“Like what?”

“I think we should try being a family.” I held my breath and waited for her response.

“I’d like that.” She placed her hands on my shoulders, leaned forward, and kissed me on the cheek. I broke into a wide grin.

“I love you, Caro. I never stopped loving you.” The words came from deeper than my heart, more like my soul, my very core, the very thing that gave living things life. I loved her. Maybe I’d always loved her. But this time I loved her as a man loved a woman, and I intended to show her how much.

“I love you, too, Easton.” Her blue eyes shone with the light of a thousand stars, and she was brighter than every one of them.

“It’s taken me a long time to figure out what I wanted. I don’t think I really knew until just now. I don’t want today, or even tomorrow or next week, I want forever.”

“So do I.”

I bent down and kissed her in front of everyone. I might have lost the bet as Puck Brother, and I didn’t care one damn bit. My teammates catcalled all around me but I ignored them.

This was what I’d wanted for longer than I realized.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Good Morning

~~Caroline~~

Easton stayed the night, and we made love well into the morning. Now I lay cuddled next to him at dawn, our naked bodies entwined. I wanted to wake up like this every morning for the rest of my life, but one step at a time.

We still had some talking to do.

He stirred and opened his eyes and a slow smile spread across his face. “Good morning, beautiful.”

“Good morning to you.” He ran his hand down my back and rested it on my bare ass. I laid my head on his chest.

“We need to talk.”

“Oh, God, I hate the sound of those words. You’re not going to boot me again, are you? No regrets, remember?”

I sat up. This needed to be a face-to-face conversation.

“I’m sorry,” I said, and by the shock on his face, I could’ve knocked him down with a feather.

“Sorry?”

“My behavior. I’ve been really unfair to you. All you asked for was to be a part of our children’s lives, and I fought you at every turn.”

Easton nodded slowly, as if he were considering something. “I’m sorry, too, for pushing you when you weren’t ready to be pushed, for not understanding what you’re going through along with the kids. I’m not usually so impatient.”

“I want to tell them, and I want them to have your last name.”

“You do?” He blinked several times, then swiped his arm across his face. His eyes were suspiciously bright. “When should we tell them?”

“How about this morning?”

“This morning?” Now that the final moment of truth was upon him, he looked scared. “What if they throw a fit and hate the idea of me as their father? What if they blame you for keeping this secret from them?”