Page 87 of Sudden Summer

“But you're going to be her mom…”

“Yes, I get to have the absolute privilege of being her mama. But I’ll never be her biological mom. And I won’t take that truth away from her.”

“How the hell did I get so lucky?” I asked. “You just…accepted all this.”

Birdie shrugged. “Rosa did an amazing job for Juniper’s first four months of life. I’m going to do everything in my power to keep that trajectory going for our berry girl.”

I leaned in, pressing my lips to hers “I never did ask why you started calling her that.”

Birdie’s brows pulled together. “I don’t know. I felt like I looked into her eyes and it was just whispered into my heart that first morning. Why?”

“One of the pictures…Rosa had written on the back. It said, My berry girl. Four weeks old.”

“Oh my gosh, I just got chills.” Birdie’s hands wrapped around my arms. “That’s something else we can share with her. The precious little nickname that was whispered to me from her mom.”

I nodded, that damn lump in my throat not clearing, no matter how hard I tried to swallow it down.

“I love you, you know that, don’t you?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

“You know that I’m so grateful to have you? That I can’t imagine surviving one single day without you by my side?”

“Beau…”

“No, Chickadee. We talked about my stuff. Now we’re going to talk about what’s going through that beautiful noggin of yours.”

I pulled my shirt over my head before undoing my belt buckle and shucking my pants off. I turned back to the bathroom, winking at Birdie as her eyes raked over my body through the mirror. I’d never get used to, or take for granted, that sexy little blush that bloomed across her nose and cheeks when she was turned on. Especially when it was from looking at me.

“I was thinking…I could do it, you know?” Birdie’s voice traveled out from the bathroom as I grabbed two fresh towels from the closet. She was still shaken up from the shooting the other night, and now what had happened with her patient had put her right back on edge. But I had a plan. A very slippery, naked, sudsy plan that would most definitely help her relax, just like we’d been doing practically every morning and every night this week.

“Do what, baby?”

“I could open a place.”

I walked into the bathroom, set the towels down on the counter, and slipped my fingers under the clasp of her bra. A second later, I’d claimed my prize. My lips pressed against her neck as I let the fabric fall to the floor.

“What kind of place?” My teeth raked over her skin as I asked.

“Beau…,” she sighed.

“I just want to make you feel good. Can I?”

“Yes. But I—” She gasped as my hands cupped her breasts. “I need to think…for a second.”

“Can’t think while I touch you?” I chuckled.

“I can…it’s just about naughty things, and…ohhh.” Birdie’s breath caught as my kisses moved over her shoulder and onto her chest. “Beau, wait.”

Her fingers were in my hair, pushing my head away from her body.

“I can feel the stress in your body, baby. I don’t like it being there. Let me fix it.”

“Listen to me first. Please.”

I nodded, her fingers slipping out of my hair as I walked over to the shower and turned it on to the only temperature I knew was acceptable for her: scalding. How women survived and enjoyed lobster steams like the one I knew I was about to step into, I would never understand. But this was about to be a full-service night. Her thighs might quake, but I wasn’t about to let it be from the cold air conditioning.

I moved back to her, just as Birdie slipped her fingers into the waistband of her leggings. The vibrations rose in my chest at the same time she froze, her eyebrow rising up in question.