“Were your ears burning?” I ask, my eyes drifting down her sexy body that’s covered in sweat and sawdust.
“No…why? Were you talking about me?” she inquires, turning to face me with concern in her eyes. “I thought we were keeping this a secret.”
I shrug. “From Everly, yes. I didn’t think that it mattered if I told Dean. Have you not talked to Dakota about any of this?”
“Yeah, I guess I have.” She bites her lip and glances down at her water bottle. “So what were you talking about exactly?”
“Life,” I reply with a laugh. “The future.”
“The future?” Cassandra looks nervous.
“Yeah.” My eyes narrow on her. “Like, what do you want out of life?”
Her cheeks turn pink as she leans against the island counter. “What do you mean?”
“Career, marriage, babies?” I lift my shoulders up and down like I’m talking about the weather now.
Her eyes widen. “Jesus, we’re skipping some steps here, aren’t we?”
I shrug again, feeling suddenly very motivated to push her on this, like this conversation is going to be the determining factor in my feelings and whether or not I press on or pull back.
“I’m not saying you have to be thinking about any of this with me,” I add, trying to soothe her anxiety. “But I’m just curious what you want out of life.”
“Did you forget I subscribe to the willy-nilly lifestyle?” She laughs nervously and takes a long drink of her water.
“But surely you know if you want kids,” I press, not willing to let her joke her way out of this.
Do I want kids? My eyes instantly lower to her belly and the idea of it swollen with a baby of our own makes my cock thicken in my jeans. Jesus, is this a breeding kink? Is that a thing?
She licks her lips thoughtfully and lifts her brows. “I’d probably like a kid if I could be guaranteed he or she was as cool as Everly.”
I smile and nod. “I can’t find a fault in that.”
“Are you trying to find a fault?” she asks, her brows pinched together.
“I’m trying to find similar end goals,” I answer firmly. “I don’t like sneaking around, and I want to make sure we’re on the same page here.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning that you have real feelings for me and I’m not just a summer fling for you during your Great Defrost.”
“You’re not a summer fling,” she snaps defensively as she wipes at a bead of sweat that’s fallen down her temple. “You’re like…the most unexpected, shocking, sexiest, best surprise of my life.”
Her words send a rush of heat through my body as my lips pull back into a smile. “Do you mean that?” I inquire, stalking toward her to close the space between us. No kid around means I don’t have to give my curvy girl any space.
“Yes, I mean it,” she replies with a laugh as I cage her in, my hands pressed on the countertop on either side of her. “You are an even better surprise than Kate asking me to make cocktuterie boards.”
My brows lift. “Cock what?”
She laughs again and sets her water bottle down on the counter and wraps her hands around my neck. “These crazy charcuterie boards Kate wants me to make. Max, I don’t think you realize that I’m not sure I’d be ready to dive into this adventure with her if it wasn’t for you.”
“Me?” I ask, desperate for her to elaborate. “What did I do?”
She inhales deeply and smiles. “You’ve inspired me to start dreaming again.” Her voice catches, so she looks away as she shakes her head in wonder. Narrowing her eyes, she gazes back up at me. “These feelings I have for you are real and intense, and they make me imagine a completely different life for myself that I wouldn’t allow myself to imagine after my stroke.”
“A good life?” I pry, needy and not giving a fuck about that fact. I want to be a thousand percent sure that this woman is worth risking my heart for again. Because I can feel it hanging tenuously by a thread, just waiting to be beat to a pulp again.
“I’m imagining a great life.” She runs her finger over top of my brows, a bizarre sign of affection that is distinctly Cozy. “But let’s put the future talk on ice until we, you know, have another date or something?”
I growl and lower my lips to hers. “I’ll allow it. For now.”
“Evie-Bear, you’re here!” my mom Johanna peals from her front door as I stand in my tux holding a pink overnight bag. Everly wraps her arms around my mom’s slender frame.