“I did.”
In one swift movement, he sits up and grabs me around the waist. I’m beside him on his white comforter before I know what’s happening. He strokes my cheek with the pad of his thumb and gazes into my eyes.
“Can I say I’m glad you didn’t take it?” he asks.
“You can. I’m glad I didn’t take it too.”
“Can I ask why you didn’t take it?”
“They offered me five sick days.” I snort. “And it’s another six blocks from my apartment.”
He grins, but it’s not wide or joyful. “Everyone needs more than five sick days.”
“That’s what I was thinking.” I link my leg over his.
“Are you still job hunting?”
“Yeah. I mean, I have bills to pay. I just can’t find anything that checks all the boxes I need checked.”
He nods. “Until you find something, I hope you’ll let me check some of your boxes, if you catch my drift.”
Laughing, I scoot closer to him. “I thought you owed me one?”
“No, you owe me one.”
He rolls me over onto my back and smothers me with kisses. Thoughts of New York float away as I fall under Dane’s spell.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
DANE
My usual, please, Claire.” I turn away from the counter and head to a little table by the door. Grabbing a seat next to Haley, I let out a yawn.
“Tired?” she prods.
“Yeah.”
“I heard you had a little slumber party last night. According to my sources, Neely stayed all night.”
“Your source is nine years old and unreliable,” I say, taking a cup of coffee from Claire. “She left really late, so it wasn’t technically all night.”
Haley rolls her eyes. “Semantics.”
“Facts.” I take a sip of the hot beverage, hoping it wakes me up. I haven’t woken up this happy and delirious in a long damn time.
Claire bends forward. “Neely stayed all night with you?”
“No, eavesdropper. She came over. She left. If you’re gonna spy on people’s conversations, at least get them right.”
Claire laughs, shoving a pen back in the apron around her waist. “I’m a waitress. Eavesdropping is part of the job description.”
“So give us the details,” Haley suggests. “What happened? Is she moving in yet?”
My finger drags around the brim of my cup. I wish she were. I wish I could tell them she was never leaving me again, but that’s not true. Although after last night, it might be more of a possibility than I’d imagined.
“She’s not moving in, but she did turn down a job offer,” I say with a hint of smugness.
“Yes!” Haley fist pumps. “I’m so invested in this.”
Claire shakes her head. “This is the way things should be. Neely back home, living with you. Pregnant, but I’ll give you some time on that.”
“Gee, thanks,” I croak.
Claire laughs and goes back to the front of the restaurant.
“Forget babies, although I can’t wait to have another little Mia to watch. Wait,” Haley says, holding up a hand. “That needs to be a deal breaker for you.”
“I’m not following along.”
“Neely has to agree I can watch your babies. Some women come in and shove out the poor nanny, especially if the nanny was hired before she came around. Let her know I’m not, in any way, shape, or form wanting her job. I just want to watch the babies.”
I laugh, but secretly my balls are tightening. The thought of having a baby with Neely is foreplay. The idea of her swollen with my child feels so good it aches.
“I’ll put that in the deal,” I promise. “No cock unless Haley gets to watch the results.”
“That’s a gross way to put it, but it gets the point across. I think,” she says, clearly confused. “Anyway, how do you feel about things?”
“You know what? I’m feeling pretty damn good.”
“I love seeing you in love.” She sighs, cupping her cheeks with her hands. “It’s so beautiful.”
“I didn’t say I was in love. I just said I was feeling good.” I try to put in words what I feel without getting too cheesy. “She just fits right into my life. Mia loves her. She seems to really love Mia too.” I shrug. “It feels right.”
“Sounds like my kind of conversation,” Penn says. He drops into a seat by Haley. “So, what feels right? Are we doing a round-robin sort of thing?”
Haley gives him a blank stare. “You have a one-track mind.”
“So?”
“So? Don’t you think it’s time to grow up some, Penn? Maybe focus on investing money or buying a house? Something besides hooking up with the next girl you meet.”
“Right now I’m focused on hooking up with you.”
“Forget it,” she says. “Not happening.”
“Our girl Haley here has vowed not to date anyone for six months.” I look at Penn and smirk. “Looks like you’re out of luck until the new year.”
Penn furrows his brow. “I don’t see how this affects me at all.”
“Me either,” Haley agrees.
“I don’t want to date you. I want to sleep with you.” Penn smiles triumphantly. “Let me know what day works for you.”
“The sixth Sunday of the month. I’ll sleep with you on the sixth Sunday of the month.” Haley rolls her eyes. “Now, back to the person who is getting laid.”
“I think you misunderstand my enthusiasm for sleeping with you as I’m not getting laid.” He leans toward her, smirking. “I promised to be practiced up when you call.”
“Penn, I’m not calling. Not now. Not ever.”
In typical Penn fashion, he shrugs like he doesn’t care. He leans back in his chair and looks at me. “Does all this jabbering mean things are going good with you and Miss New York?”
“There are days I hate you,” I tell him. “Today is one of them.”
“Why? I just asked a question.”
“Why don’t you get a coffee or whatever it is you came here for and get to the jobsite before you get fired?” I ask. “And tell Matt to have the lumber taken off the pallets before I get there.”
Penn stands up. “Fine. But let me point out this morning that there are days when I think you really are your father’s son. Today is one of them.”
“Go to hell.” I chuckle.
“See ya up there,” he tells me. “See ya later, Haley.”
“Goodbye.”
Once Penn’s gone, Claire comes over again. “He drives me insane.”
“Penn? He drives us all insane,” Haley notes. “What did he do to you?”
“We have this friends-with-benefits thing going on, as you all know. Well, he stood me up last night, and I found out he was with Brittney. Can you believe that?”
“Yes,” Haley and I say in unison.
Claire shakes her head. “I’m cutting him off. If I want a booty call, I’ll call someone else. He’s not that good.”
“Don’t let him hear you say that,” I kid. “He’ll feel like he has to prove a point.”
She rolls her eyes but watches as he pulls out of the parking lot. “Asshole,” she grumbles before turning back to the kitchen.
I sip my coffee while Haley checks her phone. She’s not used to having a couple of extra hours in the morning. Dad grabbed Mia early for a day of koi shopping, which thrilled my daughter to no end.
As the hot liquid wakes me up, it becomes clearer how I feel. And what I want. And what I need to consider.
“What are you thinking?” Haley asks, bringing me out of my haze. She points at me. “You have that la-la land look on your face that scares me.”
“Do you think Mia is happy?” I ask her.
“Definitely. Happier lately than usual, even. Why?”
All the pieces of my life come together into one cohesive puzzle in my heart. For the first time in my life, I feel like I’ve identified all the sections of my life and have them all within my grasp. I almost can’t believe it.
“Dane . . .”
“Let me ask you a girl question,” I say, setting down my drink. “If you didn’t want to be serious with a guy, you wouldn’t spend a lot of time with them, right?”
Haley grins.
“Like, you wouldn’t have dinner with him and his kid. Help tuck the kid in. Fix her hair. That kind of thing. You wouldn’t do all that unless you saw a future with them. Does that sound legit?”
“Totally.” She lays a hand on mine. “Mia aside, I’ve never seen you this happy. In all the years I’ve known you, I’ve never seen you like this. It makes me wonder if the Dane I knew before all this was really just a shell of you.”
“I am happier. I wake up and don’t just think about Mia and what she needs for the day. For once, there’s something there just for me. That probably sounds selfish, but it’s true.”
“Selfish?” She laughs. “No. It sounds like you’re a man with needs and you’ve found someone that might meet them.”