Midlife Love Story

“Your squirming isn’t helping.”

“I know!” I tried to get up once again, using his chest to propel myself to my feet before falling back on top of him, giving the mayor a face full of perfume scented cleavage. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” he murmured beneath me. “I’m fine…”

I don’t know what it was about the moment that struck me as particularly funny, but I giggled. Then I couldn’t stop laughing. Soon we both laughed and laughed, so much that I nearly forgot that I was smothering him with my breasts.

Nearly.

Chapter 10

Chase

“Hold her closer Chase, she’s not going to bite you.” Pippa laughed at my discomfort holding the tiny bundle that was my niece in my arms. “She doesn’t have any teeth yet.”

“Funny,” I growled at my sister, but did as she instructed, pulling Ryanna closer. I was hesitant at first, because she was so little, and I was worried I’d hurt her, but with her head nestled against my chest the little girl gave a hum of approval and instantly stopped squirming. “Hey, that worked!”

“Duh,” she said and rolled her eyes as she poured two cups of coffee. “It’s decaf.”

“Why?” Decaf wasn’t meant to be consumed, it was just a waste of coffee.

“Because some of us have to use our bodies to nourish the next generation, and caffeine isn’t good for babies, if you haven’t heard.” She smirked and took a seat at the shabby chic kitchen table she’d recently sanded and painted herself.

“Oh. Right.” I looked down at Ryanna and smiled again. There was something so sweet and innocent about a baby, so tiny and vulnerable, that all I wanted to do was protect her and make sure no harm ever came to her. “Sorry. How are you feeling?”

“Wonderful,” she sighed. “But exhausted. Ryanna is a princess in the truest sense of the word. She wakes up when she feels like it without any regard to her poor, tired momma. She gets loud when she’s hungry or grumpy or scared, or when she needs a fresh diaper.”

I smiled and looked down at Ryanna, her big blue eyes studying me closely. “All I hear your momma saying is that you’re just like her.” She gurgled and I took it as agreement. “Yep, I know.”

“Hilarious,” Pippa said with an eyeroll I’d grown used to over the years. “So…” she began slowly.

“So,” I shot back with a blank expression.

Pippa’s lips pulled into a half-grin. “You’re here to talk about wedding stuff.”

“I am.” My brows dipped in confusion. “You did ask me to help Carlotta with wedding stuff.”

“I did.”

“Okay. We looked at venues recently.” Instead of reliving the feel of Carlotta’s body pressed up against mine, her soft feminine curves that felt so good against the stark hardness of my own frame, I ran through each venue with my sister. “The off-site barn holds more people, but the Old Country House barn will better suit your wedding aesthetic. All Carlotta needs is a rough estimate of your guest list.”

Pippa stared at me as if I was speaking a foreign language, which I kinda understood, because wedding speak was a foreign language to me, but this was her wedding.

“I have no idea honestly. Just book the bigger barn, I guess.”

I bit back my frustration and stared at my sister. She did look exhausted, but this felt like something more. Maybe. I wasn’t good at noticing details like inner turmoil.

“What’s going on Pippa? You still want to get married, don’t you?”

“Of course, I do. I love Ryan, and this is the start of the life we should have had.” Her eyes went wistful for a moment as if she was thinking about all the years they’d lost together over a misunderstanding.

“But?”

“But I’m exhausted Chase. Ryanna is a lot more work than running a restaurant.”

I blinked. “I should hope so, since the restaurant is full of professional and capable adults, and she is just a little baby.” Ryanna’s blue eyes sparkled as if she understood. “All you have to do is decide. And you should sleep when the baby sleeps.”

“Who are you, and what have you done with my brother?”