I sigh. “I’ll let you guys decide that one. Just, please, be careful.”
Mom nudges me away from the crib. “Will, we know how to hold a baby. Sara had one. I had two.”
“Yeah, but this one is mine,” I say as she leans down to pick up Joanne, “and I’d rather she cut a few teeth first before we start actively screwing her up.”
“Oh, honey,” she teases. “With this village raising this child, there’s no way to avoid that.”
The baby fidgets in her unfamiliar arms but my mother’s experience shines through. Joanne settles quickly, her eyes opening wider to get a better look at her grandmother.
Sara gently shoves at me with her elbow. “She’s so beautiful.”
Tucker nods. “It’s the eyes.”
I glare at him again.
“I think it’s that wittle nose.” My mother pokes once at it.
“And that hair!” Sara adds. “So much hair.”
“What do you think, Jovie?” Mom glances around. “Where’s Jovie?”
I turn and scan the room, eyes locking on every face but hers. A quick chill prickles my spine.
“Jovie?”
There’s no answer.
I clear my throat. “Probably just in the bathroom or something,” I say. “I’ll check.”
“We’ll be here,” my mother says, her voice disguised with a funny accent. She grins into my daughter’s face. “Don’t you worry about us, Daddy!”
I leave the nursery and head toward the bedroom. Laughter and voices drift off behind me and I hope for some other noise to take their place but nothing does.
“Jovie?” I ask the dark room.
I poke my head into the bathroom, then the kitchen and the laundry room.
No Jovie.
That old panic rises in me as I take wider strides toward the garage, the last possible place she could be — assuming she didn’t disappear into the night.
“Jo—”
I pause, seeing her brown hair blowing softly in the wind outside. She’s sitting on the Bolt in the driveway, her face illuminated by nothing more than the orange lamp on the outer wall.
“Jovie?”
She looks over her shoulder at me, quickly reaching up to wipe the tears off her face. “Hey,” she says.
I step out to join her, treading lightly. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” She sniffs. “Just hormones and all that crap. Got a little overwhelming.”
“It’s okay. You deserve a break. She’s surrounded by parents right now. I’m sure she’ll be fine.”
“Surrounded by parents… and Tucker,” she says.
“Oh, in that case, we better get back in there.”
“Maybe.” She laughs and wipes her nose.
I take a breath of fresh air, my eyes lingering on her face. Smiling or crying. Laughing or screaming. It doesn’t matter what she’s thinking or feeling. She always manages to make me see something new and beautiful about her.
She smiles at me. “No.”
I move in closer to the bike and she instantly shifts forward to make room for me. I sit down behind her and wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her against me as she lays her head back onto my shoulder. I keep my grip loose on her. Jovie might be made of cold, hard steel but she’s still human. She’s still recovering from giving birth and all the sacrifices that came with it. It’s my job to help her do that.
We sit still, silently gazing up into the dark sky. A few stars shine through but it’s a cloudy February night for the most part. At least it’s warm.
She lets out a soft chuckle. “I’ve been out here two minutes and I already miss her.”
I kiss her wet cheek. “Yeah. Me, too.”
“How is that even possible?”
“I feel like we’ve been asking ourselves that question a lot this week.”
“No kidding.” She twists around to me, her eyes full of awe. “I’m a mother.”
I nod. “You are.”
“Wow.”
“You’re just now realizing this?”
“No.” She chuckles. “It’s just… I spent my life as one thing. Suddenly, I’m something new. Something I was never really sure I wanted to be but now I can’t fathom who I’d be otherwise.”
I squint. “Hmm…”
“What?”
“Well…” I look her up and down. “You’re a college graduate, you’re well-employed, and you’re a wonderful mother.”
She leans in. “I pay taxes, too.”
I laugh and kiss her neck through her hair. “You’re like a genuine, responsible adult now.”
“For now,” she teases. “We’ll see how the next tantrum plays out.”
“Is there anything about you that hasn’t changed?”
“You tell me.”
I smirk and stare into her eyes. The tears are gone now but her damp eyelashes still shimmer beneath the dim street lights. “I can think of one thing,” I say. “Something you’ve always had and always will have. No matter what.”
“And what’s that?”
I kiss the edge of her mouth. “Me.”
She smiles. “Smooth.”
“We still have our helmets, too,” I say, gesturing to the Bolt beneath us. “Say the word and we’ll take a midnight ride. Whenever you want. Just you and me.”
Her eyes swell up again. “I’d like that.”
She rests her head back on my shoulder. I lay one hand over her heart to feel it thump against my fingertips as she stares up into the night sky.
“I love you, Jovie,” I whisper in her ear.
Her warm hand settles on mine. “I love you, Will.”
We kiss once more. Just one kiss exchanged from an infinite bounty.
My Jovie. Our future.
Also by Tabatha Kiss
OLD HABITS SERIES
Stand-alone Small Town Romances!
The Mechanic
The Milkman
RICH BITCHES SERIES
Wealth. Power. Brunch.
Pretty Little Thing
Pretty Dirty Trick
Pretty Ever After
SWEET CRAVINGS SERIES
Sugary Sweet. Sinfully Dangerous.
Stand-alone Romances.
Muffin Top
Hot Sauce
THE SNAKE EYES SERIES
Heart-pounding romances. Interconnecting stories.
One unforgettable adventure!
Bodyguard
The Hitman’s Dancer
Love and Wargames
Bloodlines
Hard Bounty
No Fury
THE BAD BALLER BOOKS
Irresistible Stand-alone Sports Romances!
Whiplash
Deeper
Home Run Baby
THE MIDWEST ALPHAS TRILOGY
Romance, Suspense, and MMA!
Unbroken
Undying
THE LUMBERJACK DUET
Wealth. Power. Wood.
Lumberjack BOSS
Lumberjack BRIDE
MIDNIGHT KISSES
Short, sweet, and steamy stand-alone reads!
Billionaire Lover
STAND-ALONE ROMANCES
Bad boys, billionaires, and so much more!
Blind Girl
Ruin Me
2 in the PINK
For more, go to tabathakiss.com
About the Author
Tabatha Kiss lives in Chicago, Illinois. You can probably catch her huddled up in a hoodie, reading a good romance beneath a tree in Jackson Park with her trusty husky by her side. She enjoys roller derby, sushi, and is always searching for her forever bad boy.
In the meantime, she writes.
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