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“Does that mean you’ve been thinking about that? Us getting married, I mean?”
He choked out a laugh. “I thought I made that clear the night of the wedding, remember?”
“Yeah, I guess you did.”
“Trevor asked me for my blessing to propose to Jo,” he said, grinning when my mouth popped open. “Yeah, I was surprised, too. Not only because I didn’t think they were there yet, but also because of his reason for asking me.”
“And what reason was that?”
“Because he knew she wouldn’t want to leave me and Gray without help, and he wanted to check in with me about whether or not I’d even need her anymore if I had you. He didn’t word it like that, but yeah. That was the gist.”
I swallowed. “Oh, wow. No pressure or anything.”
“Right?”
“What did you say?”
His eyes crinkled as he gave me a small smile. “Well, I gave him my blessing. Obviously, I hoped it would be fine because I wanted us to be a family, but to be totally transparent, I also asked him what he’d do if you and I didn’t work out for whatever reason, and I still needed Jo’s help.” He squeezed my hand reassuringly and held my gaze. “I’m not saying I think you’ll leave us or anything like that. But I can’t be a Marine and a single dad. I can’t even get out and be a civilian cop and be a single dad. Not without help, anyway. So, I had to at least hear what he’d say to that.”
“No, it’s okay. I understand. What’d he say?”
“Basically, he said he’d be part of the deal, moving around with us and all that. He said family was important to him, so if I needed Jo’s help, he’d be there, too.”
Blowing out a breath, I stared into the backyard. “Wow. He really is a great guy.”
“No kidding.”
Zac shifted on the love seat so he was facing me, putting both of his hands around mine. “But I want you to know, nothing would make me happier than us becoming a family so Jo could go off and have her own. I’m really glad I overheard you saying you wouldn’t say no if I asked. Because I’m going to.”
My breath caught in my throat. “Wait, now?”
“No,” he said with a chuckle. “But now that I know you’re ready, soon.”
Suddenly my chest felt too small to contain the swelling of my heart. I leaned forward, pressing a kiss to his warm lips. I intended for it to be brief, but he released my hands and brought them up to cup my face, and I quickly lost myself in the feel of his mouth on mine.
The door creaked open, and we jumped apart, then relaxed slightly when we saw it was Lyndi.
“Sorry,” she said, plopping into the chair across from us, “but I had to make a quick exit so now you’re going to have to stop kissing and chat with me.”
Zac put his arm around me and tugged me close against his side, then kissed the top of my head. “Fine. If I must.”
“You must. Grandma just gave me an earful, and I need to vent.”
I rolled my eyes. “Uh-oh. What was it about?”
“Her wanting me to get my nose out of my books and meet a man in real life. You know, the usual.”
“I know I tease you about that too, but it’s not like you don’t date.”
She threw up her hands and let them fall with a smack. “Exactly.”
“But,” I went on, bracing myself, “it would be nice if you’d give a guy more than one date before you dismissed him because he wasn’t as good as any of the guys in your books.”
Lyndi glared at me, and Zac laughed quietly. “Okay, on that note, I’m going to go watch football.”
I lifted my chin for a parting kiss, then watched him leave, my eyes tracking his movements. He was so dang tall and strong andperfect. His broad shoulders filled out his button-down shirt and his thick forearms peeked out from beneath the cuffed sleeves like usual. And the man wore those dark wash jeans like they were absolutely made for him even though I knew they were from Target or something. I seriously couldn’t wait to spend my whole life staring at him and knowing he was mine.
Lyndi clapped her hands. “Hello? Back to me.”
