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“I’m not an idiot, Lawson,” she declared, seeking out his gaze once more. “I’ve had sex with three people in my life. The boy I fell in love with, the asshole who gave me Evie, and the man I intend to marry. You’ve done things to me I didn’t teach you—and I’m not mad about it. How could I be? What leg would I have to stand on?”
“Okay. Then what are you mad about?”
“I certainly don’t need or want the laundry list of women you’ve slept with over the years; but given that your ring is on my finger and your baby is in my womb, I think it’s my right to know when one of those women starts tryin’ to reach you.”
Lawson rested his hands on his hips and jerked his chin in a decisive nod. “Fair enough.”
“How long?”
“She called me right after—”
“No, how long were you together?”
“That’s just it, songbird. Together is a strong word.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Lawson took a step toward her, moving one of his hands from his hip to the side of hers. “It means, when I say it’s only ever been you, I’m tellin’ the truth. I don’t have a laundry list of women I’ve slept with, just a handful of unfortunate souls who wanted more from me than I could ever give. The ones I hurt are the ones who tried and failed to change my heart. I never promised any of them anything more than monogamy. A couple were smart enough to leave while they had the chance. A couple I had to cut loose—Ashlynn bein’ one of them.”
He paused, took another step toward his songbird, and gave her hip a squeeze before he continued. “She was never my girl, and I was never her guy. We hooked up shortly after I moved back to Tennessee and settled in Nashville. When I was ready to move home, I ended it. Maybe that makes me a bastard, but that’s how it went down.”
“You’ve been back for months. What is she doin’ here now?”
“I don’t know. Does it matter?” Eliminating what space was left between them, he gathered his woman in his arms, touching his forehead to hers as he muttered, “I have everything I’ve ever wanted right here. Nothin’s gonna change that.”
Surrendering to his touch, Nora propped her hands against his chest and leaned into him. “Maybe so, but—”
“Definitely so,” he interrupted.
She reared her head back enough to meet his eyes and said, “You still need to set the record straight. She moved to Shelby, Lawson. You may have cut her loose, but I know what it’s like to try to shake you. Look how that turned out.”
Tightening his hold around her, he declared, “It’s not the same.”
“I know that, but does she?”
Conceding to her point, he offered her a nod.
“I’ll handle it.”
“Soon?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
Relieved to have settled the matter, Lawson slid one hand up her spine until he was holding the back of her neck. Grazing his nose down the length of hers, he warned, “I’m gonna kiss you now.”
Speaking through a small smile, Nora titled her head in anticipation and replied, “Good idea.”
He kissed her long and hard, caging her between himself and the SUV at her back. It wasn’t until the horn of his brother’s classic Chevelle startled them that Lawson even thought of severing his lips from hers. His eyes still pinned on Nora-Jean’s green ones, her irises two pools of warm lust, he heard it as two car doors opened and closed.
“Mind your manners,” called Atticus in jest. “Your mama’s inside.”
Mitzi’s quiet laughter could be heard over their retreating footsteps, but neither Lawson nor Nora-Jean bothered to respond as they worked to catch their breath.
“We should go inside,” Nora murmured.
“Yeah. We’ve got an announcement to make.”
