Leading me over to a spare bench, Devan carried Huey’s car seat and the drinks, while I balanced all the food. We sat down, and as I watched him fuss with Huey, I couldn’t help but think that anyone looking from the outside would think we were a family. That made my heart feel too big in my chest, and I swallowed down the emotion.

He popped the top off my beer and handed it to me. “Do we toast?” I joked weakly, and he smiled back at me. Damn, that smile. It softened his whole face.

“To the beginning of something new.”

I clinked the neck of my beer against his can of soda. “To new beginnings.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

DEVAN

She made a soft moan every time she ate some pasta. I mean, I got it, it was really good, but those small noises were torture. I could imagine her making them as I buried myself between her thighs and she rode my face.

My phone dinged beside me, and I glanced down at it quickly. Seeing it was River and not work, I opened it.

River: Landed in New York. How are Nova and Huey?

I looked across the table. Nova was telling Huey that mac’n’cheese was definitely going to be his first food. She was smiling, as was the baby, and the sun was bouncing off her hair until it shone like it glowed. Snapping a quick pic, I sent it through to him. Then I saved it.

The dots at the bottom of the screen that said he was typing appeared and disappeared a few times, and I put my phone back down. “River says hello.”

She flushed pink, and I resisted the urge to take another photograph. “Tell him I said hi.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Tell him yourself. He’d like to hear from you, I think. They both would.”

She cocked her head at me. “Are you really okay with all this? No offense, but you don’t seem like the ‘sharing is caring’ type.”

I didn’t begrudge her the surprise. I was still kind of shocked I’d so easily agreed. That I’d followed my gut—okay, maybe it was my dick—instead of my head. But if there were more moments like this, then I knew I’d made the right choice, because Nova was something else.

“Rigby made some good points, and I’m not going to lie to you, Nova. I’ve wanted you since Tucson.” I leaned in closer. “I’ve come more times than I can count to the mental image of you on your knees in front of me.”