Page 27 of Peer & Coco

Chapter 10

The soft suckling soundsof Tyr finding his thumb filled the small bedroom. Peer backed out into the hallway and lightened his footsteps to keep the sound of his boots hitting the wood floor from waking his son.

In the kitchen, he checked the clock on the back of the stove. Coco had left with Lizzy almost an hour and a half ago. He could've used that time to finish the conversation he'd started with her last night.

Picking up Tyr's toys, he tidied the room. Coco had enough to do, the least he could do was pick up after his kid and give her a break. Even when he cleaned the room, she usually went around after him, going further on the job. He couldn't tell the difference between a swept floor and a mopped floor, but Coco could.

Where the hell was she? Baby Hanne was only months old. He knew how often a baby needed to be fed. Lizzy couldn't be away from home too long.

He sat down on the couch and stretched his legs. She'd surprised him by leaving. He'd wanted to explain why he'd stopped last night.

A car door outside alerted him to someone at the house. The closest place to them remained vacant after a foreclosure, and the neighbor on the other side lived around the corner.

He got up and looked out the window, spotting Coco stepping out of Lizzy's car. A car Roar had bought before the baby was born, knowing Lizzy would need transportation. Thankfully, Peer had Coco here, and he'd held off on buying a vehicle to get Tyr around. But car shopping was on his list of things to do. He only needed to find the time.

Coco finally turned away from the vehicle and waved, watching Lizzy drive off. Slowly, she walked to the house. Her sluggish pace worried him.

Usually full of energy, she jetted wherever she went, whether at home or work. He let the blind fall and stepped over and opened the door.

Coco lifted her gaze and looked to him for answers. He would talk until she understood how he was feeling. Nothing would stop him.

Tyr was down for a nap. There were hours until they needed to be at work. He planned to spend every minute until then with her.

"Hey." She stopped in front of him.

He moved back, letting her in the house. She walked over to the kitchen and tossed the two paper coffee cups in her hands in the trash under the sink, and then faced him.

His pulse accelerated. She'd got all dolled up to meet Lizzy. Her makeup dark and shadowing her eyes. He'd learned that she dressed and made herself up to fit her mood, and if he had to guess, she was feeling troubled.

She looked kickass. It was probably his ass she wanted to kick.

"Is Tyr sleeping?" she said quietly.

"Just put him down for his nap." He studied her, concerned about the seriousness in her eyes. "Did you have fun?"

"I always enjoy being with Lizzy." Her gaze flickered away from his for a moment and came back to him as she shrugged. "It's hard for us to find time to get some one-on-one lately. I miss that, and her."

"That's my fault," he said.

She frowned and walked to him. "Why would you say that?"

"I ask too much of you. With me. With Tyr." He blew out his breath. "About last night..."

"Yes?" She stepped closer.

Unable to deny himself any longer, he cupped her face in his hands. If it was up to him, he'd never let her go. She was the one he wanted. Hell, Tyr wanted her.

"I love you," he blurted.

Her eyes widened. He hadn't even thought about what he was going to say, and he threw the bomb at her.

But he wasn't going to take it back.

His hands shook, and he stroked her cheeks with his thumbs. "I had a plan to tell you how I feel before we were interrupted and I know this is going to sound fucked up, but we've been living together for a while now and last night was the first time I'd kissed you."

"Peer," she whispered.

"Look at me." He chuckled at himself. "I'm doing things ass-backward."