Page 38 of Loved By You

I work hard to take care of my body and the way Ria is staring at my muscles makes it all worth it. The heat in her eyes damn near makes me explode.

“Ri?”

“Yeah,” she answers, not fully paying attention, still staring.

“Eyes up here, sweetheart,” I say with a little laugh.

She jolts, raising her eyes to meet mine. A thrill runs through me at the way her cheeks flush and she flaps around trying to hand me the blankets whilst avoiding any more eye contact.

But I go further on my quest to get her all twisted up. I reach for her hand and pull her into me, then I place my hands on either side of her face. I can feel her breathing quicken. She wants this as much as me. But instead of crashing my lips to hers like I want to, I plant a kiss on her forehead.

“Night, sweetheart. Sleep tight.”

She steps back, her eyes blown, looking disappointed.

“Night, Jack,” she says in barely a whisper and she's gone. I lay down on the couch, pull the blankets over me, and close my eyes. I drift off, thinking how badly I want to follow her up those stairs and show her how I truly feel about her.

I sense someone standing over me before I even open my eyes. The smell of coffee fills the air and something warm and wet touches my foot. A giggle sounds, and it doesn't sound like a grown woman’s giggle.What the…

My eyes pop open and I'm met with a pair of eyes that look just like Ria’s, except they aren't Ria’s. It's a miniature version of her. Standing next to her, about a foot smaller, is another, slightly balder version of Lexi, holding a pink rubber ring and babbling.

Thwack.

She smacks the rubber ring against my nose and then proceeds to suck on it, drooling all over it.

“What are you doing on the couch? Did you and Mommy have a sleepover?” Lexi asks, still staring intently at me. It's like she's trying to see into my soul, and I'm a little freaked out.

“Erm, yeah, sort of,” I say, rubbing my eyes, trying to take in my surroundings. Yep, I’m on Ria’s couch and that warm wet tongue is Nugget licking me.

Damn, Nugget.

“My daddy tried to have a sleepover with a girl at Grandma’s house but Grandpa got mad and told them to leave,” she says innocently.

I bet he did, the selfish son of a bitch.

Thwack.

Elle is clearly waiting for me to acknowledge her. “Well, good morning, Miss Elle. How are we today?” She squeals, waving her rubber ring in the air.

I reach out for my suit pants. I don't feel overly comfortable sitting here in just my briefs with the girls here. I slide them on under the blanket and then get up off the couch. Elle falls back on her bottom and starts to cry and my instincts kick in, picking her up.

I cuddle her and sway a little, which seems to calm her, and holding to hold her this time feels a little more natural.

Lexi then jumps on the couch and leaps onto my back. “Pick me up too, Jack,” she giggles. I just about catch her with my spare hand, pulling Elle tighter to my chest at the same time.

“Lexi, pancakes,” I hear a voice calling from the kitchen.

I make my way to the sound with the girls still attached to me. Entering the kitchen, the sweet smell of maple syrup fills my nose and I find Ali leaning against the kitchen counter in what I assume are her work clothes, sipping on a mug of coffee. Ria is standing at the stove beside her, spatula in hand, flipping pancakes, wearing the tiniest pair of baby blue pajamas shorts,showing off her toned legs, and an oversized t-shirt, hair in a messy bun on the top of her head, looking absolutely fuckable.

“Well, holy shit, who knew a man with a baby could be so hot?” Ali mutters behind her coffee mug. Ria whips her head up, and as her eyes lock on my body, the spatula falls out of her hand, clanging against the frying pan, but she doesn't react. Her eyes roam up my body, glancing at the girls and then meeting my eyes.

I give her a knowing smile.

Yeah, she likes me more than a friend. No fucking doubt about it.

Chapter Fifteen

Ria

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