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Sixteen
Cassie reached across the bed, only to encounter cool sheets. Quickly she sat up, clutching the material to her chest and glancing to the nightstand clock.
How on earth had she slept until nine? Between having a career set around a working horse farm and being a single mother, sleeping in was a foreign concept and a luxury she simply couldn’t afford.
Another reality hit her hard as she jerked to look at the baby monitor on the dresser across the room. The red light wasn’t on, which meant at some point the device had been turned off. Throwing the covers aside, Cassie grabbed the first available article of clothing—which happened to be Ian’s T-shirt—and pulled the soft cotton over her head. She inhaled the embedded masculine scent of Ian as she darted across the hall.
The nursery was empty. Giggling erupted from downstairs, so Cassie turned and headed toward the sweet sound. At the base of the steps, Cassie froze as she stared into the living room. Ian stood behind Emily, her little hands held high, clutching on to his as he helped her walk across the open space. He’d pushed the coffee table against one wall, leaving the dark hardwood floor completely open.
Emily squealed as she waddled through the area, and Cassie, who still stood unnoticed, had to bite her lip to control the trembling and wash of emotions that instantly consumed her.
Ian Shaffer had officially stolen her heart, and there was no way she could go back to her life before she’d ever met him. The man had opened his home to her and her daughter. He wasn’t just interested in having her in his bed. Granted, that was how they’d started out, but over a brief period of time they’d grown together and meshed in such a way that had Cassie hopeful and wishing. Dare she set her sights so high and dream for things that once seemed unattainable?
“Mamamama,” Emily cried when she saw Cassie in the doorway.
Cassie stepped toward her daughter and squatted down. “Hey, sweet pea. Are you making Ian work this morning?”
Emily’s precious two-toothed grin melted her heart. When she glanced up to meet Ian’s gaze, her breath literally caught. He still clung to Emily’s fingers and he’d been hunched over so he could accommodate her height, but he just looked so at peace and happy.
“What time did she get up?”
Ian shrugged. “Maybe around seven.”
Cassie straightened. “Why didn’t you get me up?”
Scooping Emily into his arms, Ian smiled. “Because you needed to sleep, so I turned the monitor off and got her out of the crib. She’s been changed and fed—probably not how you’d do it, but it’s done nonetheless.”
Cassie was utterly speechless. The man had taken such care of her daughter all so Cassie could sleep in. He’d been watching and loving over Emily...over another man’s baby, and all without a care or second thought. And now he stood holding her as if the act were the most natural thing in the world.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he told her. Emily turned her head into Ian’s shoulder and his wide, tanned hand patted her tiny back. “I wanted to help and I knew you’d refuse if you even thought she was awake. Besides, I kind of wanted to see how Emily and I would get along. I’m pretty sure she loves me.”
Cassie couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m sure she does love you. She knows a good thing when she sees it.”
Ian’s eyes widened, and the muscle in his jaw moved as if he were hiding his words deep within. Had she said too much? At this point, with time against them, Cassie truly believed she couldn’t hold back. She needed to be up front and honest.
“I’m not saying that to make you uncomfortable,” she informed him, crossing her arms over her chest. “But you have to know this is so much more than physical for me, Ian.”
Those dark eyes studied her a second before he nodded. “I’d be lying if I said this was all sexual for me. You and Emily...”
He shook his head as his words died on his lips. Cassie wanted him to go on, but she knew the internal battle he waged with himself and she didn’t want to push him. He’d opened up to her last night, bared his soul, and she knew what he’d shared hadn’t come easy for him.
Placing a hand on his arm, Cassie smiled. “We don’t need to define anything right now,” she assured him. “I just wanted you to know this thing between us—it matters so much to me.”
With Emily lying against one shoulder, Ian pulled Cassie to his other side and wrapped an arm around her. “Everything in my arms right now matters more to me than I ever thought possible,” he told her with a kiss to the top of her head.
