“Tell me you love me,” she whispers, and I bury my face in her neck, absorbing her scent of vanilla into my lungs.
“I love you, baby. Don’t ever doubt it.”
“I love you too.” Her soft words seep into my skin and fill in the parts of me that have been missing since I lost my parents. I always knew I would find someone to share my life with, but I never even dreamed she would be perfect for me in every way.
“Did you eat breakfast?” I ask her after a few minutes of just holding her, knowing she wasn’t up this morning when we all ate. She has a tendency to forget about food unless it’s right in front of her.
“No, I came in here to think after you left, and fell asleep.”
“Come on, I’ll make you something.” I pick her up and carry her into the kitchen, where I set her on the island. “How about peanut butter and jelly?”
“I don’t think I’ve had one of those since I was ten.” She grins, and I lean in, wrapping my hand around her jaw and kissing her softly before pulling away.
“Well, let me remind you how good they are.” I reluctantly step away from her and go about making her a sandwich then hear her phone ring. Watching her hop of the counter and walk across the kitchen, I see her pick up her cell and put it to her ear.
“I was going to call you,” she says with a smile. Then frowns and asks, “No, what happened?” Resting her palm against the counter, her head drops between her shoulders as she speaks softly. “We drove by there last night. I saw the police and news trucks.” She shakes her head, and I move toward her. “Yes, at first I thought it was an accident until I saw a CSI van. Do they know who it was?” she questions, looking at me. She replies, “I won’t be anymore” to whatever the person on the phone said.
“What’s going on?”
“It’s Michelle. They found a woman stabbed to death in Oaks Park last night.”
“Jesus.” With Parker, Cara, and the kids showing up last night, and Isla showing up this morning, I completely forgot about driving by there and seeing the news vans and police. “Do they know who it is?”
“Michelle said no. She just saw the story on the news and thought of me, since she knows I run there on occasion.”
“Not anymore,” I growl, thinking of her running there alone with her ear buds in, oblivious to any threat, and someone attacking her.
“Definitely not anymore,” she agrees, shaking her head then dropping her eyes, and I know Michelle is saying something to her.
“Yes, next Saturday, and no, there will not be strippers,” she mutters, and I use my hand under her jaw to pull her face up to gain her eyes.
“I swear to Christ if naked men show up at your bachelorette party, I will spank the shit out of you when you get home.” Her eyes widen and her pink tongue comes out to touch her bottom lip as she nods. Seeing the flare of desire in her eyes mixed with trepidation, I wonder if I shouldn’t just spank her the next time I have her naked in front of me to see what her reaction is.
“Shut up, Michelle,” she grumbles. Then she whispers, “Yeah, bye.” Before I can grab her, she pulls the cell phone from her ear, tossing it onto the counter, and scoots past me. “This sandwich is delicious.” She grins around a mouthful, and I shake my head while walking toward her.
As soon as I’m close enough to touch her, I bend, placing a kiss to her forehead. “Do you want some milk before you choke on it?”
“Yes, please.” She smiles, picking the crust off the bread, then hops up on one of the stools as I walk across the kitchen to grab the gallon of milk from the fridge. Filling a glass for her and one for myself, I take them over to the island and take a seat next to her. “Do you need to go back to pick up your brother?” she asks as I open the box of cupcakes, smiling when I see there are six left.
“No, I left my car with him.”
“How did you get home?” she asks after taking a bite of her sandwich and a sip of milk.
“Tim was in the area, so he was able to drive me,” I explain before sinking my teeth into the cupcake.
“You must really like those. I never see you eat sweets, and that has to be the third one you’ve had.”
“Fourth,” I correct, hearing her laughter ring through the kitchen, making me smile. It’s been far too long since I’ve heard her carefree laughter, and I miss it. “We need a vacation, baby,” I say softly, and she nods, ripping a few more pieces of the crust off her sandwich.
“I would love to get away with you, but I know things have only gotten busier since you’ve taken over the office, and I don’t see it slowing down anytime soon.”
“More patients equal more money, which means I can afford to hire another dentist. I’ll figure it out this coming week.”
“You don’t think it’s too soon to hire another dentist?”
“No, not at the rate we’re growing. And really, I want to have a third person on to help cover things if you and I need to be out of the office for an extended period of time.”
“Why would we need to be out of the office for an extended period of time?” She frowns, and I study her for a moment before speaking.
“When we have kids, I’ll want to be home with you as often as I can. Right now, it would be difficult to do that, and I would most likely have to close the practice and work somewhere else that would allow me to make my own hours.”
“Have you been talking to Parker about having kids?” she asks quietly, and I frown.
“No, why?”
“He mentioned us having kids this morning, and asked when we are going to start.”
“What did you say when he asked you?”
“I said a few years.” She shrugs, taking a large bite of her sandwich, and I stare at her in disbelief.
“We are not waiting a few years,” I deny, feeling my lip curl at the idea alone.
“Really, and what was your plan?” she asks sarcastically, raising a brow.
“Now. The sooner the better. We haven’t been using protection, so it could happen anytime.”
Staring at me with her eyes wide, she shakes her head and mutters, “I’m on birth control.”
“No you’re not.”
“Yes, I am. I’m on the shot. My next appointment is in…” She looks at the ceiling, wiggling her head back and forth, then drops her eyes back to me. “Just about eight weeks away.”
“Cancel it. You don’t need to get it again.”
“Pardon?” She sets her sandwich down on her plate and crosses her arms over her chest while narrowing her eyes on mine.
“You don’t need to be on the shot, and why didn’t you tell me you were?”
“Have you been trying all this time to get me pregnant?” she questions, sounding pissed off, and I know by her tone I should probably tread lightly.
“I didn’t know you were on anything.”
“So you have been,” she mutters, looking away from me. “Wow, just when I think you can’t get any crazier, you go and do something that makes me wonder just how much crazier you’re gonna get.”
“I want a family with you. There is nothing crazy about that. I want to see you holding our kids the way I’ve seen you holding Hope, and I want to see that smile you only give her directed at our babies.”