Page 73 of Falling for Her

“Oh, you definitely will,” he replies, earning himself a glare from Lincoln.

Before I get two steps away, Asa comes running to us. “Hey, Uncle Hudson.” He gives him a high five.

“Uncle?” I look between them to see if there’s a resemblance I missed.

“Best friends,” Lincoln informs me.

“Wow, color me shocked,” I retort. “I didn’t think you had friends. This is very, very surprising for me.”

He chuckles, and it hits me in places it should not hit me.

“Dad, we’re going riding tomorrow,” Asa shrieks, holding my hand in both of his and jumping up and down.

“We are?” I look at Lincoln, who shrugs.

“Yeah! Charlie just told Wyatt,” Asa informs us.

“Well, then we’re going to have to show your dad how good you are at riding,” I tell him, “so he can take you all the time.”

“Yes,” Asa hisses. “Let’s go grab a burger.” He pulls my hand, and I look over my shoulder at Lincoln, who follows us. Hudson gives us a chin-up and walks off to talk to Theo.

We each help ourselves to a burger from a large plate before finding a table and sitting down as a group.

“I’m starving,” Asa declares.

“Did you not eat today?” I take a bite of my burger.

“Yeah, Dad made eggs and bacon. He made some for you too, but you left.”

Lincoln stops mid-bite and meets my eyes. He finishes chewing and swallows. “I didn’t make them specifically for you. I just made extra.” He slides a look at Asa to tell him to shut up, but Asa isn’t paying attention to him.

“I went out to have breakfast with Collins, and then we went shopping for baby stuff.” I look at Asa. “Did you chill?”

“I tried to,” he huffs, “but Dad didn’t understand the chill part and made me clean my room and make my bed.”

I look down and roll my lips so I don’t burst out laughing. “I mean, you should still do those things, and then you can chill without having to get up.”

We eat side by side as he tells me about the new video he saw that I have to watch with him when we get home. We finish the burgers and Asa runs off to play with the other kids, leaving Lincoln sitting next to me. He slides closer when Collins and Theo join us, followed by Caleb, Theo’s cousin and business partner, and his fiancée, Sierra. The sun starts to set, the little string lights flicking on across the yard. It looks magical.

“You should get lights like this,” I tell Lincoln.

“I have lights.”

“Yeah, in the tree house and on the deck, but not across the yard like this. It’s like fairy lights.” I smile big, wondering how I could put these up in my house. I mean, it would be hard since I live in a penthouse on the fifty-fourth floor. “It would make the house look nicer.”

He laughs as he gets up. “How you getting home? I didn’t see your car out front.”

“I left it at Collins’s house.”

“Do you want to come home with us, and we’ll drive by to get your car tomorrow after the horse-riding lesson?”

“Is that okay?” I ask Collins.

“Of course,” she says, leaning into Theo, his arm around her.

I walk to the truck with Asa between Lincoln and me. He gets into the truck first, and I get in as soon as he closes his door, sitting next to Lincoln. He looks over at me, and there is a softness on his face. So soft that my hand itches to come up to touch his beard. Instead, I clear my throat and look out the window. “I’m exhausted.”

“Must be all that chilling you did today,” Lincoln teases, looking out his window, but I can see a smile on his face.