Everyone finishes eating, and thankfully, our text exchange stops—probably because we took ourselves to a level we needed to come down from.
When I set a serving bowl in the sink, Bennett steps up behind me.
“Laney,” he says, voice low and dangerous in my ear, “I’m going to rip those panties off of you tonight.”
I glance over my shoulder. “And how do you plan on accomplishing that?”
His hand skims the back of my thigh. “I’m finding us a babysitter.”
“Oh my god, get a damn room,” Romy says, coming in the kitchen, holding dishes.
Lottie comes in and stands next to Romy. “For the entire night.”
Darla breezes in. “It’s cute. The girls will stay with us tonight.”
Bennett winks at me.
“I’m going to send a text to Nash and Jensen to clear the house,” Romy says, pulling out her phone.
“Or at least drop off earplugs.” Lottie smiles at us.
“It’s the polite thing to do,” Darla says with a chuckle.
Bennett isn’t embarrassed in the slightest, putting his arm around my waist and bringing me into him, kissing the nape of my neck.
We’ll need to figure this out eventually, but right now, I just want him to make good on his promises.
Chapter Forty-Five
Bennett
We pull into the softball field’s parking lot, and I realize I’m a little nervous about playing in front of Delaney. I want to impress her, but I’m not a home-run hitter like Ben or a scrappy double hitter like Brooks. I’m a solid player, but if I play shitty, I don’t take it home with me.
“Yay, we’re here!” Wren screeches from the back seat.
I park and cut the engine. Wren’s going on and on to Leia about the games and how fun they are to watch, and she hopes their cousins Colter and Daisy are here.
I shift in my seat to face Delaney. “You sure you don’t mind watching Wren?”
She gives me an annoyed look and rolls her eyes. “No, for the millionth time.”
“It’s just?—”
She cuts me off with her hand on mine, then climbs out of the truck. She opens the back door and tells the girls to unbuckle. Since we’re in the first parking spot next to the field, she asks them to go say hi to Aunt Lottie and Uncle Brooks and to stick with them until she gets there.
Once they’re gone, she climbs back in the cab of the truck and shuts the door. “Listen, because I’m only going to say this once. Yes, Leia is my daughter, I share blood with her, but I’m hoping Wren will be my daughter one day too. That is, if she’ll welcome me as another mother to her. With us comes them. There is no yours or mine, it’s us, so I’d much rather you didn’t ask me if I’m good with watching her. She is part of us, and I don’t want it any other way.”
Fuck, how did I get so lucky with this woman? I push back the nugget of guilt that hits me every time I think about letting her go all those years ago.
Instead, I grip the back of her head, pulling her toward me and smashing my lips to hers. She moans, and I take it as an invitation to slide my tongue through the seam of her lips.
She inches forward. I really wish we weren’t in a parking lot with trucks pulling in and people walking by. Otherwise, I’d pull her onto my lap and get her off with my fingers.
A loud bang on the window interrupts us. “You’re parents, for Christ’s sake.”
I close the kiss and rest my forehead on hers, both of us catching our breaths. “Emmett,” I whisper.
“He’d be the one.”
