by Katee Robert
Gabe had managed to get control of his body’s reaction to Elle, so he released her and dug out his wallet. “Here’s thirty. You need more than that and you’re on your own, kid.”
Cash made a face. “I guess I’ll make that work.” Another bounce and he was gone. “I have my phone. Bye.” The front door opened and slammed shut.
Gabe looked out the kitchen window and waved at his nephew. Cash waved back and peeled out, disappearing down the street in record time. “He’s going too damn fast.”
“Oh my God, stop.” Izzy straightened her dress. “Are you going to embarrass me tonight?”
“Isn’t that our job?”
“No,” Elle cut in. She sent him a mock severe look. “I hid the shotgun, so you’re safe.” She took their daughter’s hands. “You look beautiful.”
Izzy frowned. “You aren’t going to cry, are you? Mom, you promised!”
“I’m fine.” But Elle’s voice sounded just a bit sniffly.
A knock sounded on the door and Izzy fled the kitchen. When Elle turned back to Gabe, her blue eyes shone. “She’s growing up so fast.”
“I know.” He pressed a quick kiss to her lips. “Let’s get in there and take the pictures before she decides it’s better to bolt.”
In the entranceway, Izzy stood chatting with a nervous looking Brendan. He wore a tux with a flower the same color as Izzy’s dress, and was in the process of slipping a corsage on her wrist. Gabe had never bothered with his prom, so he had no frame of reference for this shit, but Izzy looked happy, and the way Brendan looked at her, he’d throw himself over a puddle before asking her to walk through it.
Gabe shook Brendan’s hand, and then it was a flurry of Elle taking pictures and the kids practically sprinting out the front door. He and Elle watched as Brendan opened the door for Izzy and then rushed around to get in the driver’s seat. Gabe sighed. “I’m not okay with her almost being an adult.”
“I don’t think that’s something you ever get okay with.”
He pulled Elle back into his arms. Her yoga pants and shirt provided barely any barrier as he slid his hands down her body. “We’re alone.”
“Would you look at that? We are alone.” She smiled, though the unshed tears were still there.
Gabe kissed her jaw, her neck, the sensitive spot beneath her ear. “You know what we’re going to do tonight?”
“Wild monkey sex?”
“Eventually.” He nipped her earlobe. “We have all damn night. We’re going to order pizza, put on Die Hard, watch John McClane throw Hans Gruber off the tower, and then we’re going to go upstairs and I’m going to make love to my wife. Wildly.”
She laughed, relaxing against him. “That sounds like heaven.”
“We’re living the dream, babe.”
She glanced over his shoulder at the front door before giving herself a shake. “Pizza. Movie. Hot sex. Let’s do it.”
“Oh, we’re going to do…it.”
Elle laughed and smacked him again, the bittersweet look finally fading from her expression. “You’re horrible.”
“You love it.”
“I love you.” She grabbed his hand and towed him behind her into the living room. “Screw hot monkey sex. This is living the dream.”
It struck him all over again that this was his life. A woman he loved beyond all reason. Two great kids. An extended family that numbered some of the best people he’d ever known. Gabe flopped down onto the couch next to Elle, making her laugh. He smoothed her hair back. “How the hell did I get so lucky?”
“You mean how did we get so lucky?” She rolled onto her side and kissed him. “Some days our life doesn’t even feel real. But it is. All the good stuff and the heartbreak and the hard times. I appreciate it all because it’s gotten us to this point right here.” She kissed him again. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“Me, either.” He rolled her onto her back and settled between her thighs. “I changed my mind. We’ll have pizza and a movie later.” He slid his hand under her tank top and up her stomach to cup her breast. “I think monkey sex is the appropriate way to start tonight.”
Elle arched up into his touch. “A man after my heart.”
“I love you, babe. Let me show you exactly how much.”
About the Author
Katee Robert is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance and romantic suspense. Entertainment Weekly calls her writing “unspeakably hot.” Her books have sold over a million copies. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, children, a cat who thinks he’s a dog, and two Great Danes who think they’re lap dogs.
* * *
Website: www.kateerobert.com
