Page 26 of One More Kiss

“How the hell…heck could you know?” I asked. “I just figured it out.”

Nash knocked his shoulder into mine. Gently. I appreciated that because I didn’t want to wake the baby.

“The way you look at her—it’s how Cam looks at Jenna or how I assume I look at Aya.”

I pursed my lips. “The lovesick puppy eyes?”

Nash chuckled. “Yep.”

“Hell.”

“Stop corrupting my son,” Nash said again, but there was no heat to his words.

We both stared at the water. “You okay with all this?” I asked. “I mean, your mom—”

“Is dead,” Nash said. His face was stormy, just like always whenever someone brought up Carolina Syad Porter. But he remained relaxed. “And you two were together a long, long time ago.”

“Not that long,” I grumbled.

“Long ago. As in, ancient history,” Nash teased.

“Stop calling me old.”

“I didn’t. You did.”

Nash’s smile slid off his lips and he pressed them together, his expression turning earnest. My heart pounded because I knew this look meant Nash had thought deeply about the subject and he was voicing his deepest concerns.

“Mama Grace is awesome. I like the idea of the two of you together. The two of you have been my parents…at least since Lev died, so it’s like coming home. Granted, you have to win over the Grace kids, but I’m all for one big, blended family.”

Nash rarely mentioned his older brother, but that had been the catalyst for so much change in his life—what brought me into it. I hoped Cam, Jasmine, and I had helped guide him. Even with all our love, he’d made some spectacularly bad decisions. But he was here now, happy and healthy.

Looking back into a time I couldn’t change wasn’t the answer. I knew that, but Jasmine helped clarify my priorities, my future…just as Aya did for Nash.

Levi grunted as he filled his diaper. He opened his eyes and frowned, clearly unhappy with the state of his pants and to find out he fell asleep. He started to fuss, which would soon turn to full-blown cries.

Nash reached for him then stood up, stretching a bit as he talked quietly to his son. Levi, however, was not interested in being soothed.

“All right, I hear ya.” Nash jiggled him a little. “A clean diaper and mommy. I like spending time with her, too.”

I chuckled, loving how the words slipped out of Nash’s mouth. My boy was content and he was so in love with his family. I rose more slowly thanks to my stiffer joints. I dusted the seat of my jeans as Nash headed back toward the house.

He stopped to call back over his shoulder, “For what it’s worth, once you were sure you were my father, you were a good one.”

I stared out at the water for a while longer, soaking up Nash’s words.

Huh. Maybe I did deserve love after all.

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