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“I want to grab a few more things to take to your place.” Laura pushed open the door and flipped on the lights. “As long as you’re sure it’s okay I stay with you until Isaac is caught.”
“Is that even a question?”
Glancing over her shoulder, she shrugged. “I don’t want to overstep.”
“Never. Where do you want your bag?”
“Down the hall. My room’s on the right. I’ll gather some of my toiletries from the bathroom really quick.”
He padded down the hall behind her. He didn’t want to say it, but he couldn’t imagine being in his home without Laura—regardless of Isaac’s whereabouts. The last couple days had opened his eyes to everything he’d been missing in his life.
Laura had opened his eyes and his heart.
Matthew’s reaction to seeing the two of them together reminded him of why he’d been hesitant to act on the feelingshe’d had for her for so damn long. Well, that and the fact she’d still been with Isaac. Even if he hated the choice she’d made to be with such a jackass, he’d never have crossed the line and made a play for someone who wasn’t available.
All that was out the window now. Isaac was gone from the picture, and as much as he didn’t want to upset his best friend, he wanted Laura more.
Flipping on the bedroom light, his heart sank. A neatly made bed rested against the far wall and a scarred wooden dresser on the other. No frills or decorations. The bare essentials and nothing more.
He wanted to give her more. To fill her room and home with silly pillows he didn’t understand, and frames displaying beautiful memories. He wanted her to have a nursery with all the things he never knew kids needed but his sisters always had—like a wipe warmer and the weird shaped pillow they used when feeding their babies.
She shouldn’t have to skimp, shouldn’t have to worry.
He wanted to give her the world.
“Penny for your thoughts.” Her silky voice skimmed the back of his neck.
He set her bag on the ground at his feet and pulled her into his arms. She was a perfect fit. “Just thinking about you and me. About what’s started between us the last few days. About how much I’ve always wanted this, even if I was too scared to admit it to myself.”
She pulled away enough to look up and study his face. Her full lips were turned downward, brow furrowed. “Is that so? Then what was all that stuff Matthew said? How you didn’t even want me around?”
He cringed as his earlier argument with Matthew came back to slap him in the face. Needing to fully explain himself, he led her to the edge of the bed and sat beside her. “When Matthewfirst mentioned wanting you to help out in the office, I was adamant I didn’t want you working for us.”
She frowned. “I guess that clears up everything. Thanks for your honesty.”
“What Matthew didn’t know,” he pressed on, “was that I’d worked for years to hide my feelings for you. Seeing you every day, being so close to you, would be torture. I’d gotten so damn good at keeping distance between us. Only speaking with you when I couldn’t avoid it. No way to do that with you sitting at the reception desk.”
The corners of her mouth curled up. “I’m not sure I believe that. I’ve known you forever. You’ve always ignored me. Even when I was a kid.”
“When you were a kid, you were a little annoying.” He grinned.
She rolled her eyes but couldn’t hide her amusement. “Maybe a little, but man, I wanted to get your attention so bad. I always picked you flowers. I was such a dork.”
He used his index finger and thumb to measure an inch.
She opened her mouth in mock outrage.
He laughed. “You were like a little sister to me.”
She wrinkled her nose.
“But,” he said, lifting a hand to stop her reaction. “When I came back from the service, I saw you and fell hard. I hated that you were with Isaac and would have given anything to kick his ass. I tried to stay out of your way, but it wasn’t easy. Not when all I wanted was to whisk you away and give you a better life. To see the smiling, laughing girl who picked me flowers. Who was carefree and sweet and always thinking of others over herself. You’re still that girl. Still putting others above yourself. But you deserve to be put above all else.”
“Does that mean you want to stay in my life even after Isaac is caught and everything’s back to normal? I mean, once theexcitement fades, you might get tired of me. When I don’t need someone to protect me or rescue me, the novelty of what we’ve found might wear off.” She issued the words in a light, teasing tone, but uncertainty danced in her eyes.
“You don’t need to be rescued. You’ve already rescued yourself. All I want is to stand beside you, give you someone to lean on when things get tough. If that’s what you want, too.” He’d been so consumed with what their future looked like, he hadn’t considered maybe she had a different plan. He needed to know how she felt as much as he needed his next breath.
“What about the baby?” She rested her hand on her stomach, eyes latched on his. “You might be able to love me someday, but can you love another man’s child?”
