Page 57 of Tru Blue
“Gemma!” She looked to be in her midtwenties. Her hair was pinned up in a messy bun and held in place with a…straw? Wiping her hands on a towel, she came around the counter with a bright smile. “Who have you brought for me to meet today?” She crouched in front of Kennedy.
Kennedy moved behind Gemma’s leg and peered around it at the friendly woman. Gemma placed a hand on Kennedy’s back, soothing her so sweetly and naturally Truman’s heart gave a little tug.
“Hi, Pen. This is Kennedy.” Gemma knelt beside Kennedy. “Kennedy, this is my friend Penny. She loves to give little girls ice-cream cones.”
Kennedy blinked warily at Penny. She had come out of her shell at home, but she was still tentative around strangers.
“What’s your favorite flavor?” Penny asked.
Gemma glanced up at Truman. “That’s what we’re here to find out.” She lifted Kennedy into her arms and walked over to the freezer, allowing Kennedy to see all the vats of colorful ice cream. “I think we need to taste a few.”
“A girl after my own heart,” Penny said. She rose to her feet and smiled at Truman. “But first, who is this tattooed man with the baby following you around? A stalker?”
“I can’t believe I didn’t introduce you.” Gemma touched Truman’s hand, looking at him with that expression that made his stomach go funky. “This is my boyfriend, Truman. And this little guy”—she tickled Lincoln’s cheek—“is his little boy. Kennedy’s brother.”
Those five words stole his focus.
My boyfriend and his little boy. Truman had never been a boyfriend before. Hearing Gemma claim him like that, so readily and with pride in her eyes, reinforced how important of a role it was. For both of them. Hearing her call Lincoln his little boy made him want to correct her, because they’d become so close, the kids felt like they were theirs, not solely his, but he held his tongue.
“Gemma’s boyfriend? And you’re a package deal with these two adorable kids? Where have you been hiding?” Penny went in for a hug. Then she squeezed his biceps and patted his stomach.
Truman looked over her head at Gemma, who laughed at his discomfort.
“Nice to meet you, too, but I’m not carrying any weapons if this is a pat down.”
“Pat down? Ha! This is a feel up.” Penny laughed and walked around the counter. “I gotta get my feels where I can.”
“Once is all she gets,” Gemma said.
Truman loved the territorial glint in Gemma’s eyes.
Kennedy tasted a bunch of flavors, finally settling on birthday cake, and as they ordered, sadness swept through him. He was sure Kennedy had never had a birthday cake. He glanced at Gemma, who looked like she was thinking the same thing. They were so in sync, in the bedroom and out, and it never failed to surprise him.
By the time they said goodbye to Penny, Kennedy had come out of her shell. She waved with a sweet smile and a mouthful of ice cream as they headed outside.
“Let’s take the stroller down to the beach. It’s too nice of a night to drive.” Gemma opened the trunk of her car, and Truman handed her Lincoln so he could set up the stroller.
She brought so much joy into his and the kids’ lives, he couldn’t wait to show her how being with her had changed him. He’d taken advantage of the evenings when Gemma hosted events to finish the painting he’d begun what seemed like a lifetime ago. The demons that used to propel his every move had morphed to something altogether different, and it was reflected in his latest painting. For the first time since he was a teenager, when he’d first begun painting in the junkyard, he wanted to share it with the woman who brought light to his darkness.
“Isn’t Penny great?” Gemma’s voice pulled him from his thoughts.
“Yeah. Is Penny always like that?”
“Yes. She’s a riot, isn’t she?”
He lifted Kennedy into the stroller, then lowered the infant bed in the back and settled Lincoln in with his blanket. He gathered Gemma in his arms, heat blazing between them as their bodies connected. “I don’t like other women touching me.”
Gemma went up on her toes and pressed her lips to his in a delicious ice-cream kiss. “I think that might make you the perfect boyfriend.”
