Page 75 of This Wild Heart

Without overthinking it, I dipped my head down and teased Anya’s mouth with mine, softly brushing my tongue over the seam of her lips. She opened on a quiet sigh, her body melting into mine.

This was the first kiss we should have had. The one I thought about in the loud, gaudy chapel filled with strangers. It felt like a promise of something, and I wasn’t entirely sure what, or if I was capable of keeping it. We didn’t linger, and I plucked at the last shred of restraint left and pulled back, dropping one last soft kiss on her sweet lips.

Her eyes didn’t open right away, and it wasn’t until her pointer finger twitched against my wrist that I even noticed she’d moved her hands.

Tap, tap, tap.

Anya opened her eyes, and we held there for a moment.

Too much. It was too much for her. For some reason, she looked like she was about to cry. My brows furrowed, and I fought the urge to let her hide her face against my chest. Then she blinked, and the haunted look disappeared.

“Okay then,” Ivy murmured. “I feel like I need a cigarette.” A ripple of laughter moved through the room, and having the attention shift made it easier to breathe. Ivy’s face brightened. “Sheila, will you make a little cake like this for Cameron’s and my wedding?”

Mom’s face went slack with shock. “You’d want me to? Won’t you have a big, fancy bakery do that?”

She waved that off. “They can make something for everyone else. I want you to make the important one.”

The tears were instant, Sheila sniffling them away as she dashed a hand under her eye. “Well, sweetheart, I’d be happy to.”

“No trees, though,” Ivy said, eyeing the remnants on the counter. “Bit too outdoorsy for me.”

Behind her, one of my sisters snickered.

My brother hauled her on his lap with a grin. “You’re not going to help bake that little cake, are you?”

“No, why?”

“No reason,” he muttered.

I glanced at him, and he shook his head. Ivy’s recent forays into baking were … questionable. She had many, many talents, but baking wasn’t one of them.

“I just want some of that freaking cake,” Cameron said.

I let out a slow breath and pushed the rest of the cake in his direction. “Help yourself.”

While he divvied up the rest to share, I let my hand slide across Anya’s back as I moved behind her to wrap Sheila in a hug.

“Thank you,” I told her, giving her a quick kiss on the top of her head.

“I’m so happy, Parker,” she said, squeezing me as tightly as she could manage. “I’m just … I’m so happy, honey.”

Anya’s eyes caught mine over the top of her head, and I battled a sharp pang of guilt as it slipped through my ribs and wormed up through my chest.

We finished the cake, and Anya played a card game with Ian, Harlow and Ian’s stepdaughter, Sage, while I got roped into a round of Chutes and Ladders with Olive and Beckett. She won, handily, and the smug, little smile she gave me had me laughing loudly enough that I caught a wordless glance shared between my brothers.

By the time my siblings left and I helped Sheila finish cleaning in the kitchen, Anya was giving Leo his last bottle for the night.

“Do the two of you need anything for your room?” Sheila asked. “Normally, I put an extra quilt in the closet, but Parker is always such a furnace, I’m sure you won’t need one.”

Anya’s eyes stayed locked on the baby, but I saw the flush of red over her chest. “Thanks, Sheila, I’m sure we’ll be just fine.”

Mom gave me a kiss, then walked over to Anya to kiss the baby and cup the side of Anya’s face. “Good night, sweetie.”

With my shoulder leaning against the wall, I watched Sheila disappear into her room and close the door. Almost a year she’d been sleeping in that room by herself, and I had to wonder if it still felt strange.

I didn’t allow myself to follow that thread because the entire day had given me such whiplash that I was one step past tired—a bone-deep exhaustion that almost hurt. I turned off all the lights, made sure the doors were locked, and followed Anya up the stairs, carrying Leo’s bag in one hand.

She shifted him in her arms, and his little frown lines appeared just above her shoulder. My heart thudded uncomfortably in my chest. I disappeared into the bathroom first, brushing my teeth and splashing some cold water on my face, allowing my head to hang down while the water dripped off my chin and into the sink.

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