“Is she your girlfriend?”
“Diane,” Dad scolds from the recliner as he flips through channels, landing on ESPN.
“What?” Mom holds out her hands. “Don’t I have a right to know if my son has a girlfriend?”
“Your son is a grown man. Let him live his life, and ease up. He’ll tell you when he’s good and ready.”
As much as I appreciate my dad trying to give me an out, I know she won’t go for it, and the easiest thing to do is give her what she wants.
“I don’t know, Mom.” I shrug. “I guess.”
“What do you mean, you don’t know?”
“We haven’t exactly put a label on our relationship.”
“Is this one of those ‘Netflix and chill’ things I always hear about?” Her hand shoots over to my arm. “Oh my gosh, did we interrupt you? Were you having relations when we came in?”
Dad groans, running a frustrated hand over his face. “Diane…”
I grimace. “First off, don’t ever say relations again. Second, where did you hear about Netflix and chill?”
“Facebook.”
“You need to get off Facebook, Mom.”
“We’re getting off subject,” she says. “I want to know about you and Lennon.”
“How about we change the subject?”
Mom holds her hands up in surrender. “Fine. But let me just say this. You’ve put your life on hold to raise that beautiful little girl in there, and you’ve done a fine job of it. Your father and I are so proud of you. But you deserve to be happy, too.”
“I am happy,” I stress.
Mom shakes her head. “I know you are, but you deserve a different kind of happiness. You deserve to be in love. Don’t think I didn’t notice the stolen glances between you two at the breakfast table. And Noah, the way you smiled at Lennon earlier… I haven’t seen you smile like that in a long time. If you have feelings for her like I think you do, you owe it to yourself to label that relationship. It’s time, Noah.”
Sometimes my mom just gets me, knows what I need to hear and when I need to hear it.
“I’m afraid to move too fast. I don’t want to scare Nova or rush into anything, but what I feel for Lennon…” My gaze drifts toward the kitchen. “It’s real, it’s strong, and it’s a little bit scary.”
I half expect my dad to reach over and take away my man card, so I’m surprised when he does the exact opposite.
He presses a hand to my shoulder. “That’s how I knew your mother was the one.” He smiles adoringly at Mom. “She scared the shit out of me.”
“And you’ve been together ever since?”
“No,” he says, somberly. “I was a coward. I ran away from that feeling at first.” Dad reaches out and pulls my mom up into his arms. “But I’m a lucky son of a bitch because when I finally pulled my head out of my ass, your mother was still there…waiting.”
“He made me wait for six long months,” she says, staring into Dad’s eyes with a wistful smile.
I can’t believe I’ve never heard this story.
“You waited six months?” I ask, a little surprised.
Mom grins. “When you know, you just know.”
“What do you know?”
I spin around at the sound of Nova’s voice and find her and Lennon standing side by side in the living room. The sight of the two of them together is again like a punch to the chest.
“Well,” Mom says, bending down to scoop Nova up. “I was just telling your dad about how I fell in love with your grandpa.”
Nova’s smile grows. “He’s your prince.”
Lennon sits down on the couch next to me, her hand precariously close to mine. When I look up, she’s giving me that sexy little grin I love. Her fingers inch closer until the warmth of her skin is pressed against mine.
What I feel from her simple touch absorbs into my skin, seeps through my veins, and infiltrates every last cell in my body. Never in a million years did I think I could feel so strongly about someone so fast. But everything with her, once I got out of my own way, has been incredibly easy.
So why complicate things now? Easy has worked for us so far. Without giving it much more thought, I grab Lennon’s hand, entwining our fingers. Her breath hitches, and I look up.
Everything stops, and for a brief moment, it’s just me and her. The electricity sparking between us owns the room, and my heart thrashes against my chest like a live wire.
Lennon squeezes my hand, and if eyes could smile, hers just did.
“Isn’t that right, Lennon?”
Lennon blinks several times and turns to Nova, who is seemingly oblivious to the fact that I’m holding Lennon’s hand.
