“I know.”
She swallowed hard. “But I needed a night to catch my breath and to come to terms with the fact that what I thought I wanted had changed. And that it was okay for me to do a one-eighty and it didn’t make me a hypocrite.”
She blinked and tears fell from her eyes. He reached out and swiped a droplet with his finger. His expression was soft as he watched her and allowed her to explain.
“I also had to accept that it would be okay to end up with what my mother thought was best for me all along.” She smiled wryly. “But most importantly I realized that having a family doesn’t mean I have to give up everything else in my life. It’s not like you’d fire me as your assistant.” She batted her eyelashes at him. “Would you?”
He let out a laugh. “Of course not. I can’t function without you at work or at home.”
She sobered then. “So you understand? Why I needed last night? What I said, it makes sense to you?”
“Oddly? Yes, it does. Because I know you. And I know that you haven’t been given many choices in your life when it came to babies. And kids. And those are huge responsibilities. So you needing time was normal. Human even.”
God, she didn’t deserve this man. This good, kind, giving, understanding man.
“That’s why I didn’t tell you how I really feel about you last night,” he said. “Because I didn’t want to pressure you. You needed to make your own choice about whether you wanted a ready-made family.”
“I do.” She cupped his cheeks in her hands and stared into the face she loved. “I love you, Austin.”
“And I love you. I wish I’d told you last night, but I’m glad you had the time to come to me on your own. I want you free and clear. I want us. I want a family with you.”
Her lips lifted in a happy smile. “I want that, too.”
“But I need to be clear. When I say family, I mean kids with you, too. A little boy or girl with dark hair and green eyes—”
“Those Dare eyes are pretty dominant,” she said, laughing.
He grinned. “Okay, I’ll take any color eyes. I just want more kids with you. Jenny is mine and she’s yours, Quinn. We’re a family.”
She nodded. “We are.”
“But we’re us, too. You and me. And I love you. Not the built-in babysitter you once thought you were. Not the nanny you might have been. There’s no one else for me, Quinnlyn Stone.”
“There’s no other man for me, Austin Prescott.”
“Then let’s seal the deal. Strip for me, Quinn.”
A few minutes later, her back was against the glass door, her legs around his waist, and he thrust deep inside her, joining them in the most elemental way possible. He wasn’t wearing a condom. And she didn’t care at all.
Epilogue
A few weeks later, Austin woke up wrapped around a naked Quinn to the sound of his phone ringing. He felt for his cell on the nightstand and answered without looking at the caller, but he’d caught the time and it was eight a.m. Apparently they were running late this morning, but he and Quinn both needed sleep, and Jenny seemed more than willing to oblige. She’d only woken once last night.
He put the phone to his ear. “Yeah.”
“Austin, it’s Damon.”
He immediately caught the edge of panic in his brother’s voice. “What’s wrong?” He pushed himself to a sitting position in bed.
Quinn woke up and sat up beside him, a worried expression on her face.
“I took a random drug test and apparently I tested positive for PEDs.” Performance-enhancing drugs banned by the NFL.
“Son of a bitch.”
“I didn’t fucking take them, Austin. Not even supplements. Nothing. I swear.”
Austin shook his head. “No need to swear to me, little brother. I believe you. Now listen to me. Call Bri. Other than that, talk to no one. Not the press, not even Ian again. I’ll be right over.”
He disconnected the call and turned to Quinn. “Damon tested positive for PEDs. There’s no fucking way my brother cheated. I don’t know what happened but we have to clear his name.”
Quinn blinked at him and he could see her smart brain already working. “Let me call Evie.”
He narrowed his gaze, trying not to look at her bare breasts as she sat beside him in bed. Grinning, she pulled up the covers. “Yes, Evie. Pay attention. She’s a PI. And I promise you she’s the best there is. I don’t know what you’ll need but my gut tells me she can help.”
He nodded. “Okay, but let’s meet with Damon and Bri first. I need us all to be on the same page before we bring in an outsider.”
His phone rang again. He looked at the screen and muttered a curse. “It’s Ian.” Austin took the call. “Hello?”