Page 130 of This Wild Heart

Parker let out a low growl that no one could hear but me, leaning his head down to press a kiss against the curve of my neck. “Please tell me everyone goes to bed very early in this house,” he murmured.

“You’re so obsessed with me,” I teased. “Can’t you be patient?”

“No,” he groaned. “I’ve been such a good boy all night. Haven’t I?”

His hand tightened on my thigh, and my belly fluttered in anticipation even though I smacked his hand. “You can be a good boy for a little bit longer,” I said primly. Then I added in a lower voice, “I promise it’ll be worth it.”

He sat back and let out a contented sigh. “It already is, baby. Even if it was just this.”

There was no universe in which this man wasn’t getting laid tonight, so I didn’t know what the hell he was talking about.

A bit later, I roused Willa and told her I’d help bring her gifts upstairs to her room. She gave a bleary-eyed nod and walked around the room to hug everyone. When she walked straight up to Parker, he was clearly surprised. But he gave her a sweet hug, straightening the crown on her head when she pulled back.

“I like this look,” he said. “You’re a princess …”

“A ninja princess,” she finished matter-of-factly. “Girls can be both.”

“Yes, they can,” he answered seriously.

My heart swelled dangerously.

When I came back downstairs, Violet had disappeared, likely in her bedroom talking to her boyfriend. Dad was asleep on the couch, Leo in his travel bassinet next to him. Dad’s hand was draped inside, their fingers only inches apart. That made my heart swell too.

Parker stood in the kitchen, drying dishes at the sink. When he set the last one down, he slung the towel over his shoulder. “Here, I can take that garbage out if you tell me where it goes.”

Isabel smiled. “Thank you. Your mom trained you well, didn’t she?”

Parker laughed easily. “Yes, ma’am.”

We both watched him disappear into the garage, and then she gave me a look. A mom look.

“Stop it,” I hissed.

Isabel laughed softly. “Kid, this is the best thing I’ve ever seen.” She appraised me with those sharp eyes, the ones that saw everything. “You’re happy.”

“The happiest.”

“Good.” She glanced at the couch and shook her head at the sight of my dad. “I think we can handle Leo tonight, if you want.”

My eyebrows popped high. “Really?”

“Really.” She motioned me closer, wrapping me in a tight hug, the kind that made me feel like I could handle anything. Isabel was so good at those. “If nothing else, it’ll cure me of this small bout of baby fever.”

I was laughing as I pulled back, suddenly desperate to get back to my room.

“Thank you,” I told her.

Isabel winked. She pulled her crutches from where they were leaning against the wall and pushed up on her good foot. “Everything Leo needs is in the bag, I’m assuming?”

“Should be. If he wakes up for a bottle, and he might not, we change his diaper after he eats.”

She gave me a mock salute.

I slapped her ass when she turned around, and Isabel grinned over her shoulder. Parker’s duffel bag lay on the floor just inside the door, and I hooked it over my shoulder before leaning down to give Leo, then my dad, a soft kiss on the forehead. Neither one of them moved.

“Go,” Isabel said softly.

Say less, I thought. I was jogging toward the garage before Parker reappeared in the kitchen. I found him standing in the driveway, staring up at the stars.

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