Page 140 of Good as Gold
“I want to see the hot tub,” Leila demands. “And you said there’s food in the kitchen?”
“There is.” Earlier today, I’d delivered groceries and bedding. I’d made a thorough sweep of the house, picking up any stray construction detritus. Reina is walking now, so the place needs to be toddler proof.
The three of us will be the first ones to stay here. It’s ours, even if it’s not our every-day home. I’m saving one primetime week a year for the Rossis, so my growing family can have a proper getaway together. And I’ll save another one for the Giltmakers, too.
That family is full of drama lately, so it’s going to make for some interesting gatherings.
“What’s for dinner?” Leila asks, grabbing my hand as we walk toward the house.
“Steaks, of course. And roasted broccoli, for little miss bossypants.”
Leila peeks into the backpack. “She’s not looking so bossy right now.”
“What do you mean?”
“She’s out cold.”
“Really?”
Leila raises her phone again and takes another picture of us. Then she shows me the result.
Yup. My baby girl is passed out, her head parked against the back of my T-shirt, her eyes screwed shut.
I laugh, because my daughter’s ability to sleep anywhere never ceases to amaze me. “So much for appreciating the new place.”
“She’s appreciating it in her own way.”
That might be true, but now there’s a kink in my plans. I had this big idea…
It can wait, though.
“Come on. Let’s go inside,” she says. “You can put Reina in the new crib. And then I want a tour of our bedroom.”
“That I can do.”
* * *
LEILA
“I approve of the new bed,” I say, my chin on Matteo’s bare chest, my skin cooling in the breeze from the open window.
He gives me a slow, sexually satisfied grin. “We broke it in.”
“Christened the place.”
He laughs. “Is it weird to think that strangers are going to break in all the other beds?”
“A little.” I run a finger down his abs. The ripple still gets me every time. “But not as thoroughly as we can. We’re in a category all by ourselves.”
I’d meant it as a joke, but his face gets serious. “We are, baby. I love you a little more every day. And I hope this place makes lots of happy memories for years to come.”
“It will. I know it.”
“Hey, did you just hear…?”
Even before he finishes the sentence, I hear Reina babble into the baby monitor. She’d slept through the transfer from the backpack to the crib. And then she’d stayed asleep long enough for Matteo and me to jump each other.
“I’ll get her,” Matteo says. “Just let me put on my pants.” He slides out from under me, locates his boxers, and hops into them.
