Page 46 of Worth of Waste

Yeah, he was starting to get that.

Dino opened his mouth to respond, but the quiet cry from the back bedroom stopped him. Instantly, he moved to go to his son, like instinct beating in his soul, but Karen was on her feet before he was.

“I’ll get him down, just relax,” she said.

“But I want to.”

“He needs to sleep—you make him excited.”

Oh.

Well, then, Dino let her go.

Dino turned the TV on, flipping through the channels until he found some action movie that seemed interesting enough to watch. He didn’t realize Karen had come back from the rear bedroom until she was standing behind him, and her hand came to rest on his shoulder. Usually, someone approaching Dino from behind would get a bad reaction from him, out of habit and nothing else, but not Karen.

No, he relaxed at her touch.

His contentedness only grew as her fingers traveled from his shoulder to his neck, and then up into his hair. Then, she stopped at the nape of his neck, seemingly content to stay there like she was and touching him.

“Are you going to stay up for a while?” she asked.

Dino shrugged. “I’ve got a full cup of coffee and a decent movie on.”

“Okay.”

He heard a lilt in her tone, a small note that caught his attention and made him reach for the remote again to turn the movie down. Glancing up at her over his shoulder, Dino cocked a brow.

“Something wrong, sweetheart?”

Karen smiled. “No. I’m just going to head up to bed.”

He wished she wouldn’t. He’d rather have her down there with him all night, even if the only thing she did was watch him or look through magazines. He didn’t care. Having her close was better than her being away.

It’s up to her, Dino. You’re letting her make the calls.

Right.

“Sure,” Dino said quietly.

Karen’s fingers didn’t leave his neck. “I thought …”

Dino was already looking back at the TV. “What?”

“There’s only one bedroom downstairs and the loft upstairs. Junior is sleeping.”

“I’m good with the couch, no worries.”

Except he wasn’t.

He’d much rather be in bed with her.

Karen let out a quick breath. “Or you could—”

Dino looked up again, meeting her gaze and quieting her. “Do you want me upstairs with you tonight or not?”

“Well …”

“You never were shy. Don’t start now. Say what you want and I’ll give it to you, Karen.”