“Andy’s too. He’s struggling to keep his eyes open.”
“Sorry.” Brogan kissed her, then helped her to her feet. “Honestly, you look beat as well.”
“A little.” Neither of them had gotten much rest the night before. Pixie hugged him and whispered, “I wouldn’t change a thing. I need you to know that.” Before Andy completely conked out, she lifted him and headed for the bedroom.
Brogan said, “Soon, we need to talk.”
“I know,” she said over her shoulder. “I’m looking forward to it.”
The house was silent by the time Pixie left her bedroom. Brogan had put away the toys and refolded the blanket, but a living-room light was still on, and beyond that was a dim light coming from the enclosed porch. When she followed it, she saw Shayna asleep in her basket and Brogan dozing on the floor beside her.
He didn’t have his sleeping bag out. One arm was folded up behind him to support his head. Smiling, Pixie looked at him. Things would have to change. She loved this cottage, but it only had one bedroom, and they couldn’t all four sleep in it together.
At the same time, she didn’t want him returning to the lake house. She knew Brogan now, so she knew that was his intent. He likely figured that with Ruthie out of the way, he should give Pixie back her space.
It saddened her that he didn’t yet know what a remarkable person he was or understand how utterly easy it was to love him with her whole heart.
Intent on telling him, she shifted closer.
The second she moved, Brogan opened his eyes.
He looked so tired, yet there was a new serenity in his gray eyes. “Hey,” he whispered.
Going to her knees next to him, she smiled. “I love you.”
His eyes flared, then heated. In the next second, Pixie found herself gathered into his arms as he effortlessly stood and carried her to the couch in the living room.
He stood her before him, cupped her face in his hands, and asked, “You love me?”
“So much, I couldn’t keep it inside.”
His gaze searched hers, and he whispered, “Are you sure?”
She heard the yearning and the disbelief. “For the longest time, I couldn’t imagine ever trusting another man, not in an intimate way. Not with my feelings.”
“I understand.”
Barely tempering her smile, she said, “No, Brogan, you don’t. I had worked so hard for my independence, to regain some of my pride and self-worth, I’d forgotten what it meant to be a woman. A mom, yes. I think—I hope—I had that down.”
“You’re an amazing mom.”
She kissed him for that nice compliment and whispered, “Then I met you, and suddenly I was thinking about being a woman, too. You’re gorgeous—so, naturally, that stirred things up.”
His crooked grin came slowly. “What things?”
“Let’s just say I was suddenly aware of body parts that I hadn’t paid much attention to.”
“Like here?” He curved a hand around her breast. “And here?” He skimmed his lips along her throat. While he was doing that, effectively distracting her, he placed his hand on her inner thigh. Meeting her gaze, he pressed his palm to her and asked, “Here?”
Pixie could barely breathe. “All that, yes.”
He kissed her for a long time, until she was dazed and trying to get his shirt off him, before he lifted his mouth and said, “God, I love you, too, Pixie.”
Yay.“We’ll work it out, okay? All of it. Any problems. Talking to Andy’s grandparents, sleeping arrangements—”
“Living arrangements,” he said tentatively. “With Ruth out of the way, I need to move back to the lake house, at least forsleeping. I know it’s cramped here—not that I’m complaining, but for you—”
“I go where you go.”
