She bit down on that plump bottom lip and fiddled with the skirt of another one of those sundresses I was pretty sure she’d figured out were the ruin of me.
“I’m nervous,” she admitted in that sweet, shy way.
“Why are you nervous?”
She laughed a disbelieving yet hopeful sound. “You’re taking me and my son to meet your friends . . . the people who mean the most to you. You’ve got to know that’s kind of intimidating.”
I arched a brow. “As intimidating as your best friend?”
Her laughter rippled through the cabin of my car.
Swore the sound made me glow.
She tried to hold back a grin. “She’s not that bad.”
“Oh, believe me, Shortcake. A girl starts threatening the most important parts? That ranks her up there with arsonists and serial killers.”
She laughed outright, her gaze so soft. “So dramatic.”
I sent her a reassuring smile. “Seriously, though. They’re amazing. You’re going to love them just as much as they’re going to love you and Evan.”
Tenderness moved through her expression, that feeling rising high between us.
Alive.
I think both of us knew we were embarking on something new. It was no secret I wouldn’t be inviting anyone to meet my family unless I intended for them to become a part of it, and it was palpable in the air, the fact that everything was getting ready to change.
Truth was, my world had changed that night at the bar. I’d thought it was simply because I was changing careers. Taking the partnership at the children’s clinic. Maybe all along, that coming change had been Hope.
I made a left into Rex’s gravel drive, my tires crunching on the rocks as we came to a stop.
The houses in his neighborhood were spread out and elevated from the ground by several steps that led up to the porches of the modest homes.
Yards hedged in towering trees, which gave them a private feel.
Secluded and quiet.
Like they were in the middle of the woods and might not have a neighbor for miles, when in reality, they were in the middle of the town.
I killed the engine. “This is it.”
Hope sucked in a breath, and Evan freed himself from his seatbelt. Grinning, he scrambled to poke his head between the two front seats. That innocent gaze darted between us, excitement rolling from him in waves.
My chest tightened. Affection and that fluttering feeling. The one I was terrified to give a name.
I turned so I could face him. “You ready, little man?”
An energetic nod, and then he was yanking open the back door and flying out. Chuckling, I was quick to follow, wrapping his hand up in mine, running my thumb over the back of it.
Giving him the encouragement he didn’t seem to need but I wanted to offer anyway.
He and I wound around the front of the car just as Hope was ducking into the backseat to grab the container of cupcakes she’d insisted on bringing, her sweet ass swaying in the air, sending all kinds of thoughts and ideas skating through my head and licking across my skin.
She whipped around. A blush rushed to her cheeks when she caught what had to be the salacious expression on my face.
Busted.
“You are nothin’ but trouble, Cowboy,” she said with a jittery giggle, smoothing her rumpled self out.
Affected.
I let a smirk climb to the edge of my mouth. “Don’t act like you aren’t begging for it. Wearing those dresses that you know are gonna drive me straight out of my mind.”
Hope was shaking her head with sweet disbelief while Evan’s attention jumped between us, confused.
Chuckling, figured I’d better stop that train that was quickly speeding out of control and do it fast.
“Come on, let’s go meet everyone.”
Keeping Evan’s hand in mine, I tucked my other arm around Hope’s waist and pulled her to my side. I pressed my lips to her temple and murmured, “Thank you so much for coming with me. It means more to me than you could know.”
Those green eyes found mine. Tender and real. “Just you bringing us here says so many things,” she whispered. “I’m honored to be a part of your world. To get to know the people you love most.”
Fuck.
This woman had undone me. Unchinked all the armor I hadn’t even realized had been there until it toppled to the ground.
An offering at her feet.
Instead of going up the porch steps to the front door, we headed around the side of the house where carefree voices echoed from the backyard, riding on the humidity that was hot and thick and sticky this time of year.
Evan trotted along at my side, continually looking up at me, almost like he was asking for approval, those adorable bug eyes huge behind his thick glasses, wearing that blameless smile that completely destroyed my heart.
Putty in his trusting hands.
We rounded the corner, listening to the easy laughter of my friends, and strode into the grassy, sprawling yard at the back of Rex and Rynna’s house that was fenced in by soaring trees.