“I’m sorry.” Lennon licks her lips nervously. “I, uh… I missed what you said.”
My mom just laughs, her eyes glued to our joined hands. “Never mind, dear.” She turns to me. “Noah, what time do you have to be at work?”
Shit.
“What time is it?” I completely lost track of time, wasn’t even thinking about work.
“It’s only eight thirty,” Dad says, looking at his watch.
“No,” Nova whines, wiggling out of my mom’s hold. She slinks toward me and falls pathetically in my lap. “I just got home.”
It kills me to pull away from Lennon, but I do. I pick Nova up and plant a big, fat kiss on her cheek. “I know, baby, but I still have to go to work. How else am I going to make money to buy you toys?” I ask, ruffling her hair.
“Fine,” she mumbles, not at all encouraged by the toy comment.
“How about tonight when I get home we have a Daddy and Nova night?”
She perks up.
“We’ll order pizza and rent a movie—”
“And have a tea party!” she adds.
“It’s a date.”
“Yay!” Nova jumps out of my lap and grabs my mom’s hand. “Come on, Grandma. Now we can go home and unpack your bags.”
Mom smiles at Lennon and me as Nova drags her toward the front door.
“Will you do the laundry, too?” Dad asks.
“I’m too little to do laundry, Papa!”
Nova’s boisterous voice is cut off when they shut the front door softly behind them.
“Your parents are amazing,” Lennon says, staring at the door before turning toward me.
“Thank you.”
“Do they watch Nova all the time?”
“She went to daycare up until last year, but when Mom and Dad retired, they started keeping her. Saves me some money, and they get to spoil her.”
Lennon laughs. “That must be nice.”
“You know what else would be nice?” Standing up, I hold my hand out for Lennon. She slips her fingers in mine, and I pull her into my arms.
“Mmmm… What’s that?” she mumbles.
I place my lips on the curve of Lennon’s neck. She drops her head to the side, giving me more room.
“If you have dinner with us tomorrow night.” I trail my lips along the delicate slope of her neck until I reach her ear. Her entire body shivers, and I grin against her skin.
“With you and Nova?”
“No,” I say soberly. “With me and Santa Claus.” She swats my arm, and I laugh. “Of course with me and Nova.”
Lennon’s lips stretch wide across her face. Funny enough, as her smile grows, so does my heart.
Too much.
“Well, that depends,” Lennon says, threading her arms around my waist.
“On what?”
“On what you’re making.”
“Baby, I’ll make whatever you want as long as you say yes.”
“Yes.” She kisses me. “Yes.” She kisses me again, but this time I slip my tongue between her perfect lips, and she moans, her body melting against mine. But then she pulls back.
“No.” Shaking her head, she wipes a finger across her lips. “We can’t kiss like that.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Because when you kiss me like that, I get all
hot and bothered—”
I give her a look. “I like you hot and bothered.”
She giggles, the sound shooting straight to my cock. “I know you do, but you have to go to work, and if you send me home like this, I’ll have no choice but to touch myself.”
Thoughts, meet brick fucking wall.
Pulling her body impossibly close to mine, I kiss her.
Hard.
I throw every emotion, every thought, every need into this one kiss, and afterward her eyes are hooded and her chest is heaving.
“Don’t touch yourself unless I’m with you, understand?” My words pull her heavy lids up, and her eyes lock tight with mine. “I want your pleasure to be mine, Lennon.”
I’ll never get tired of saying things that make her cheeks flush. Lennon buries her face in my chest and mumbles something, but I can’t make it out.
I close the top of the grill, hesitating at the sound of Nova’s tinkling laughter. Quietly, I slip through the patio doors into the kitchen and watch Lennon and Nova, something I’m finding I enjoy immensely.
Seeing the two of them interact makes me hope for things I probably shouldn’t, but I can’t help it. Everything Lennon does makes me fall a little bit more. It’s the way she fits right in with my family, and the way she is with my daughter. It’s how comfortable she looks moving around my house, as though she’s always belonged here.
