“Call me afterwards, okay?” Kim squeezes me in a hug.
“I will.” I kiss her cheek. “Give that to Cecily on my behalf.”
“You say that as if she spends time with me when her daddy is around.”
I smile as I wave at her, then at Teal and Ronan, who are pulling out of the Meet Up.
Aiden left with Elsa, Eli, and Astrid’s twin boys because their parents are still MIA.
Cole straps a sleeping Ava in the baby seat in the back of the car and kisses her adorable cheek.
“Daddy…” she mumbles in her sleep. “Mummy…”
A smile grazes my lips as Cole kisses her forehead before he joins me. I throw a fleeting glance at my messages, then place my phone in my bag.
After putting his seatbelt on, Cole checks mine. It’s become a habit of his. The protectiveness of this man knows no limits. I’m addicted to it, in a way, and I can’t imagine my life without his over-the-top protectiveness. Whenever we’re with him, I completely let go because I know my baby girl and I are completely safe in his company.
He places a hand on my thigh — as usual — while he pulls the car out of the Meet Up.
For a moment in time, I’m lost watching his side profile and the way he’s grown into this absolutely mouth-watering man. Not that he’s ever been young. Cole has been an adult since he was a child. But he’s currently rocking his thirties like no one else. His physique has kept its lean quality, yet he exudes a lethal type of calm that can be seen from the deep green of his eyes.
Just seeing him puts me in a constant mood to fuck or touch or anything that includes his skin on mine. Not that Cole lets me wait. He’s normally the one who starts it. Like right now.
His fingers keep creeping beneath my dress, and my legs part of their own volition under his ministrations.
“Mum texted,” I say casually, pretending that he’s not about to finger me to an orgasm.
“She did?” he says in his usual calm tone, even as he inches his fingers up.
“She and Papa want to have Ava for the weekend.”
“Tell them no one is taking my daughter away.”
“They’re not taking her away. She is their grandkid.”
“And we’re her parents, Butterfly. We waited for her more than they did.”
That’s true. Still, he’s so possessive of her that Papa and Mum barely have her overnight. They’re older now and ‘need their grandkid’, as Mum keeps reminding me.
“You’re hot.” Cole rips his gaze from the road for a fraction of a second to focus on me.
“I know that.” I still blush. We might have been married for two years and fully public for way longer than that, but Cole still manages to bring the little girl out from inside me. The girl who spied on him when he wasn’t looking.
The girl who watched him while he watched everything else, and was oblivious when he watched her.
“No.” He removes his hand from between my legs and places it on my forehead. “You’re feverish. Did you have something to drink?”
“No.”
“Then what is it?”
“I…let’s go home first.”
“Tell me, Silver.”
“I have an entire evening planned.”
He narrows his eyes on me. “An entire evening for what?”
A wave of nausea hits me out of the blue and I grab my mouth. “Stop the car.”
He does and I open the door, flying out and heaving on the side of the road.
Cole joins me in a second, holding my hair and stroking my back. This scene is so similar to the other time.
“Silver…” Cole holds my shoulders after I finish. “Are you…”
Damn it. I really planned an evening for this, and I even made Kim help me pick the candles and everything, but now, I don’t have a choice.
I take his hand and place it on my stomach, nodding.
“You’re pregnant?” he asks, eyes widening in wonder.
“I am. I found out this morning and planned a romantic night to celebrate. Now it’s all ruined.”
“Who says it’s ruined?” He holds me to him, kissing my nose. “We’ll celebrate until the morning if that’s what you want. Thank you for being mine, Butterfly.”
“Cole…”
He wipes my tears away with a smile and I groan, “Stupid hormones. They’re going to make our lives hell now, like when we were expecting Ava.”
“I couldn’t give two fucks about that. As long as you’re healthy, I’ll take care of the hormones.”
I bite my lower lip. “You will?”
“Oh, I fucking will.” He carries me in his arms bridal style and I squeal, then laugh as he takes me to the car.
Cole doesn’t wait until we get home.
