Page 72 of The Refiner

“How convenient that you can always pull the doctor card.”

He slides me down his chest until my feet hit the ground. “Tatum is in good hands. I would never leave her with anyone who I didn’t feel was capable.”

“But—”

He presses his lips to mine, taking care to kiss the side of my lip as he withdraws, his icy blue eyes holding mine. “I want to focus only on you tonight. Will you let me do that?”

“That’s not fair.” It comes out sounding more like a whine.

“Sure, it is.” He brushes the hair back from my face and adjusts the crown. “If you really don’t want to leave Tatum tonight, we won’t. But I’d very much like to spend some alone time with you, Ms. McKellan.”

Fuck. Me.

No woman in her right mind would turn him down, right? Like no one.

Looping my arms around his neck, I pull him closer. “You play dirty, Dr. Potter.” But I kiss him anyway.

“Is that a yes?”

He knows that’s a yes; he just wants to hear me say the words. “That’s a yes, Astor. I want to spend alone time with you too.” More than I have ever wanted with any other man.

With a victorious and smug grin, Astor reaches behind me and rings the bell, as least ten times, before someone finally flings open the door.

“Trick-or-treat!” Astor elbows me and I repeat the phrase at the guy who is not Vance at the door. He’s eating a small bag of chips and looks at the sack of candy in Astor’s hand.

“I hope you get laid for this.” Then he discards his bag of chips inside our candy bag and turns around walking back into the house.

Astor throws his head back and laughs a boisterous sound.

“Remington! Did you not give them candy? That was your only job!”

Halle runs to the door with a bag of candy and a grin, offering us her apologies for ruining the surprise by dropping a few pieces into our bag. “Astor wanted you to have one real house to actually trick-or-treat at.”

Something deep inside my stomach clenches.

You can’t keep him, Keys. You. Can’t. Keep. Him.

And apparently, I can’t even manage to answer her without crying stupid tears. If Piper were still here, I would be calling her from the car and telling her all about this unusual and wonderful date. I’d make her ask me questions, so we could analyze every single behavior. Something has to be wrong with him. He can’t be this perfect. Well, he’s not perfect, but he’s pretty darn close.

“Come on.” Halle takes me by the arm and pulls me inside. “Tatum will be happy to see you. Although, she seems pretty fascinated by Remington.”

“He’s not smoking around her, is he?” Astor says from behind me.

“Oh no, he wouldn’t dare.” Halle shrugs. “We also hid his cigarettes, which is why he’s in such a delightful mood.”

Halle leads us through the open floor plan to the den, where Vance sits in a leather chair reading. Remington, the guy who answered the door, is in one of the other chairs with my precious girl in his lap.

“She was crying,” he says by way of greeting.

Halle looks at me and grins, mouthing, “He won’t put her down. It’s so cute!”

“Shut up, Hal.”

Ignoring Remington, I walk over and scoop my munchkin from his arms. Her eyes open and I swear she smiles. I know it’s probably gas, but there’s something exciting about thinking this tiny human will one day be genuinely happy to see me. I don’t want to miss one of these smiles or her first steps or when she rolls over or throws up on her daddy. Just thinking of how many milestones I’ll miss by moving back home is enough to bring tears to my eyes.

Not only do I realize how much I love this little girl, but I also realize that I like her daddy… a whole lot.

Keagan

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