Page 53 of Fall Over You

Her face doesn’t reflect any excitement at the prospect. “What about Pussy’s song?”

Tyler’s cheeks redden and he stifles a laugh when he glances my way. “I bet you can teach it to Becca. She’d love to sing Pussy’s song.”

“Okay,” Ellie says, but her eyes go glassy. “Will you be in the next room later?”

Tyler nods gravely. “Of course, shug. I’ll be sleeping in the next room as soon as I get done here. You’ll be asleep but I’ll come give you a kiss anyway.”

Will he come give me a kiss too? I want to make a joke, but for Ellie’s sake, I keep it to myself.

I’m trying not to stare, really, I am. But his bicep is so deliciously full as he holds her up on his hip. The man is a poster child for excellent fatherhood, an overworked mom’s wet dream.

I’m not even an overworked mom and it’s having an effect on me. My evening shower might be spicier than normal while I work out some of these feelings.

An image of Tyler showering, water sluicing down those muscles, comes into my head and I have to physically shake it to make it go away.

“You alright, Reba?”

I shiver, and not just from the cool fall evening. “Yeah, sorry. Just tired.”

He bobs his head. “Alright. Straight to bed, both you girls.”

Tyler hands Ellie off to me and kisses her cheek. He pauses next to me before training his gaze on the floor. Of course I’m not getting any affection. It’d be weird for Ellie, and for both of us.

“Goodnight, Daddy.”

“Night, shug. I’ll see you in the morning and we can have another couple of those muffins Miss Becca likes so much.”

TWENTY-ONE

TYLER

“Knock knock?”

I already knew Becca was coming back. Her headlamp bounced across the yard with her approach and I was afraid something was wrong with Ellie. But then I saw the screen of the baby monitor in her hand and figured all was well.

“Hey. Still in here,” I call.

Becca looks shy peering around the doorframe. She extends a bottle of Gatorade from her hand, pointedly looking at my eyes and not my naked torso. It’s fun to see her flustered like this. She was clearly checking me out when she brought Ellie to say goodnight, but now that we’re alone, she’s trying to maintain decency. Still, it padded my ego to know that if all else fails, I can take my shirt off and it’ll do something to her.

“You look . . . hot,” she says. “I figured you need some electrolytes.”

I swallow hard, bobbing my head both to agree and to make my throat work. I bend to empty my hands, then take the bottle from her. “Yeah, thanks. That’s really nice of you.”

“You know me,” she jokes. “Making sure I’m still in the running to be your wife.”

I twist to open the Gatorade bottle and laugh. “I can safely say that you are the top candidate.”

Her cheeks are pink when she giggles. “I’d better not let it get out that you’re on the hunt. There’ll be a line clear out Creek Road. They’ll throw a pageant in town.” She reads it like a newspaper headline. “Paint’s hottest single dad seeks wife.”

I roll my eyes and chuckle. “I don’t need a pageant to know you’re the only one I’d marry.”

Becca narrows her eyes at me. “Is this an ‘I’d only marry you if you were the last woman on Earth’ situation? Because ouch. I at least need to know I edged out a little of the competition.”

I almost bark out my rejection of that idea. She’s the only one I’d want to marry. Period. I know that in my gut, but saying it out loud is too intimidating. Just last night I was telling her I’m not having sex with her, but it’s not for lack of desire. I want to. Bad. I’m just a little gun shy after how much my last relationship ruined me.

“That’s not what’s happening here,” I assure her.

She clears her throat while I take a drink. “We didn’t really talk for a while. I was thinking maybe before we consider getting married we should . . . get to know each other again.”