Page 213 of Small Town Firsts

“I know, sweetie,” the nurse coos. “That’s the fiberglass getting hard. It’ll cool in about fifteen minutes.”

Tatum sniffles again.

The doctor goes over aftercare instructions and reminds me to make a follow-up appointment in six weeks. Alden and I both thank him and stand to leave. Tatum is still teary, but she’s no longer bawling.

The nurse leads us to a set of double doors that exit back into the lobby. “Be sure and stop by the desk to pay your co-pay. Have a nice night.”

Alden gives her a tight smile, grumbling under his breath all the while. Out in the lobby, we do as she says, and Alden whips out his wallet and pays before I can even argue.

We say goodbye to my parents and head back to my apartment.

CHAPTER 43

ALDEN

Natalie saysshe’s not mad, but the entire drive back to her place, I worry she’s going to change her mind. I mean, why wouldn’t she be at least a little upset? Tatum got hurt onmywatch.

After I park, I help Natalie get Tatum inside. I trail behind, expecting Natalie to go to Tatum’s room, but she continues on to hers. “She likes being in my bed when she doesn’t feel good,” she explains.

Once she’s tucked into her bed, I kiss her forehead and turn to leave. “I’ll see you later, yeah?”

Nat rushes after me. “Wait! Where are you going?”

I look down at my feet. “I figured you’d want me to head out.”

She steps closer to me and presses her index finger under my chin, tipping my head up to face her. “Why would you think that? Because she broke her arm?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Come sit with me.” She takes my hand and tugs, guiding me to the couch. “You’re her father. You’re the man I love. There’s no other place we’d want you to be right now. When she wakes up, she’s going to want both of us here.”

She brings her hands up to my chest and pushes me back onto the couch, where she promptly straddles my lap. “I always want you here, Alden.” She seals her mouth to mine, her tongue flicking against my lips. I open, and she deepens our kiss. Her fingers tangle in my hair, and she rocks against me. “Seeing you so protective and worried about her really turned me on.”

Holy. Shit. She’s really not mad!

I dive back into our kiss, licking and sucking and nipping until we’re both wound tight with desire.

“I need you to make me feel good,” she purrs. Unable to deny her, I make quick work of stripping her and laying her down on her back. I kiss my way down her body, paying special attention to her breasts, before reaching my final destination, where I don’t just make her feel good—I make her feel divine.

Over the next week,Tatum returned to her normal sunshine-and-rainbows self. There were definitely some rough patches—a lot of meltdowns—from it hurting, not having the use of both arms, not being able to wear certain outfits thanks to her cast.

But then she learned she could ask people to sign her cast. Talk about a happy kid. Everyone at the café and all of the staff at her daycare have signed it. And anytime anyone asks her what happened, she tells them she was trying to fly, but forgot her cape. Swear to God, she’s the cutest, most imaginative kid in the world.

Since her big tumble, Tatum hasn’t wanted either of us out of her sight—which has been both a blessing and a curse. At first, we alternated whose place we stayed at every other night, with me always sneaking out to the couch before Tatum woke up.Then one day, Tatum surprised us all by asking why Natalie and I didn’t share a bed like Nana and Popsie did.

Talk about awkward.

I played the novice dad card and let Natalie handle that one. She sat Tatum down and explained to her that we didn’t share a bed because we didn’t live together and because we weren’t married.

To which Tatum replied, “Why not?” I wasn’t sure whether she was asking why Natalie and I weren’t married or why we didn’t all live together—either way, it got my wheels turning.

Why don’t we live together? I mean, we are a family.

After swapping houses for the fourth time in as many days, I convinced Natalie that the two of them should just stay with me—she seemed on the fence at first, but Tatum’s enthusiasm sold her.

That was step one in my Convince Natalie to Move in with Me Grand Plan. As of right now, we’re still pretending to sleep in separate beds, but baby steps and all that.

Now, here we are on day seven. Tatum’s still sleeping. Natalie’s whipping us up some breakfast, and I’m folding our laundry at the dining room table—literally never something I thought I’d say, and yet, I wouldn’t change it for the world. After Mia, I planned on being a lifelong bachelor, but now I can’t see myself being anything other than a family man.

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