Page 169 of Need You To Choose Me

I tighten my hold on her as I lean in to whisper into her ear. “Oh, baby, in my dreams, you’re always a good girl for me, doing exactly what I tell you.”

She glares at me, her cheeks pink. The women exchange amused expressions before they change the topic to nursery and baby stuff.

The fire crackles in the pit, the sound of kids’ laughter echoing in the late night as they play.

At some point, the guys join us outside, dissecting the game before switching to planning their strategy for their next opponent.

Savannah’s eyes close for a moment before she blinks them away, trying to stay up. I tighten my arms around her and pull her into me, my lips pressing against the side of her neck. “Ready to go home?”

“Yeah, I’m beat. Let me just go to the bathroom real quick.”

Levi’s head snaps up. “We’re leaving?”

“In a little bit, buddy.” I help Savannah get to her feet, my palm rubbing at her lower back. “Take your time.”

She shoots me a grateful smile as she walks toward the house while Levi joins me.

“Sav is moving like a penguin,” Levi whispers, making me choke on laughter. Not that he was wrong.

“A cute penguin.”

Levi nods. “She’s walking funny, though.”

“I know, buddy, but don’t tell her that. We don’t want to hurt her feelings.”

Levi nods, making a zipping motion over his mouth. I spot Daniel and wave him over, and after a few minutes, Savannah comes out of the house.

Saying goodbye to people, we start toward the car. Levi slides in next to Savannah, and she rests her hand against his back, rubbing at his shoulders as she listens to him chat away about some game they were playing.

The moment we slip into the truck, I place my hand over hers, my thumb rubbing over the back of her hand.

This.

This was what I’ve always wanted.

What my soul has craved.

And it’s all connected to the woman sitting next to me.

I’ve never felt this content, this at peace sitting with anybody else.

The drive home doesn’t last too long. Walking around the truck, I help Savannah out, but instead of going to my house, she starts walking away.

I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her to me. “Where do you think you are going, Blondie?”

“I just need to grab a few things. I’ll come back quickly.”

“I don’t mind sharing,” I call out after her.

She rolls those pretty blue eyes at me, fighting back a smile. “It’ll just be a few minutes.”

“You’re having another sleepover at our place?” Levi asks, clearly excited about the prospect.

“Yes, buddy. Savannah will have a sleepover at our house. She’s just going to grab a few things first.”

We’ll seriously need to talk about the elephant in the room. I didn’t want her going back and forth, not when we’ve been spending most of the time together. Especially not after the baby was born. Mine or hers, I didn’t care which house we settled on, but we’d be moving in together. And soon.

“I wanna help.”

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