Counting the Kisses (Counting the Billions 3)

But now, as I looked at the time, I groaned. “Maybe I should just call Leanne and tell her that we can’t make it to dinner tonight,” I said to Daniel. “Some work emergency.”

Daniel grinned at me, rolling toward me and propping himself up on one arm. With his other hand, he traced the curve of my breast, making me shiver as lust flared anew in the pit of my belly. “Or maybe we both have some terrible disease that makes us unable to make it out of bed,” he agreed gravely.

I giggled and pushed his hand away, sighing. “We should probably get going,” I said.

“I thought you were almost ready anyway,” Daniel reminded me.

I snorted. “That was before you tore off my dress and tangled your fingers through my hair,” I pointed out. “If I don’t want to look like I was just fucked, and I don’t since we’re going to Leanne and Matt’s place and they already know too much, then I’m going to need a little more time getting ready."

Daniel kissed me. “Take as much time as you need,” he said. “I’ll get the driver to go extra fast if we need.”

I laughed and shook my head. “All right, getting ready,” I said, slipping out of bed.

I picked up my black dress where it had been discarded on the floor. I dragged it on over my head, smoothing the material down with my fingers. There were a couple of wrinkles from where it had been unceremoniously discarded, but I didn’t think anyone would notice. More obnoxious was my hair. I dragged a comb through it for the second time that night and then carefully pinned it up.

“You look beautiful,” Daniel said from behind me. He stepped closer, picking up my waiting necklace from the bedside table, and then put it on me, his fingers brushing lightly along my skin. “Absolutely beautiful.”

I smiled at him in our reflection in the mirror. “Thank you,” I told him. “You look nice as well.”

Of course, we didn’t really need to dress up to go over to Matt and Leanne’s place. I knew that before the night was through, we would probably both end up on the living room floor, crawling around and playing with Zach and Layla. And I didn’t look nearly as nice as I had that Friday evening when Daniel and I had gone on that great date, when I’d worn the sexy red dress that Leanne had helped me pick out.

But I liked the way that Daniel looked at me when I dressed like this. Of course, I could always see the tenderness in his gaze. And when we were having sex, I could see the raw desire reflected in his gaze as well. But this—this was something different. When he wanted me but knew that he couldn’t have me, at least not yet, not until the end of the night? Daniel’s gaze turned positively hungry.

“Anyway, I’m excited to tell Leanne all about our trip,” I told Daniel as we headed down to the car.

“I’m just excited to be on our trip already,” Daniel joked. “A little alone time with you, no other responsibilities on my plate for the time being. Just giving you pleasure.”

I groaned. “Don’t make me think about that right now,” I begged him. “I don’t even think I could cum anymore right now, but the last thing I need is to spend the whole dinner thinking about the ways that you plan to pleasure me.”

Daniel laughed, slinging an arm around my shoulders and holding me close. “All right, deal,” he told me.

When we got to Matt and Leanne’s house, I headed for the kitchen to see if Leanne needed any help with anything. “Would you mind setting the table for me?” she asked over her shoulder.

“No problem,” I said, smiling at her. Layla wandered into the kitchen to help me, and I couldn’t stop thinking about how much this was just like how I had been as a kid, helping out my mom with setting the table.

Would I have that one day as well? A daughter of my own to help me set the table?

I could hear Daniel and Zach in the other room, peals of laughter coming from both of them as they played whatever it was that they were playing at the moment.

Would I have that one day as well? A son of my own that Daniel would play with, to keep him from getting underfoot in the kitchen while I worked to put the finishing touches on dinner?

When I looked up, Leanne was smiling knowingly at me. I remembered our conversation from earlier in the week, about how I needed to talk to Daniel about the important things at some point. Children was definitely something for us to talk about. There were other things, too, of course, but that was a big one. Fortunately, I was pretty sure we were on the same page about it.

Maybe this trip would give us the opportunity to talk about all of it. Not that I wanted to possibly spoil the trip with difficult conversations about our future, but we’d see if things would come up naturally, maybe.

“I haven’t talked to him yet,” I told Leanne, and she laughed.

“All right,” she said easily. “But I can tell exactly what you’re thinking.”

“What, Mom?” Layla interrupted suddenly, looking back and forth between me and her mother. She was definitely getting to that age where it was more difficult to talk around her. Things didn’t go over her head quite as easily. Gosh, was she really already six? Where had the time gone? “What is Auntie Abby thinking?”

I put a hand on Layla’s head. “I’m just thinking about how great you are at setting the table,” I said. “That’s all.”

Layla puffed up with pride, and Leanne smiled over at me.

If you had asked me, back before I met Daniel, I would have told you that I didn’t want kids. It wasn’t that I had never considered having kids before, because I definitely had. And it wasn’t that I didn’t like children.

No, it was that I had never met a man before who I could treat like an equal. I had never met a man who would be my partner, someone to help me with raising the kids. And I couldn’t imagine raising kids on my own. I knew plenty of women did it every single day, but with my career hopes, it just had seemed out of the question.