“So are you,” I said, smiling even bigger.
“No, I’m manly. Very masculine. I have a beard, see?” he teased.
“That’s not all I’ve seen that you have,” I giggled.
“I’d say you’ve seen it all. I hope you like what you see.”
“How could I not?” I said, surprised that he even needed to ask. His body was so perfect, so muscular it looked sculpted. The fact he cared about my approval moved me though. “You’re gorgeous, and you also know how to use what you’ve got.”
“If that means I’m phenomenal in bed, I’ll take that compliment,” he grinned.
“Oh, you are,” I said incredulously. “Like nothing I’ve ever seen. For real. Not that I ever got around much but compared to what I have to compare it to—no contest.”
“So, I’m the best you’ve ever had?” he said, kissing my lips teasingly.
“Yeah, that’s what I’m saying,” I told him.
“Well, I can return that compliment a hundred percent. And I did get around that much in my heyday,” he said a little ruefully, “but I’ve never had anyone like you. It’s never been this intense, this—”
“Beautiful?” I teased.
“Yeah, I guess that’s the word I’m looking for. That’s always the word I’m looking for when I’m with you. Beautiful,” he said. I know I looked away a little shyly. He tugged me toward him and held me close.
“Thank you,” I said.
“I’m sure you can tell; you can see it when I look at you and feel it when I touch you. At least I hope you can. I have feelings for you, and they go deeper than just physical attraction. I’m falling for you, Rachel. There’s no denying it now.”
I shut my eyes for a second, my lips curving into a small smile. When I opened my eyes, I grinned, “This is a dream. Tell me it’s not a dream.”
“It’s better than a dream,” he said, kissing my forehead, “because you’re really here.”
“I have feelings for you, too. I have for a while now. I didn’t want to admit it at first. Like I said I haven’t been around that much, but I’ve been burned in the past, and I’m not looking for ways to get hurt.”
“I respect that. I haven’t had the best luck either, and my relationships, such as they were, tended to be brief. A few months at most. No one ever got to know me, really know me, and I never went to the trouble to know them. Not the way I want to know you. I want to know how old you were when you learned to ride a bike, and what your favorite song was in high school. All of it.”
“I learned to ride a bike when I was seven, I think. Fell off and knocked out my front teeth. In high school, I’d hate to answer for my taste in music back then. Let’s just say I liked whatever crap was popular, and I had posters up in my room of skinny British boy bands. What about you?”
“I didn’t learn to ride a bike until the summer I was ten when I stayed a few weeks with my cousins at their ranch. I grew up in Manhattan, so there wasn’t a lot of room to practice there. As for music, I didn’t have very good taste either. At one point, I attended a Katy Perry concert, I’m sorry to admit.”
I laughed, “I know I loved her. So you’re in good company. Bad taste in music. Good taste in lovers.”
“I don’t think I ever had good taste in lovers until you,” he said.
“You’re killing me with the romantic lines.”
“I just want you to know I appreciate you. And I mean every word. I still don’t want to hit Sadie with a big announcement that we’re together as a couple right away, but I want to be with you more, spend time together, both with and without her.”
“I agree,” I said, “I don’t want to hide that I’m with you, but I don’t want to confuse her either. But I do want to ask you something personal.”
“Fire away,” he said, snuggling me in his arms.
“What about her mom?”
“I told you, she gave up her rights when Sadie was a baby,” he said, and the way he stopped talking abruptly told me that he wasn’t ready to say much more about it yet. I could be patient. I had the man I wanted right here in my arms. Whatever sad story had caused him to end up as a single father could wait until he felt comfortable sharing it with me. I was happy right where I was.
22
Max
The only thing about the next couple of weeks that wasn’t completely wonderful was the fact that we were both still so busy that we didn’t get to spend as much time together as we would’ve liked. What we managed were the nights she stayed for supper, the Friday pizza nights and grilling out on Sundays after going to the park together. We snuggled up on the couch and watched Disney movies with Sadie and debated whether the cartoon Lion King was better than the live-action one. Rachel was all for the live-action version because of Beyoncé. I grew up with the animated movie and had a soft spot for it. Sadie thought they were both boring and went to sleep after Hakuna Matata.