Nate made a pit stop in the kitchen, grabbing a carton of salted caramel gelato from the freezer and two small spoons. He joined Casey on the couch.

She held a finger to her lips. “Shhh . . .” She gestured with her eyes to Chloe, who was sound asleep already on her chest. Casey whispered, “Looks like she just wanted to be snuggled.”

“Let’s hope I can work the same magic on Cara,” Nate said, gently patting her on the back. After a minute, Cara settled in, letting out a soft exhale as she rested her head against his wet T-shirt.

“Do you want me to get one of Bryan’s T-shirts for you?” Casey asked him.

He shook his head. “Guys don’t borrow other guys’ T-shirts. Especially not guys who are married to their sisters. The only guy who I would ever borrow a shirt from would be my brother. And I don’t have a brother, so as you can see, I’m never going to borrow another man’s T-shirt.”

“On the other hand, I do not have this issue whatsoever. I would happily go take one of Kat’s T-shirts right now if I needed it, no questions asked, and I guarantee she wouldn’t have a problem with it.”

“Another beautiful difference between men and women. Anyway, I’ll grab a new one at home before we head to the airport. I need to swing by my house anyway. I forgot to bring my suitcase.” Nate popped open the top of the ice cream container and dug in. He brought the spoon to his mouth and was about to take a bite when he stopped and handed a utensil to Casey. “Ladies first.”

She took a spoonful of the ice cream then she froze, holding the spoon in midair. “I just had an idea,” she said, unfreezing as she snapped her head to look at him, her eyes practically glittering with excitement.

“No, Casey,” he chided. “We are not going to do it on my sister’s kitchen counter. You’re insatiable, woman.”

Admittedly there was a bit of truth to that. They’d been together a few times since the ballpark, but then they’d had to take a break mid-week when he travelled to Vegas where he met with Brent Nichols, a wildly successful late-night comedian who was also prepping to open a new nightclub in the city of sin. The club was on the outskirts of town, and Nate had been talking to him about the prospect of relocating it inside The Luxe on the Strip. That trip had cut into his time with Casey, but in the few nights he’d seen her before, they’d made the most of the shortened hours, and she’d passed his spanking course with flying colors. She’d also discovered that she was particularly fond of having her hair pulled when he took her from behind, with her bent over the bathroom sink. He’d told her to look in the mirror as he gripped her hair tight in his fist. My God, the sight of her wild abandon reflected back at him was branded on his brain forever. In fact, the image had proven quite useful one late night alone in Las Vegas when he’d taken matters into his own hands.