It's Our Time (Carolina Rebels 3)

“Tell me,” he pushes, which is very typical behavior and for some reason, that’s comforting.

“So far, so good,” I whisper.

He kisses the top of my head. “Only going to get better, gorgeous.”

I sure hope so. I can’t afford for him to break my heart again.

Thanks to the accident, Logan is out of work for a bit, which means he’s my go-to babysitter for the next two weeks. He comes to the apartment to watch Savannah two nights in a row since I have to work and Ian has back-to-back games. The plus is he gets to go home once Ian gets there.

“Do you know what today is?” Ian asks as I put sausage links in the oven.

“It’s Sunday,” I answer.

“Nope.”

Frowning, I look over my shoulder. “Yes, it is.”

“It’s Valentine’s Day, babe.”

I reach over to pick up my phone and look at the date. Sure enough, it’s the fourteenth.

“Our first Valentine’s Day,” he continues. “You aren’t making breakfast.”

“I’m not?”

“No. Not alone, at least.” He looks into the living room where Savannah is watching TV. “Get in here, little Miss!” She runs into the room and Ian picks her up to sit her on the counter. “Do you know what day it is?”

“Nope!”

“It’s Valentine’s Day, Savannah! You spend it with the people you love most, so

I get to spend it with you and your mom. And I was thinking we could make pancakes for breakfast. Do you want to help?”

Her eyes widen. She doesn’t get the chance to help in the kitchen often because it stresses me out to think about keeping an eye on her while cooking at the same time. She only helps if someone else is in the kitchen with me and there’s something she can help do. “Really?” she whispers with awed excitement.

“Yes, really!” Ian confirms. “We’re going to make red, heart-shaped pancakes with sprinkles!”

Savannah gasps and for a moment, I don’t know who is more excited. “I wanna help!” Savannah decides.

“Good!” Ian starts mixing the pancake batter while telling me to grab the food coloring and sprinkles. “Okay, just one bottle to start with and you can help me mix it. Then we’ll see what color it is and if we like it.” He hands her the food coloring.

Savannah grins while she pours it in. She stirs the batter with a look of pure amazement on her face as it changes color. Ian eventually takes over and then lets her pour the sprinkles in. She pours too many because he lets her do as many as she wants, but he doesn’t say a word about it.

“How are you planning to make them in the shape of a heart?” I ask as I prepare the griddle.

“Look in that bag on the table.”

I hadn’t noticed it yesterday, but there’s one there. Inside are three cookie-cutters in the shape of a heart. He’s a genius. They’re a decent size that they’ll make a good sized pancake, too.

“What next?” Savannah asks.

“That’s all you can help with,” Ian tells her. “You can watch TV until it’s ready.” He sets her down and she rushes back to her cartoons. Ian starts on the pancakes while I watch since he won’t let me help. “We’ll eat breakfast, I’m going to practice, and then we’ll take her to the movies or something. Think about what you want us to do, and we’ll do it.”

I stand next to him and sling my arms around his waist. “Are you this awesome to all your girlfriends?”

He scoffs as if that idea is totally absurd. “No.”

“Really?”