Hush Baby Hush

I laugh because the alternative is crumpling into the fetal position.

“Yeah, but they don’t need me waking up the baby. Besides, babies have an unfair advantage.”

“What’s that?”

“Even when they’re sad, they’re still cute.”

“So are you.” His mouth tips into a half smile that makes my pulse stutter. “What do you dream about?”

“Running,” I say. “Someone chasing me through the woods at night.”

A shiver charges down my back.

“Hoyt Renier?”

I shrug. “Maybe. Anyway, I think it’s time I found a place of my own. Cal and Hollywood are about to become parents. This is a really important time for them and I don’t want to get in the way.”

“You don’t think they’ll appreciate the extra hand?” He reaches out like he means to touch me, then combs through his hair instead. “You know you’re welcome to move in here. I’ve got the space.”

“What did I tell you about coming to my rescue, Austin?”

“Afraid it can’t be helped,” he says.

My stomach twists and tangles like the raspberry canes. I know what I need to say next is going to make me want to sink into the dirt at my feet, but it needs to be said.

“I’m sorry about last night,” I tell him.

“You don’t have to say that.”

“Oh, but I do.” I rub the inner corners of my eyes so I don’t have to look at him. “The whole mess with Jeremy and then...what happened in your truck.”

“Kenzie, I’m the one who should be sorry.”

“No, you were just trying to stop me from doing something really stupid. Anyway, I’m usually a lot better at telling when people are interested in me. I blame the tequila.” I force my lips to turn up at the corners, but the muscles in my face won’t hold the smile.

Austin squints. “You think I’m not interested in you?”

“You didn’t seem toointerestedwhen we werein your room last night.”

He irons out his beard with a sigh. “I brought you back here in part because I didn’t want you going home with Jeremy. But I wasn’t lying when I said I wanted you.”

Wanted. Past tense...

I swallow the lump in my throat. “Oh?”

“But I couldn’t stand the thought of you touching yourself, or me, because you thought it was something you had to do.”

“That’s not why I did it. Iwantedto be with you, too.”

The heat in his gaze is like a warm breeze rushing over my skin. Awareness ricochets throughout my body, from my pounding heart to the bone-deep ache between my thighs.

I gasp as Austin strokes the side of my face.

“What do you want now, Kenzie?”

I want you, Daddy...I bite my lower lip. Out here in the open, the D-word feels too intimate, like a secret wish you’d only tell your diary. Austin’s not my boyfriend and he hasn’t asked to be.I can’t call him Daddy. But I do want him, so I say, “I want you to kiss me.”

He brings his smile close to mine.