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I smiled. “I could see you two doing that today…”
“Oh, no doubt.” Christian shook his head. “Anyway, we fought over who should give who the other half of the dollar for a few days, until I came up with the brilliant idea to race for it. The victor gets the loser’s other half. I won, and he had to sit at the table and watch me tape the two pieces back together that night. But I never spent it. We both played volleyball in the spring, and Jake won team MVP at the end of the season, so I gave him the dollar back. It’s been going on twenty years, and that buck has been passed a few times. Neither one of us is very good at complimenting the other, so giving the buck is our way of saying, I’m proud of you. You done good. But until now we’ve only ever given it to each other for sporting events.”
“Awww…that’s so sweet.”
Christian tried to play it down. “Eh. I’m just cheap.”
I put my arms around his neck. “You are not, Christian Knox. You might be a man of steel on the outside, but you’re a big mush on the inside.”
He rubbed my arms. “Lara’s a great girl. Definitely out of that numbskull’s league.”
“Mush,” I teased.
“I’ll show you mush…” Christian pressed his lips to mine in a hot and hard kiss. His hand cupped my cheek as he deepened it, and by the time he pulled back, my brain was mush.
He looked back and forth between my eyes. “You want to get married and have kids someday, boss lady?”
My heart did a somersault. “I honestly never gave it much thought. My relationships don’t usually last long enough to start daydreaming about dresses and what we’d name our kids.”
“Not sure the length of the relationship is what makes you think about a future with someone. Seems it’s more about when it feels right.”
His words and the look on his face hit me hard, and when I swallowed, I tasted salt.
After a moment, Christian smiled. “I want a tribe of them—kids, I mean.” He winked. “Since you asked.”
“How many are in a tribe?”
He shrugged. “Maybe six or eight?”
My eyes bulged. “You want to have six or eight kids?”
He grinned. “Nah. Two or three should do it. But now that doesn’t seem so scary, does it? You see? I’m learning how to manage you.”
I play-smacked his abs. “You’re a jerk.”
Christian laughed. “Come on. We’d better get back inside so we don’t miss when they get here.”
***
Jake Knox’s hands shook as he got down on one knee. There was something so endearing about seeing such a big, tough guy nervous. Toward the end of dinner, he’d called Lara up to the front of the room to make a toast to the birthday girl. She was clearly shocked when the moment became something more. But she jumped into his arms while he was still down on one knee and knocked the large man over. The ring went flying, and he had to scramble to find it. Everyone hooted and hollered and laughed, and I looked over to find Christian’s eyes watery.
“You’re crying!” I said.
He swiped at his eyes. “No, I’m not. Too much fresh pepper on my pasta.”
I chuckled. “Sure.”
He put his arm around my shoulder and squeezed. “He did good.”
Not too long after that, we had to head back to the airport. Local time was only nine, so the real party was just getting started when we left, but it was eleven in New York, and we still had to fly home and be at work in the morning. At least if I was dragging, I wouldn’t be getting tackled by a three-hundred-pound lineman.
The small private plane Christian had chartered had wide, lie-flat seats. We sat facing each other as we took off, but once we were in the air, Christian reclined his seat and crooked his finger at me. “C’mere.”
“Where?”
He tapped his chest. “Lie on top of me.”
I pointed. “I am not having sex with you on that chair. Or anywhere on this plane, for that matter.”
He smiled. “I just want to hold you.”
The man was irresistible when he showed a vulnerable side. So I unbuckled and snuggled on top of him.
Christian stroked my hair. “Thank you for coming with me.”
“I had a good time. And I still can’t get over how much you and your brother look alike. It was sort of weird watching the man I’m sleeping with get down on one knee to propose to another woman.”
Christian’s hand on my head stopped moving. “Think we can use boyfriend?”
My nose wrinkled. “What do you mean?”
“Instead of guy you’re sleeping with.”
“Oh.”
He caught my gaze. “In case it’s not clear, that’s what I’d like to be…your boyfriend.”
“What does that mean to you?”
“It means we spend time together on a regular basis. Maybe stay at each other’s places sometimes. We’re honest with each other and take care of each other’s needs. It also means we don’t sleep with other people. Or date anyone else.” Christian paused to make sure he had my full attention. “Especially Julian.”
