Con cleared his throat and met my gaze. “I’m in.”
“And we don’t tell the kids.” I watched as they started to complain, but I shook my head. “I don’t want them thinkinganything other than that I’m their nanny. I’m sure things are confusing enough for Caroline and Jones without thinking I’m just around for their dad.”
Zeke shrugged. “Fine.”
“And you three figure out how you’re going to work this out. I’m only one woman, and I’m busy. I don’t have time to book each of you in. Figure that shit out yourselves.”
Griff stood up and tugged me into a hug. “You’re seriously a massive pain in the ass. You understand that, right?”
I grinned up at him. “I’ve heard it a time or two.”
“I’m in, too.” He slipped his hand down and stroked the spot on my ass that was still tender from his spank earlier. “So in.”
I pushed away from him and backed towards the door. “Don’t make me regret this.”
Con pushed past his brothers and gently grasped the back of my neck. “I’ll walk you to your room.”
I laughed at the sound of Zeke and Griff fussing but let Con lead me out of the room and back upstairs. “I think you just became their least favorite.”
“They’ll live.”
I stopped at my door and looked up at him. “Here we are again, I guess.”
He shook his head. “I don’t know if we should start over fresh or if I want to hold onto some of those past times we had.”
“I’m not sure we could start fresh.” I took in a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “But I’m willing to try this.”
“The odds aren’t in my favor, are they?”
I smiled. “I don’t know. It’s hard. When I think about the past, I still want to punch you, but when you kissed me, it all felt like it could be worth a shot.”
His face changed into something brighter, lighter. Taking my face in his hands, he leaned in and kissed me. Con kissed with his soul, putting everything he felt into it. I could taste his desirefor me, his need for another chance. And the thing he’d always done, lightly capturing my upper lip and slowly letting it pull between his teeth before letting go. It was a sexy edge to a gentle man.
I kissed him back, clutching at his shirt and fighting the urge to rub myself against him. Finally, I pulled back, breathing heavily and bracing myself with a hand against his chest. “Okay. Yeah. There’s that.”
“Let me in, Auti.”
I grinned suddenly, feeling like a fresh-faced nineteen-year-old again. “I’m just oh so tired, Con. I think I’ll just go in and slip into something more comfortable before getting into my big bed, all alone.”
He dropped his head back and groaned. “Okay. Okay, that’s fine. I remember this dance fondly. Go ahead and tease me. It makes finally taking you all the sweeter.”
I backed away and looked him over. Red lips from our kiss, tented pants, and white knuckles. He was still as eager for me as he’d ever been. That wasn’t hard to see and believe. I wanted to invite him in and see if we still fit together perfectly, but it was late, and I knew Grace would be crawling into my bed before the sun was fully up.
“See you tomorrow, Connie.”
“Dammit, Autumn.” He’d always hated when I called him that. Which just encouraged me.
I slipped into my room and finger waved him away before shutting the door and locking it.
Chapter 23
***Autumn***
The next morning at breakfast, I was shocked to find all three men sitting on the balcony in their pajamas. Jones was so excited to find Griff sitting there that he ran over and threw his arms around his dad. Immediately after, he straightened and fixed his pajama shirt before sitting down and acting like nothing had happened.
Caroline crawled into her chair while Grace climbed onto Con’s lap. I stood there, looking at all of them jammed around the too-small table, looking completely cuddly and adorable in their pajamas, and felt a wave of emotion hit me. They looked like a family.
I cleared my throat as I blinked back tears. “I’ll go get breakfast. You all just stay here and hang out.”
