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I glanced between them all. “Every Thursday?”
“Yep! Because I really like movies but I gotta limit my screen time.”
My spirit swam, and I tried to make sense of how this man who was lined in brutal bone and written in grisly ink made sure that this little boy limited his screen time.
Raven pushed her stool back with a screech of the legs and a chuckle from her throat. “River likes Disney flicks more than any of us. He’ll never admit it, but he’s nothing but a big softie.”
His dark eyes narrowed. “Nothin’ soft about me.”
Giggling, she waltzed over, carrying her plate and wine, and planted a kiss on top of his head. “Nothing but that melty heart of yours.”
Another grunt.
She cracked up like it was hysterical. “See. So sensitive.”
Irritation flashed through his expression, and I tried to hide the laugh that rolled up my throat.
“Watch yourself,” he said. That warning was for me, stealing the air from my lungs.
Raven tittered, enjoying the show too much. “All right, I’m going to toss these plates into the dishwasher really quick, then we can do this thing.”
“Yes!” Nolan shouted, and he climbed onto his feet and jumped off the stool, landing in a chaotic thud on the ground. “Let’s do this thing!”
“Nolan, you know the rules. No jumping off the furniture. You forget the last time you took a tumble and knocked your tooth out?” River asked him as he wiped his mouth with a napkin.
Nolan shrugged. “Well, I got to meet my Miss Charleigh that day, so I think it was a good sacrifice. That’s what love’s all about, right, Dad? Sacrifice? My dad told me that.”
On the last, the child looked at me.
My stomach ached.
My heart ached.
My body ached.
Ached in the best of ways.
God. I was being an idiot. Getting so cozy like this. Acting as if I might be able to carve a spot for myself in their lives.
Giggling, Raven lifted her brows at River. “How are you going to argue with that?”
River was shaking his head as he stood and began to gather the empty boxes, the man so big beside me, the muscles of his arms bristling as he leaned around me to reach for a box in the middle of the island.
His chest brushed my shoulder.
I wanted to turn and press my face into his shirt. Breathe him in. The leather and the ink and the masculinity.
“Kid’s a master manipulator, that’s for sure,” he grumbled.
Nolan tsked. “Hey, Dad, you gotta know I just got important things to say.”
A chuckle rumbled around in River’s chest, warm and filled withadoration. “Yeah, buddy, guess you just have really important things to say.”
River moved around the island and pulled out a drawer where the garbage was located and started tossing boxes into the compost bin, while Raven began piling dishes into the dishwasher.
Standing, I wound around to Raven’s side and nudged her to give me some space. “Let me help.”
She swung her attention to me, and the softest smile played on her pretty face. “Told you.” The words were hushed.
