Page 14 of Single Dad's Christmas Gift
“Battery operated boyfriend, my vibrator.”
Laughter bubbles through me.
She wraps the blanket tightly around her.
I kiss her. Pick her up and place her on my lap. Her back is stiff.
“I was laughing with relief, not at you, baby.”
“I’ve never said I love you to a woman, but when I was making love to you and saw your eyes, I knew you were the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with.”
Layla relaxes, brushes a stray lock away from my face.
I wait, hoping she feels the same way.
“Do you mean it?”
There’s a vulnerability in the way she says the words.
“I love your kindness, the way you give everything to your kids–I’m like that with my patients too. Talking with you is fun. And I love the way you aided me and my family help Evie learn to trust again.”
A tear runs down one of her cheeks.
“Hey, it’s okay if you don’t feel the same way. I won’t pressure you. Just give me a few dates before you decide.”
“I love you, Fallon. I thought you’d never be interested in someone like me.”
I’m grinning like a cheshire cat, but I don’t care. I kiss her reverently.
Layla laughs too.
Then I remember her last words. “What do you mean, someone like you?”
She shrugs.
I hold her shoulders. “Look baby, I’ve never had a proper relationship before. So, please be honest with me, cause I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“Well, you’re more experienced and older than me. I thought you might like the more sophisticated woman.”
“All my sexual partners were sophisticated. I never wanted to marry them, like I do with you.”
She searches my face. “Is this a marriage proposal?”
My heart thuds against my chest. I feel like everything that happened in my life was leading me to this moment.
“Yes.”
She looks away from me. That’s what she does when something is worrying or upsetting her.
“Tell me. Honesty, remember?”
“I was engaged before I moved to Blossom Ford. I found out my fiancée was cheating on me with my best friend.”
“Oh, Baby. They didn’t deserve you. That excuse of a man is an asshole!”
“I agree. But one reason why he was having doubts about marrying me was my body. Apparently, women with a huge ass like mine are great for fucking but not marriage. I wouldn’t fit with his worker friends’ nicely proportioned girlfriends.”
“He wasn’t man enough for you.”
