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I turned down the comforter so he could lay her down. Then I removed her shoes and tucked her in. I didn’t have any pajamas for her, so it would have to do.
I kissed her forehead and whispered, “Good night.”
“Night, sweet Addy,” Knox whispered as we backed carefully out of the room.
“Are you sure you don’t mind?” I asked when we stood in the hallway, her door partially ajar.
He grinned. “I wasn’t ready for you to leave. Maybe you’ll fall asleep, and I’ll have to carry you to bed.”
A lightness spread through my chest. I felt almost giddy to have a few hours alone with him. The evening was ripe with possibility, and I wouldn’t mar it with worries of what-ifs.
Chapter 12
Knox
As a single guy, a little girl sleeping in my guest room should have freaked me out. Instead, I felt more settled than I ever had before. It felt good to have them here. I didn’t want them driving home late.
“I can’t remember a night where I’ve been out.”
“You consider this being out?” I asked as we settled back on the couch. This time, she sat along my side, her leg touching mine.
She smiled. “The life of a single mother. It’s not glamorous.”
“I like nights in. This works out perfectly for me. I got time with Addy, and now I have you all to myself.”
“I would think you’d want to go out and grab a beer with friends,” Sarah said.
“You don’t know me well. We might stop in at Mom’s after the farm closes. She’ll make us a meal or a snack, but we rarely go out. The farm is my life.” If that was a problem for her, then this was her chance to back out.
Instead, she lifted my arm and pulled it over her shoulder. “That sounds good to me.”
My heart felt incredibly full as she snuggled up against my chest. I tightened my arm around her, wishing this was the norm for us.
“I know we’re new, and we’re just getting to know each other, but I’m really enjoying spending time with you and Addy.”
She looked up at me. “So am I.”
I touched her chin, lifting it slightly so I could kiss her. It felt good to touch and kiss her whenever I felt like it. When I pulled away, I asked, “Is it too much to ask if you’d want to come over tomorrow night? Maybe we could do a game night.”
“I’d love that.”
Or maybe I could get a carriage here. We could take turns with the family to ride it around. I’d call one of the nearby farms and see if we could rent it for the evening. We’d done an event once before with the carriage. But I just wanted to plan something special for them. Especially when they seemed so enamored with the farm. It was the perfect way to show the property to them.
I turned on the TV, and we watched a holiday comedy we’d both seen a million times before. It allowed me to revel in the smell of her shampoo and the warmth of her body against mine.
“You’re staying overnight, right?” There was no point in moving Addy now.
“I can.”
“You want to sleep in the other guest room?”
“That’s probably for the best. If Addy wakes up in the middle of the night—”
“We won’t make any move that you don’t agree with. If Addy isn’t ready to know about us, then we wait. There’s no rush.” I didn’t want to wait forever, but I had a feeling Addy would be on board with us. It was just a matter of time.
“Thank you. I don’t know many guys who’d be as understanding as you’ve been.”
“You call the shots here. She’s your daughter. Her needs come first. You haven’t said much about her father, and I suspect he’s not that involved. That’s his loss. She’s an amazing kid.”
