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“Lennox always fell asleep during a walk. Two blocks and she’d be out. She couldn’t resist the rhythmic seams in the sidewalk.”
“Sachi’s the same. My parents’ neighbors have gotten pretty used to seeing me pushing the stroller. At all hours of the day and night.” His eyebrows rose as the idea sunk in. “Bottle and diaper change first?”
She nodded. “I’ll start a bottle warming and get the stroller.”
His lips curved into an irresistible smile. “I love a woman with a plan.”
“Then you’re with the right woman.”
He reached for her with the arm not currently holding a baby. “I know I am.”
Oh, how she wanted to tell him she knew the same about him. Hoping and knowing were different things.
“Hey, no frowning. I’m not looking for a big declaration here, I don’t expect you to feel the same way. Not yet.” He squeezed her hand and winked. “But you will.”
A light laugh floated out, naturally, as it always did with Sam. “Confident as ever.”
“And you wouldn’t want me any other way.”
“True. Well…except naked. Naked and confident is a combination that really works for you. And by default, works for me,” she said, laughing again as she gave him an I-have-no-shame shrug. “On that note, I think I’ll go get the bottle warming.” The sooner they took care of Sachi’s needs, the sooner they could take care of each other’s.
A twinkle gleamed in his eyes as he watched her move to the patio door. The kind of twinkle that promised endorphin rushes and orgasms. All they needed was time, something in shorter supply than ever.
* * *
LEIGH
They’d startedthe walk as a mission to get Sachi to sleep. Now that they were out and about, strolling her neighborhood on a beautiful, sunshiny summer day, even the possibility of toe-curling climaxes didn’t make Leigh take a shorter route back. Walking beside Sam, her arm curled snugly around his as he pushed the stroller, ticked a box she’d erased from her life plan list many years ago.
She and Tim had taken baby Lennox out in the stroller. Many times. They’d walked, talked and laughed. As friends. Even during the brief period when they’d taken a stab at being more, they’d never hadthis. The constant hum of connection and sense of intimacy from the simplest touch. She didn’t want it to end.
But it would. The moment Sachi awoke, they’d be plunged back into a less idyllic reality. One of fatigue, frustration, and general disarray that came with parenting a newborn. Sam’s reality.
“You’re pretty quiet all of a sudden.” He flexed his biceps beneath her palm. Always an attention-getting move in her books.
“Just thinking.”
“You seem to be doing a lot of that. Want to talk instead?”
“Would it be okay if I said no?”
Looking down as they walked, he met her gaze. “I’m going with the safe answer and saying yes.”
“Such a smart man.”
He chuckled. “It’s not my math brain calculating probabilities, it’s my very personal desire to make you happy.”
“You do,” she said as they stopped at a corner. “I’m always happy when we’re together.”
“This is where I should say okay and not mention the sadness in your eyes or that long sigh you made a couple minutes ago.”
“Correct.”
“Then, okay.”
“Thank you.” Leaning in and rising to her tiptoes, she placed a kiss on his cheek. “How about we head back to the house? Sachi just made her deep sigh with a little hummy sound at the end that she does when she settles into a deep sleep. If we go home now, we might get a solid half hour together.”
A smile replaced the straight set of his mouth and the furrow eased from his brow.
