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“Oh, yeah,” she said, edging closer. “I love you, Brody. I have for a long time. I tried to ignore my feelings. Hide them from everyone around me.” She stared up at him. “I tried to hide them from myself, as well. But I wanted you, too.”
She leaned back so she could see all of his face. “On the day my divorce was final, I’d planned on asking you out to dinner.”
He took her hands and clung to her. “Yeah?” He smiled down at her. “And what would have happened on that date, Lainey?”
She smiled back. “I think you know, Brody. Since I haven’t been able to keep my hands off you since I moved in here.”
He tightened his grip on her hands. “So will you stay out here while we figure things out? You and Phoebe? Go to therapy with me?”
“A few sessions of therapy might be helpful so we don’t repeat our mistakes. And we’ll probably have to do it anyway, if we’re going to eventually adopt Phoebe.”
“Is that what you want?” he asked, pulling her closer. “Because that’s what I want, as well. Can we skip the guardian stage and go right to adoption?”
“I’d love to do that,” Lainey said. “But we still need to become her guardians so she’s protected. So that Art can’t get near her again. I’m sure Sheriff Jacobs will request that Art get no bail, but you never know what can happen. And I don’t want to worry about her.”
“That’s a solid plan.” He took her hand. “Can we go to DCFS on Monday? Talk to your friend? Figure out the steps we need to take?”
“As long as Phoebe’s on board with that, I am, too,” Lainey said.
Brody pulled her closer, desperate to kiss her. To seal the promises they’d made to each other. But as he wrapped his arms around Lainey and pulled her closer, he hesitated. Maybe she hadn’t forgiven him yet. Maybe she needed more time.
“What’s wrong?” Lainey asked, searching his gaze.
“Maybe I’m moving too fast,” Brody said. “Maybe you’re not ready for all of this.” He swirled his finger around in a circle between them. “Maybe you need time.”
She stood on her toes and pressed her mouth to his. “Does this feel like I need time?” she murmured, sliding her tongue along his lips.
“You’ve forgiven me already?” he asked, amazed at her generosity.
“Have you forgiven me?” she asked.
“Of course I have. You were trying to protect Phoebe. You went to a friend.” He shrugged. “In your shoes, I might have done the same thing.”
Gripping his arms, Lainey said, “We have a lot to work out, Brody. A lot to resolve. But I want to do the work. I don’t care how long it takes, as long as we do it together.”
She melted against him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing as close as she could get. He lifted her in his arms, and Lainey immediately twined her legs around his waist.
Their kiss went on and on as their hearts pounded against each other’s chests. Her fingers tangled in his hair, her touch electric against his scalp. He swept his palm down her back, cupping her hips and pressing her even closer.
Finally, breathless, unbearably aroused, he let Lainey slide down his body. Set her away from him.
She opened heavy-lidded eyes. Stared at him. “What’s wrong?”
“I didn’t know how far you wanted to go,” he said. “And I need to stop now if I’m going to stop.”
“Who said anything about stopping?” Lainey whispered, pressing against him again. “I’ve always heard that make-up sex is really hot.”
“Yeah?” Brody said, curling his arm around her waist . “Let’s go find out.”
Hours later, he rolled over to face her. “You were right,” he murmured. “About the make-up sex. But I bet we can do better than that.”
Lainey slid her leg over his thighs and smiled down at him. “We’ve got the rest of the night to set our standards even higher,” she whispered, brushing a kiss over his mouth. “And think of what we can accomplish with the rest of our lives.”
“I can’t wait,” he murmured against her mouth.
“Me, either. I don’t want to waste another moment,” Lainey said with a smile.
