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“Too right.” He chuckled, pushing the fruit platter closer to her as he stood. “Now, eat up while I go and spend some time with those gorgeous kids of yours.”
As he headed for the sandpit, he couldn’t help but wonder if he’d ever have any kids of his own, and coming to the same conclusion he had when Cam had first told him.
If he had her in his life, it wouldn’t matter.
Nothing would, as long as they faced the tough stuff together.
Chapter Fourteen
“You shaved,” Camryn said, running a fingertip along Blane’s smooth jaw. “And you’re wearing designer jeans and a snazzy shirt. Why didn’t you tell me to dress up?”
As if she wasn’t in enough of a tizz meeting his family. Now she’d be inappropriately dressed too.
He laughed and ran a hand over her hip, gliding over the summer cotton dress she’d finally flung on after discarding half her wardrobe, his reassuring touch calming her nerves.
“You look gorgeous, and it’s not dressy. I just thought you might like to see me in something other than work jeans and T-shirts.”
“Actually, I like seeing you without any clothes,” she murmured, sliding a hand up his chest and leaning into him, inhaling as she did so, reassured by his familiar crisp, cedar scent.
He laughed and pulled her in for a swift kiss. “Hmm…I’m sure that would go down a treat with my family.”
His family…she’d been steeling herself all week, ever since she’d agreed to accompany him to this barbecue. He’d made it sound casual at the time, a small get-together, and while shewas curious after hearing so much about the Andrews family, she couldn’t help but worry. What if they didn’t like her? She hadn’t had much practice playing happy families, considering hers imploded around the time she confronted her parents and left Rainbow Creek.
Drawing back, he rubbed her arms up and down. “Hey, it’s not going to be so bad, you’ll see.”
“How much have you told them about me?”
“Enough.” He winked and grabbed her hand, tugging her gently toward the Ute. “Come on, they’ll love you.”
That’s what she was afraid of. He loved his family, had always been close to them, so she was betting his family knew about his dreams for kids too.
So where did that leave her?
She’d been honest with him on that score and while he’d said all the right things after their candid chat at his house, she’d caught him staring at families with kids on the odd occasion, a wistful expression on his ruggedly handsome face.
That look had terrified her, as it confirmed what she’d suspected for a while now.
She would never be enough for him no matter how many times he said it.
Not that she thought for one second he didn’t mean it; Blane was nothing but sincere. But what if he grew to resent her? What if the endless dramas they went through to have kids—and still failed—put a strain on their marriage they could never recover from?
Or the absolute kicker: what if he left her again if she couldn’t give him the family he wanted?
“They’ll love you if you lose that mournful expression, that is.”
Tweaking her nose, he brushed a tender kiss across her lips and she smiled up at him, slinging her favorite plum carry-all over her shoulder. “I’m ready.”
“That’s my girl.”
Handing her up into the Ute he deliberately grazed her bare calf as he withdrew, the simple touch combining with his wicked stare to set her heart thumping. As if it wasn’t jumping around enough.
Loving how quickly and thoroughly he could turn her on with a look and the barest of touches, she waited until he got into the driver’s seat before sending him a seductive peep from beneath lowered lashes.
“We don’t have to stay too long, do we?”
She toyed with the hem of her dress, plucking at the scalloped edge, smoothing it where it ended on her knees, enjoying his slightly glazed expression as he gripped the steering wheel and started the engine.
“If you keep looking at me like that we won’t make it there.”
