Page 85 of Can't Win 'Em All
“I don’t need a nap,” she protested.
“You have circles under your eyes. You need the rest.”
“And this has nothing to do with the fact that you think I’m nagging you?”
“You are nagging me. I’m okay with it, though.” I kept nudging her until she moved under the covers. Then I proceeded to tuck her in. “The crib will be done when you’re finished with your nap.”
“It’s too late for a nap,” she protested. “I’ll sleep through the whole night if I’m not careful.”
“I’ll wake you up when I’m finished.”
“Do you promise?”
“Either that or I’ll crawl in there to sleep with you.” In truth, I couldn’t see myself waking Ruby. She looked like an angel when she slept. I’d borne witness to more than one nap and I enjoyed watching her each and every time.
She gave me a dirty look. “We agreed on no sex for a bit,” she reminded me.
“I didn’t say I was going to have sex with you. I said I was going to sleep with you. I might need a nap too, and I can’t imagine myself waking you up.”
She cocked her head, considering. “Fine,” she said finally. “But only because I bet you’re warm when you sleep and there’s nothing better than a cozy nap.”
“Thanks for the weirdly effective compliment.” I pulled the covers up and tucked her in, brushing my lips over her forehead, then her cheek, then her mouth before I pulled back. It was just a brief touching of lips and yet it made everything inside of me tingle. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes a little wild when I pulled back.
“Now I’m definitely not going to sleep,” she complained.
I laughed because I couldn’t help myself. “Sweet dreams, babycakes.” I brushed the back of my hand against her cheek. “Rest. I’ll have that crib together before you know it.”
THE CRIB WAS NOWHERE NEAR AS DIFFICULTas I thought it would be to get together. It took me an hour. As anticipated, Ruby was out, snoring away heavily when I went in to check on her. Since I had zero interest in waking her—something I knew would happen when she issued the instructions—I decided to take advantage of the situation. Not in a gross way or anything. Proximity to Ruby was like a drug of late, though, and I wasn’t going to overlook this chance to get high on her.
I stripped off my shirt and track pants, leaving nothing but my boxer shorts on. Then I crawled into bed behind Ruby, who was on her side. I hadn’t eaten dinner yet, and my stomach would growl in protest at some point, but for now I ignored what was inevitable and focused on what was perfection in the moment.
Ruby smelled like cloves. I had no idea what perfume she wore. I didn’t even know if she wore perfume. Whatever it was—body spray, shampoo, perfume—I loved the scent. I buried my face in her hair as I spooned up behind her, inhaled deeply, and let myself fly away on clove-scented dreams.
The next thing I knew, it was morning. Ruby had stopped snoring at some point—really, I found it endearing even if she was embarrassed by it—and was staring hard into my eyes as I struggled to make sense of where I was. More importantly, what time was it?
“Hey,” I said dumbly as I stretched. “What are you doing here?”
She made an incredulous face. “This is my bed.”
“Oh, right.” I wrinkled my nose and smiled. “It’s a really comfortable bed, Ruby. I forgot how comfortable.”
“Excuse me?” She arched a challenging eyebrow.
“I said it’s a really comfortable bed,” I repeated, not missing a beat. Her giggle as I tickled her side filled me with warmth. “I forgot how comfortable it was from the first time.”
“The first time that we never talk about?” she challenged.
I was caught off guard, yet suddenly game. “Then let’s talk about it.” I slid one arm underneath her so I could anchor her to me and rested the other on her stomach. It was pressed between us and I could feel a little flutter against my stomach. “That will never stop being amazing,” I murmured as I closed my eyes. “Is that a foot or an arm?”
She shrugged, her eyes heavy-lidded as she watched me. “I’m not sure. Some people claim they can tell what it is. I am not one of those people. It could be a nose for all I know.”
“You think our child is pressing her face to the outside of your stomach and flaring her nostrils, do you?” I challenged. I didn’t think about it long. “I can see that.” Before I realized what I was going to do, I swooped in and kissed her.
Now, we had been dating for a week. We were having a baby. This was the first time I had kissed her without giving it some thought, though. Well … other than that first night. All thought had flown out the window that night, and I wasn’t sorry. Not even a little. Still, where we were at present dictated that I think about what I was doing.
The kiss had been simple. Instinctual but simple. I held my breath and waited for her reaction.
Surprisingly, she didn’t act as if it was out of the ordinary. “Why didn’t you wake me up?” she asked instead. “You said you were going to.”
