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He leaned down and kissed me then—soft lips nibbling on mine until his warm tongue brushed the seam of my mouth. I opened for him and let him devour me to his heart’s content. Eventually he pulled away. His face was flushed, and his eyes looked semiglazed in the rosy evening light from the fading sun.
Suddenly I felt awkward. Unsure of what to do or say and unwilling to look like an idiot in front of the guy.
“Okay, well, uh… I hope things run smoothly tonight in the ER. See you tomorrow.”
“Pippa’s been asleep since half past three, so she’s probably going to wake up any minute starving to death,” he said with a wink.
I gave him a thumbs-up and backed toward the house, almost tripping on the stairs to the porch like a lovesick fool because I didn’t want to take my eyes off him.
What the fuck had I gotten myself into? Whatever it was, it felt strangely amazing.
And I wanted more.
Early the next morning, I was just falling back to sleep after the millionth middle-of-the-night Pippa wake-up call when I felt West’s cool body slide into bed. My body shivered in reaction, eliciting his low chuckle.
“You’re fucking freezing,” I mumbled against my pillow.
“And you’re nice and toasty. Roll this way,” he said, pulling my back against his chest. “Warm me up.”
I turned around in his embrace until my face was mashed against his chest. “How was work?” The minute the words were out of my mouth, I felt the domesticity of them and almost laughed. If any of my friends back home could see me welcome a man, a Texas doctor slash cowboy for that matter, into my bed so early in the morning just for sleep, they’d die laughing.
“It was fine until about nine last night when a four-year-old came in with a drug overdose. Apparently, he’d gotten into his grandmother’s blood pressure medicine. It was awful, but we got him stabilized.”
“Jesus. How scary. His poor parents must have been terrified.” I thought of what I’d do if something like that happened to Pippa. Just the thought of her in pain made my stomach cramp. “How did it happen?”
“Grandma didn’t have childproof caps on the bottle because she has arthritis. You should have seen her, Nico. She was beside herself with guilt. I finally had to give her a sedative and find her a bed.”
I ran a hand up to his shoulder and rubbed the tight muscles between there and his neck. “Lie on your stomach,” I said softly.
West leaned in and pressed a kiss to my forehead before doing as I’d suggested. I crawled over his ass and straddled him just below so I could rub his back.
“How was your night with the Pipsqueak?” he asked.
“Awful. She’s a menace. Takes after my bratty sister.”
West snorted and reached a hand back to squeeze my leg. “You sure it’s not you she takes after?”
I thought about how Pippa had my DNA also. Hell, those ears alone were proof enough. I wondered what other traits of mine she might end up with over the years.
I’d never know.
I’d be back in San Francisco living my life alone. Working, visiting Griff and his own little family. Watching my friends move on with their spouses and children. What would that be like? I already knew what it was like to watch my best friend fall in love and become closer to his partner than to me. Would the same happen with my other friends back home?
I had always been satisfied with my life. Proud of my tattoo shop and happy with the handful of friends I had. I was close to the big Marian family even though I wasn’t technically a Marian. But what would it be like if I had my very own family? What would it be like if I could stay with Pippa and be her family?
The idea was ludicrous. No one in their right mind would want me as a father. I’d make a terrible parent. And how would I ever balance work with having enough time for her? A little voice in my head reminded me that’s exactly what Adriana had been planning, so why wasn’t it okay for me to do it?
West flipped to his back to face me—the movement sliding our cocks against each other and forcing a groan out of both of us. My eyes lifted to his in question.
“What are you thinking about, Nico? You’re being awfully quiet,” he said, running his hands up and down my thighs.
Out of habit, I began to brush him off, but my gut told me to speak the truth.
“Do you think it’s unfair to deliberately raise a child as a single parent?” I asked.
West sat up and reached for me, sliding me off his lap so I was sitting next to him in bed. “What’s this about? Adriana? Are you upset about her having a child out of wedlock or something?” His brow was furrowed in confusion.
