Page 17 of Scarlett's Mountain Man
“I didn’t mean to make you cry,” he gently says as he wipes away the tears.
“Hormones,” I choke out.
But I know even if I hadn’t just had a baby and all my hormones weren’t out of whack, I would still be crying from everything he just said. How can I not? It’s every girl’s dream to have someone to protect them, cherish them, and be their priority.
I’ve never had that.
Now Thorin is throwing all of this at me, and he hasn’t even known me that long.
“Really?” I whisper. “You mean everything you just said?”
Thorin leans even closer, giving my lips a little peck and nodding. “Every single word. And if you need me to remind you every day, I will, but I’m also going to show you with my actions.”
We stare at each other for several seconds before Daddy pulls away from me.
“Let me grab Juniper and put her in her crib. Then you can fall asleep. If you need anything, let me know. I’ll be right here the whole time.”
“What if you need to pee?” I ask out of nowhere. “You won’t be here.”
Daddy chuckles. “You’re right. Good thing you won’t notice I’m gone if I have to pee. And if you’re awake, I’ll let you know.”
“And if I’m asleep, you’ll just leave without telling me?”
“I’m not going to wake you up. You need your sleep, and I don’t want to interrupt it,” he gently says.
“I know, I just. I don’t know why I was asking that.” I look down at Juniper in my arms.
Daddy had already brought the crib next to the bed.
“Little One, it’s okay. I’m not mad at you for asking questions. You can ask me anything.” He cups my face once again.
“Sorry,” I whisper.
“I don’t want you to say sorry when you don’t need to.”
“So—” I stop myself. “Right. Well, I don’t know what to say now.”
“You don’t have to say anything,” he says.
“But then it might be an awkward silence, and I don’t want that.”
“Look at me,” he commands. “Good girl. So what if it’s an awkward silence? I don’t care. We could always have music on if you’re worried about it.”
“Oh, no, that’s okay. I just probably need to get over it,” I brush it off.
“Nope.”
My eyebrows raise. “Nope?”
“Yeah, nope. You are not going to just push it to the side like it doesn’t mean anything. It obviously does, and we are going to make sure it doesn’t happen. I can’t guarantee there won’t be any awkward moments, but I’ll try to keep them to a minimum,” he says. “Though I have a feeling there won’t be any. We this strong connection.”
“I don’t know.” I sound so unsure.
I’ve never had that with anyone, so I don’t know if what he is telling me is true.
“I’ll just show you,” he says. “Nothing wrong with that.”
“I guess?”