When Lennon showed up tonight, at five o’clock on the dot, she handed me a bottle of wine and walked right on past me and straight to Nova. They’ve been inseparable ever since.
“Okay!” Lennon rubs her hands together, way too excited about the cookies she’s about to make. “Dump that in.”
Nova, standing on a chair, picks up the cup of flour and dumps it in. “Now what?”
“Now we stir.” Lennon offers Nova a giant spoon, but she doesn’t immediately take it. “Here,” Lennon says, motioning for her to do the honors.
“But Daddy doesn’t let me stir. He says I make a mess.”
Smiling to myself, I wait to see what Lennon will do.
Bending down to Nova’s level, Lennon puts the spoon in Nova’s hand. “Practice makes perfect, and if you make a mess, I’ll help you clean it up.”
I’m so proud of Nova, my little rule follower. She looks up at Lennon, still unsure. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure,” Lennon says, patting her on the back.
With a look of determination, Nova grips the spoon and gets right down to business spinning and whipping the utensil around like it’s her job. Lennon reaches into the bag of chocolate chips, grabs a few, and pops them into her mouth. Then she grabs a few more and pops them into Nova’s, as if it’s the most natural thing in the world.
“Does your daddy let you eat the chocolate chips?” Lennon asks, licking chocolate off of one of her fingers.
Nova shakes her head, dark curls bouncing around. “No. He says we have to save them for the cookies.”
Lennon drops her jaw dramatically, making Nova giggle. “Well, where’s the fun in that?”
“I don’t know.” Nova shrugs, continuing to stir the dough, her little arm going slower with each pass.
Lennon gives them each one more helping of chocolate chips before reaching for the spoon. “Here, want me to help?”
Nodding, Nova pulls the spoon from the bowl, and a chunk of dough goes flying, smacking Lennon right in the face.
Nova’s eyes widen, and Lennon freezes, her hands in midair. Ever so slowly, Lennon wipes the dough off her face with her finger and pops it into her mouth.
“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?” Lennon asks, as she dips a different finger into the bowl. She scoops some out.
Shaking her head, Nova laughs. “What’re you gonna do with that?” she asks, pointing to the dough on Lennon’s finger.
“This?” Lennon asks, twirling her finger around. Nova nods and Lennon puts the dough into her mouth. She grabs the spoon, sticks it back into the bowl, and gets another scoop. “What you should be asking is what am I going to do with this?”
Before Nova has a chance to ask, Lennon flings the dough at my daughter, who bursts into a fit of giggles when it splatters against her cheek.
“What is going on here?” I step into the room, finally making myself known, and both girls whip around. Nova’s face is lit up like a Christmas tree, her smile unwavering even though she just got caught having a food fight—something she knows is against the rules.
Pointing a finger at Nova, Lennon says, “She started it.”
Completely surprised at being thrown under the bus, Nova shakes her head, but she’s laughing too hard to form words. I swipe my finger across Nova’s cheek, gathering dough, and put it into my mouth.
“Tastes good,” I say, turning my attention to Lennon. The smile dies on my face when I see her holding another spoonful of dough. I narrow my eyes. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Do it!” Nova jumps from the chair and runs behind Lennon. “Do it!” she yells.
“Lennon,” I warn.
“Noah,” she says, mocking me with her sweeter-than-sin voice.
“Put the spoon down—” Cookie dough smacks me in the mouth, cutting off my words, and with a squeak, Lennon drops the spoon and spins around to scoop up Nova. My daughter in her arms, she takes off through the house as I give chase.
“Down the hall!” Nova yells, squealing when Lennon makes a hard right around the corner. She disappears out of sight, but I catch up, throwing my foot in front of Nova’s door before Lennon can shut it. I tackle them both, and we all land on the bed.
One hand on Lennon, the other on Nova, I tickle them until they’re gasping and begging me to stop. Then I tickle them some more.
