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Angelo, our waiter, arrived with a basket of fresh baked bread—which smelled almost as amazing as Ma’s—and we placed our order; lobster ravioli for Quin and veal parmigiana with a side of porterhouse steak for me. I was a growing boy, after all.
We talked for a bit about how the rest of our day had gone and she seemed to relax as each minute passed. There was an elephant in the room though, one I was determined to get out in the open.
“Tell me more about your parents.”
“Mom taught high school English and Dad was a forest ranger,” she started. “Growing up, you’d have never known they’d adopted me when I was six months old. They treated me like I was really theirs, you know?”
Putting my arm around her shoulder, I drew her into my side and kissed the top of her head. “Of course they did, baby. You were.”
“Dad coached my softball team from the time I could walk up until high school.”
“Wait, so you have a history of bat-wielding then? Good to know,” I deadpanned.
She pulled away enough to look me in the eye, her expression fierce. “I’d do it again in a heartbeat if someone I loved was in danger.”
Cupping her face with my palm, I leaned forward until we were a breath apart.
“What I said…” Closing the distance between us, I gently kissed the corner of her mouth. “You weren’t reckless, Quin. You scared the hell out of me.”
“Are you still scared?”
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t, but I’m more terrified of a life without you in it.”
She pressed her lips to mine, initiating a kiss between us for the first time. If we weren’t in the middle of a restaurant, the spark I felt would have ignited into a roaring flame. As it was, my cock was painfully hard behind my zipper, but I kept telling myself there was plenty of time to explore the intensity between us. Against my better judgment, and with protest from my dick, I broke our embrace.
Moments ago, nothing had existed beyond our little bubble, but as the waiter approached with our dinner, the sounds of the bustling restaurant filtered back in. Loud conversations. Dishes clanging. It had all disappeared the instant we’d touched, like some sort of spell had been cast over us. Maybe it had, or maybe the universe had given me a sign.
Life was an ever-moving obstacle course, with walls to scale and hurdles to jump at every turn. But, if you had the right person by your side, those barriers would fall away seamlessly, leaving you with an obvious path to the finish line.
Quinlan James was my finish line…my destiny.
We chatted for hours about nothing and everything. I told her what it was like growing up as one of four rambunctious boys, while she explained life as an only child.
“Do you want more kids?”
“Can I squeeze this one out first before I decide?” She smiled, laying her hand on her still-flat stomach.
Placing my hand on top of hers, I sobered. “You’ve got our baby in here. I can’t wait to watch your belly grow as he gets bigger.”
“He? What if it’s a girl?”
“Then I’m gonna need to buy more guns.”
Time flew by and before long, it was time to call it a night since we both had to work the next day. I had serious reservations about taking her home, though, after what I’d walked in on earlier, so I decided to take a chance.
“Spend the night with me?” I asked once we were settled in the car. “No hanky-panky. Just sleep.”
“Hanky-panky? What are you, eighty?” She chuckled.
“Please.” I brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “I’m still a little rattled from earlier, and I have to know you’re both safe.”
“He’d never truly hurt me, Alec.”
“I get that, baby. Just give me tonight.”
“Okay,” she relented. “One night.”
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