I nodded.
“Did you hit him to defend yourself?” She held her breath, and everything seemed to hinge on my answer.
I shook my head. “No.” Her face fell, the color draining from it. “But I was defending someone else.”
Her eyes were filled with hope when she met my gaze. “Preston…I want another chance. Sophia wants you to come back—I want you to come back.”
“What about Gabby?” I blurted. I wasn’t sure I could go back to being Sophia’s nanny, mostly because I wasn’t sure I could be around Alexis after everything that had happened.
“No.” She scooted closer. “Not as the manny, nanny, whatever,” she huffed. “I want to be together. I want to be a family.”
I didn’t know what to say. How many times had I hoped she’d say those words? And now…
“Please say something,” she finally said.
“Do you know how often I dreamed of hearing those words from your lips?” I asked, feeling my chest rise and fall. “But I’m done being your dirty little secret. And I will not be in a relationship with someone who’s ashamed of me because of my age, my job, whatever. I deserve more.”
“I agree,” she said. “I shouldn’t care so much about what other people think, but I do. It’s ingrained in me. But—” She took in a jagged breath. “It’s something I’m working on. Something I will continue to work on.
“I promise never to take you—or our relationship—for granted again.” Her voice vibrated with sincerity, and I knew she meant every word.
Still, doubt lurked in my mind. It was easy to promise something when we were alone, only to turn around and pretend something else in front of her friends. How many times had she told me she loved me in private, only to act like we weren’t a couple in public?
“What about Cal?” As much as I didn’t want to admit it, he was still very much a part of Sophia’s life.
“I’ll handle Cal,” she said.
“And what about the other parents—Nate, Margaret? Or anyone else who judges our relationship?”
She lifted a shoulder. “Their words only have the power I give them. I don’t want to be the type of woman who bases her life on other people’s opinions. That’s not the example I want to set for Sophia.”
Those words were the ones I’d needed to hear. They meant more than any “I’m sorry” or “I love you.” Because I’d needed her to admit what I already knew—she was strong, and she didn’t need anyone to tell her how to live her life.
“If you want to be a family, we have to tell Sophia,” I said, knowing how much she’d fought me on it in the past. But if she wanted to be together—to truly be a couple—I needed to know she was all in.
“I promise.” She crossed her heart. “We will tell Sophia, and I want you to move back in—but not to the pool house,” she added with a watery smile. “Preston, I love you.”
My heart was racing, and I was pretty sure I had a dopey smile on my face. I didn’t think I’d ever been happier than in that moment. She loved me, and she was willing to back up her words with actions. We were going to be together—for real, this time.
“You’re going to make space for me in your closet? You really must love me,” I teased.
“Is that a yes?” Her golden eyes glistened with unshed tears as she grinned up at me.
“It’s a hell yes.” I crashed my lips to hers, pouring all my love, all my hopes, all my desire into the kiss. And she met me stroke for stroke, my body tingling with anticipation.
My hands were in her hair, caressing her skin, brushing over her breasts. I needed to touch her, to possess her.
She broke the kiss, panting as she rested her forehead against mine. “There’s something else I need to tell you.”
“Can it wait?” I kissed my way down her neck to her collarbone, relishing the taste of her skin on my tongue. I smoothed my hands up her rib cage to her breasts, squeezing them once more. She moaned, and the sound went straight to my dick.
“God, your breasts are amazing.”
“Ugh.” She groaned. “I don’t want to stop, but…”
That got my attention. I frowned, suddenly concerned that whatever she had to tell me was serious. I stopped kissing her, but I kept my hand on her thigh. I needed to touch her, couldn’t stop touching her.
She twisted her hands together in her lap. “You know how you wanted to be a family?”