“Stoooop,” Lennon says, laughing. She squirms, throwing herself to the side, but she can’t seem to escape my fingers of fury. “Oh God!” she gasps, trying to catch her breath. “Stop!”
“I gotta pee,” Nova wails. My fingers circle around her belly, hitting the spot along her ribcage that I know will make her squirm, and her face scrunches up in one of those silent laughs. Her mouth is wide open, but not a sound comes out until she sucks in a breath and yells, “You’re gonna make me pee!”
I stop tickling Nova. “Well, don’t pee on the bed, silly.” I give her a light shove, and she rolls off the side of the mattress, landing on her feet, and darts down the hall.
Taking full advantage of the moment alone, I stop tickling Lennon and instead trail my fingers up her side, grazing the outer curve of her breast.
Her laughter fades into a faint moan, and the air around us crackles. I smirk when I see the lower part of her cheek.
“What?”
“You’ve got something…” I brush my finger along her skin, and her eyes follow my hand when I lift my finger to my mouth.
“Did you get it?” she asks, her voice low and husky.
I shake my head, lowering my lips to hers. I kiss her softly and drag my mouth along her jaw line. She trembles under my touch, and the caveman in me wants nothing more than strip her naked and bury myself inside of her. But the father in me knows that’s not possible.
“There,” I whisper, kissing her ear. “Got it.”
“Hmm… Pity.”
We hear the toilet flush, and Lennon slides out from under me. “Time’s up.”
“Not quite.” Pushing up off the bed, I wrap her in my arms. “She still has to wash her hands. We have at least—” I don’t get to finish talking because Lennon drives her fingers into my hair and presses her lips against mine. It’s clear she doesn’t want to waste a second, and neither do I. Unfortunately for the both of us, that second is up way too soon.
The water in the bathroom shuts off, and Lennon moves away. “You should probably go check on the food.”
Fuck the food. I’d rather eat you.
I am screwed.
So screwed.
I fell in love with Nova, and now here I am, standing outside of her room trying desperately not
to fall in love with her father. It’s nearly impossible, what with the way he treats her. How could a woman not fall for someone like him? Sexy, smart, and he’s an amazing father. He’s the whole package wrapped up in delicious ink. Ink that I’d very much like to spend more time exploring.
And I’ve only known him a week.
Wow, has it only been a week since I ran Noah off the road?
Can you fall for someone that fast? I wouldn’t know. I dated Mathis for a year before I fell in love with him, and now, as I watch Noah read his daughter a story and feel the tightening in my chest, I’m not really sure I was ever in love with Mathis. Because this, what I’m feeling tonight, I never felt with him.
“The end.”
I take a deep breath when Noah shuts the book, determined not to think too hard about things. Just go with the flow. See what happens. No matter what, I can’t regret a single second spent with him thus far. Even when he was being an ass.
After our spaghetti dinner, Noah gave Nova a bath while I cleaned up, and then we watched a movie—her choosing of course—and then it was bedtime. We sat out on the porch swing, and Noah and Nova pointed out constellations, laughing at my inability to find any of them, and now here we are.
Lucky for me, Noah left the door cracked, probably not expecting me to eavesdrop on their nighttime routine, which is exactly what I’m doing. Nova worships her father, and it’s impossible not to watch the two of them together.
“That’s my favorite story,” Nova says, rubbing her sleepy eyes.
Caressing Nova’s face, Noah leans down and kisses her forehead. “Why do you like that story so much?”
“Because the princess marries the prince.” Nova yawns, curling up against the side of her dad. “You’re my prince, Daddy,” she says, her eyelids bobbing several times before finally shutting.
Sliding off the bed, Noah drops to his knees, nuzzling his face against Nova’s. Her eyelids open, a faint smile pulling at her lips.
“And you’ll always be my princess,” he whispers.
That thing I was desperately trying not to do? Well, it just happened. I press a hand to my chest, trying to hold on to anything and everything I have left of my heart, but it’s too late.
The Truth About Lennon Page 10
