Page 98 of Reckless
Ten months?God. She was nine months when I met her. It seems impossible that a month has passed. There’s a part of me that wants to say no and take her home myself. I want to watch her fall asleep and be there when she wakes up.
But Winter jumps at the opportunity. “Thank you, Loretta. That would be lovely.” She bends down to the stroller and presses a kiss to Vivi’s cheek. And I decide, fuck it, I’m doing the same. So, I place my beer onto the bar and with one hand on the small of Winter’s back, I bend into the stroller and give my daughter’s soft, pudgy cheek a goodnight kiss.
When I straighten, I’m immediately faced with Kip’s stare on me from the opposite side of the dance floor. His dark eyes bore into me as they narrow.
I glare back at him, my hand still firmly pressed to his forgotten daughter’s back. I graze my thumb over the silky pink fabric. This dress looks far too much like some sort of sexy nightgown. It really should be illegal.
“Bye, Mom,” is my absent acknowledgment of her departure.
I’m sure the stare down is obvious, but I don’t give a fuck. Kip might be her dad, he might even be a nice enough guy, but he hurt Winter and hasn’t done shit to show up for her.
Which puts him in the asshole column as far as I’m concerned.
“Wow. This champagne is great.” Winter sidles closer to me, turning her body toward mine as she holds the glass up to assess it. “Like not too fizzy, you know?”
I’m sure she’s aware of who I’m watching, but I wonder if she understands how territorial I’m feeling. “I’m glad. You okay?”
She nods, top teeth sinking into her bottom lip. Finally, she gives me her eyes for more than a few seconds for the first time today. “Yeah.” Her teeth go back to working at her lip, like she’s trying to clamp down on words she wants to say.
I ghost a finger over her lip and it sends a jolt of lust to my groin. “If you want to be bitten, I can help you with that.”
Her eyes widen and she quickly covers by taking a sip of champagne.
Then the questions come.
“Why did you keep that coaster? My phone number?”
“Because I knew I was coming back. You were a mess—respectfully—and I was out of control. We both needed time.”
A thin laugh spills from her lips. “I’m still a mess now.”
I splay my fingers lower on her back, trailing them over the top seam of her underwear as I gaze out over the packed dance floor. “Maybe I don’t care. Maybe I want to be messy with you forever.”
Her body jolts, and I smile before taking a swig of my beer. It feels like several minutes before she says another word.
And they aren’t the words I want.
“Truly, this champagne is superb. Like not too sweet. Not too dry. I’ll have to ask Summer for the name so I can get a bottle.”
“I’ll buy you literal cases of it if you stop avoiding the conversation at hand.”
She sighs and follows my gaze out onto the dance floor where Rhett is spinning Summer. Her full dress trails around behind her, cast almost as wide as the grin on her face. Jasper has Sloane pressed against him like every person in their vicinity might try to remove her from his grip. And Willa is dancing with Luke, doing the most insane moves until they both laugh uncontrollably.
“I don’t know how to react to you when you talk like that, Theo,” Winter says in a soft voice. “Like...what was it then? Love at first sight? I just...that makes me uncomfortable. That’s a movie thing, not a real-life thing.”
“When you saw Vivi for the first time, did you know you loved her? Did you need time and space to come around to the idea? Or did you take one look at her and justknow?”
A deep sigh lifts her shoulders. “I just knew.”
I pull her closer, feeling her stomach press against my hip, her breast against my ribs, as I drop my voice and splay my fingers over her ass. “When I saw you...I don’t know. I don’t want to call it love at first sight. Maybeneedat first sight?Wantat first sight? A connection. It was knowing I’d never get sick of your eyes wandering over my body with that slack-jawed feral look on your face.”
“You should really try this champagne. I think you’d like it.”
“Winter, seriously with the champagne again?”
Her body melts against mine even as her words stay conflicted. “I just...That’s crazy. That makes no sense.”
A laugh rumbles in my chest. “I ride bulls for a living, so it’s not the first time I’ve been called crazy. I guess I’m just crazy enough to want my eight seconds on the frigid ice-queen sister too.”
