Page 500 of The Parkers' Handsome Holiday
He turned his head toward me. His hair looked wild after the sex in the best way. “I’m sorry that I hurt you.”
“You were doing what you thought was best. So was I. I guess we didn’t really know what was best until it was gone, huh?”
“I guess not.” He pulled my hand to his lips and kissed my knuckles. “I hope you know that you’re stuck with me now. I don’t plan on ever letting go again.”
I rolled onto my stomach and rested my chin on his chest. “Good, because I don’t want to be anywhere else.”
“I assume this means you don’t care that the office knows about us?”
I shook my head. “I want people to know about us.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Really? What changed?”
“Everything,” I breathed. “We’re not just a fling anymore, Chadwick. Sure, everything happened really quickly, but you mean so much more to me than the petty opinions of my coworkers. You wait and see, this will all be old news by mid-January and people will have moved on to bigger and better subjects of gossip.”
“Bigger and better than me?”
I giggled and kissed his shoulder. His skin was hot, and he smelled so damn good. “You can’t be the center of attention forever.”
“Well, that’s disappointing.”
“Don’t worry,” I purred, “I’ll be waiting for you in the shadows when you fall out of the limelight.”
He rolled onto his side and propped his head up in his hands. The moonlight streaming through the window behind me painted his features in contrasting shadows, and I was tempted to pinch myself to make sure this moment was real. It felt all too perfect.
Chadwick watched me while I watched him, and I wondered if he was feeling the same way as me.
“What are you thinking about?” I asked.
“All the questions I haven’t had time to ask you.”
“Ask away,” I said. “We have time.”
He looked down and trailed his fingers up the back of my bare leg, over my ass, and up my spine. My skin erupted in goosebumps, but his touch felt so good that I didn’t dare move as he let his hand sweep back down.
“Do you want kids?” he asked.
His question surprised me. “Coming out of the gate strong.”
“Should I start with an easier question?” He pursed his lips together, feigning thoughtfulness. “Where do you see yourself career wise in ten years? Do you still want to be at Bamford’s? Do you have ambitions to leave and go somewhere else for your dream job?”
I felt my eyebrows draw together. “Leave Bamford’s?”
He nodded.
“No,” I said simply. “Bamford’s is my dream job. I don’t want to go anywhere. I especially don’t want to go anywhere now that there’s a you and me. People don’t get lucky enough to work with their person, and I think we’re pretty compatible. Not to mention,” I added, “you need me for obvious reasons.”
“Is that so?”
“Definitely. I’m the organization to your chaos and you know it. Hugh might be good at sort of keeping you on track, but I’m better. With my focus and your ambition? We’ll be unstoppable.”
“I like the sound of that.”
“And as for kids?” I had no intention of shying away from the question. If he wanted to know, I would tell him. “I always sort of pictured myself with two. I don’t know why, but whenever I try to picture more or less, I come up short. Two kids, a couple of years apart, happy and healthy running around the living room while I make Christmas cookies on Sunday nights after dinner.”
“Where do I fit into this picture?”
“You’re with me in the kitchen obviously,” I said, “cleaning up after me.”
