didn’t do this sort of thing—the romantic dinner date—and wasn’t sure what rules applied. Were certain topics off-limits? Was it okay to joke around? He seriously had no idea.
“I heard from my mom today,” she said.
“Really? Is the cruise over already?”
“It is! She texted me a bunch of pictures and it looked beautiful. I’ve always wanted to go to Alaska, but I’m not sure about the cruise part. That doesn’t thrill me.”
“How come? They seem like they could be fun.”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Something about not being on land for that many days is just beyond unappealing to me. And then you see those pictures online where it’s so crowded and that is totally not my thing.”
“I guess in the right circumstances it could be fun, but I don’t think I’d pick a cruise for my vacation either.”
“How come?”
Leaning forward, he rested his arms on the table. “It’s always been my dream to see The Grand Canyon and to go hiking through Zion National Park. I’m more of an outdoorsy person and that sort of thing appeals to me.”
“I think seeing both those places in person would be amazing. I’ve never gone hiking and I think we both know I’m not overly athletic…”
“Nuh-uh…you’re totally athletic. Our whole rivalry started because you beat me in a bike race,” he reminded her, making her laugh.
“Oh my goodness! I forgot about that!” Laughing harder, she shook her head. “We were like five or six years old. Trust me, that may have been the peak of my athleticism!”
“Again, I disagree. All the times our families hung out together, you know we always ran around playing some sort of game or doing all kinds of crazy challenges. Remember the year we competed to see who could climb the highest in that tree in Laurel Bay Park?”
“I believe Liam beat us all.”
“Yeah, but that’s just because he was the oldest and the tallest,” Jamie reasoned. “But you still came in third. You beat me by a foot.”
“If you say so…”
“Or how about the Fourth of July when we were at that big community picnic and they had the three-legged race? You beat me in that too!”
“I was paired up with my sister Shannon and she was a lot taller than me! Still is! Anyway, she’s the only reason we won. She practically carried me the entire time! I had nothing to do with it.”
He shook his head. “Trust me, you’re more athletic than you think.”
“Then how come I always had to do extra credit work to avoid failing PE in school?”
“Seriously?”
“Oh, yeah. Believe it or not, the only reason I was able to do any of that physical stuff was because I was trying to prove myself—to you and my sisters. Even now, the most physical thing I do is either yoga or walking. And I haven’t taken a yoga class in almost two months. Tummy time with Asher is the only time I get down on the floor and stretch.”