“What?” he asked, looking completely confused.
“I didn’t know men like you existed. You don’t even know if anything’s wrong, yet you’re talking about taking me to Ohio because you think I might need to see my loved ones.”
“So they’re okay? Then what’s wrong?”
Carlise shook her head. This man. Susie was so wrong about him. This right here was reason number five hundred and sixteen that proved it.
She stepped close and put her arms around his neck. Riggs immediately pulled her flush against him. Then he put a finger under her chin and tilted her head up so he could see her eyes.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
“Is your mom okay?”
“Yes.”
“Susie?”
Carlise nodded.
Every muscle in Riggs’s body relaxed. “Talk to me, sweetheart. Based on your expression when you came outside, I’m imagining the worst here.”
“My mom was thrilled for me. Said she can’t wait to meet you.”
“I want to meet her too,” Riggs said with a small nod.
“Susie . . . She’s not so sure. She thinks I’m insane, actually. That there’s no way I can love you. She’s basically worried. Wants me to come home before you steal all my money and knock me up with one of the fourteen babies she’s sure you must want.”
“Four,” Riggs said immediately.
“What?”
“I’d like four kids. I’ve always wanted a big family, and four kids seems like it would be perfect. They’d always have a friend and someone to play with, someone to have their backs in school, and someone they can lean on for the rest of their lives. I don’t care if they’re boys or girls, just that they’re healthy.”
Carlise swallowed hard.
“What about you? You want kids?”
She nodded.
“Am I freaking you out with the four kids thing?”
Carlise shook her head slowly. “When I was little, I used to tell my mom I wished I had brothers or sisters. I thought that maybe if there were more of us, we could’ve protected Mom better. Or Dad wouldn’t have been so mean. I don’t know. But actually . . . I always thought four would be perfect.” She practically whispered that last part.
“Really?”
She nodded.
Riggs grinned. Huge. “We were meant to be, honey. That’s just another sign.”
Carlise had to agree. “You about done out here?”
“Not yet.”
“Oh,” she said with an exaggerated pout. “I thought maybe you might be too cold. Or hot. Or sweaty. That maybe a shower would sound good right about now.”
“I’ve got about twenty more minutes to—oh. Right. Yeah, now that you mention it, a break would be great. I wouldn’t want to get overheated.”
Carlise grinned, happy he’d picked up on her meaning. “Exactly. And it wasn’t too long ago that you were sick. Maybe I should assist you in the shower. You know, so you don’t fall and hit your head or anything.”
“You want me?” Riggs growled.
Carlise’s cheeks felt hot, but she smiled and nodded anyway.
“You want me, all you have to do is say the word. Because I will never pass up the chance to get inside you.”
His words were blunt, but he somehow made them sound romantic at the same time.
“I want you,” she told him.
Without a word, Riggs turned and grabbed hold of her hand and headed for the cabin.
Baxter barked, as if to ask where they were going.
“We’ll be back, boy. Go on and explore. Make sure things around here are safe. I’ll come back out and finish my chopping and throw more snowballs in a while.”
“Do you think he’ll be okay out here alone?” Carlise asked worriedly, looking back at the dog, who’d already gone back to rolling in the snow.
“He’ll be fine,” Riggs told her as he pulled her up the porch steps.
The second they were inside and the door closed behind them, Riggs’s hands got busy peeling off her coat, and Carlise wasn’t thinking about Baxter or her mom or Susie anymore.
Riggs picked her up and carried her toward the bed. He dropped her on the mattress, and she giggled as she bounced.
“You have ten seconds to get naked,” Riggs warned.
“Or what?”
“Or I’ll do it for you.”
Carlise grinned and threw her arms above her head, smirking up at Riggs. “If you think that’s a threat, you’re wrong.”