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Joy welled in my heart, and the warmth swimming through my veins was replaced with love.
“You have no idea,” he said.
We walked into the dining room holding hands. They had set up a long U-shaped table with our hosts in the middle. A unanimous family cheer greeted us at the entrance, and we took our seats. James set up his phone with a live video of Foxy sleeping, and I relaxed.
“Welcome to Austria.” Gabe poured me a shot glass of vodka.
“I don’t hold my liquor well,” I said.
“This stuff is good. And you’re only having one. For Sam’s and my health. She can’t drink and neither can Allie, so you’re it.”
I lifted the glass so he could pour. “Atta girl. You’re going to fit right in. James, I already love her.”
“Me too,” James said openly, and Teresa smiled from across the table. Laila sat beside her grandmother, who plated her dinner.
We clinked our glasses to Gabe and Sam’s health, and I threw back the shot. The vodka flew even more smoothly than Gabe had promised. Over the dinner hour he convinced me to have three more shots, but it could have been four because the room was spinning when I stood up after the last one.
“Whoa.”
James held me by the elbow. “Are you all right?”
“I have to pee pee.”
I thought I was whispering, but apparently I wasn’t, because a few chuckles resonated around me.
“I’ll go with you. See you all in the morning. Don’t stay up too late, Gabe, or you’ll miss your wedding.”
“I’ll drag him out of bed if I have to,” Sam replied.
James took me under my arm and led me through the maze of a mansion he said he could run through in five seconds. It felt like forever until we reached our room. Foxy was sleeping soundly in bed. James covered him, and I went to the washroom.
Thankfully, my bladder held the liquor better than my head. I washed myself and returned to the bedroom, where James was sitting in his boxer briefs beside Foxy, convincing me there was nothing sexier than a half-naked father sitting on the bed with his son. Soft light glowed over his yummy muscles. I dragged my gaze over his body, slithering over the V-cut between his hips. The path up took even longer until I found his blazing blue eyes. Jesus, was I ever grateful I’d agreed to this trip.
“Does he always sleep so peacefully?” he asked. “I can’t stop staring at him.”
I stumbled forward, grateful that one of us was sober while in the same room with our son.
“The solid sleeping is recent, which is great news for us.” I yawned and turned around. “Can you unzip me?”
“My pleasure.”
The dress loosened, and I slipped out of the fabric, turning in the spot. “I can’t find my pajamas.”
James chuckled. “Here, let me help. Stay still.”
He flicked my bra clasp open, and my breasts spilled out. The touch of his fingers seared along my skin, but I couldn’t concentrate on their igniting path south because James slipped his t-shirt over my head. His spicy scent brought an overwhelming comfort, and the next thing I knew, I was in his bed and in his arms, falling asleep.
CHAPTER 16
JAMES
“SayDada,” I whispered to Foxy as I held him in my arms on the chair by the window. “Dada. I’ll takeDaddyas well.”
He traced his finger over the fog in the window’s corner. I took his little finger and outlined a heart. Hot coffee was steaming in the cups behind us and fresh croissants waited at the side. Foxy had woken up at four in the morning. I changed him and made him oatmeal in the kitchen. The great thing about a large family was that everyone was eager to help, especially the two pregnant women, Sam and Allie.
“Let Laura sleep. It’s about time she had a break. Do you know how many cases she closed between Thanksgiving and now? Twelve,” Allie said.
“What? Why didn’t she tell me?”
