Page 84 of Worth the Fall

And she was. Her little brown eyes were laser-focused on every single touch between Brooklyn and me. She giggled constantly and clapped without any reason until I realized thatwe werethe reason, Brooklyn and I.

The conversation flowed around the table, although I couldn’t tell you a single thing anyone talked about. There was a lot of laughter, too, but again, I couldn’t tell you why or what about. My mind refused to focus on anything, except getting out of there and getting Brooklyn alone. Hell, I barely remembered eating.

A tight squeeze on my thigh had me glancing at the woman next to me.

“You okay?” she asked.

“I want to leave,” I said, and apparently, I said it louder than I’d intended because my brothers and dad all started laughing.

At me.

“Go already. We got this.” My dad waved me off, and I think I jumped out of my chair so fast that it almost toppled over.

“Where are you and Miss Brooklyn going, Daddy?” Clara asked from her seat, still holding her fork.

Shit.

If I told her we were going home, would she want to come with us? And how could I tell her she wasn’t invited? It was her home. I was her dad. She couldn’tnotbe allowed to be there.

“Your dad and Brooklyn are going to spend some time alone,” Patrick piped up, clearly trying to help.

“And do what?” she asked, and I heard Matthew bite back a gruff laugh.

I shot him a look as I walked over to where my daughter sat and dropped to my knees. “I’m going to take Brooklyn to our house and maybe watch a movie. You think that would be okay?” I couldn’t lie to her.

Clara nodded her head like she was completely unbothered. “I think me and Uncle Patrick will watch a movie too. Maybe we can watch the same one, but at different houses.” She giggled.

“Maybe. Be good for your uncle, okay?”

“I will. Promise.” She leaned in her chair to wrap her arms around my neck. “Love you, Daddy. Love you, Miss Brooklyn,” she added without warning, and I felt the whole room freeze.

I could have sworn that everyone collectively held their breath.

“Love you too,” Brooklyn responded so easily that I almost believed that she did.

Pushing up from the floor, I turned around, my eyes wide as I reached for Brooklyn’s hand, and I left with her before anyone could say anything else. Once we were out the back door, I stopped walking and grabbed her face with both hands.

“I’m sorry about that. She’s never done that or said that before. Are you freaked out?” I asked when, clearly, it was me who was freaking out.

Brooklyn simply smiled. “I’m okay. She has a big heart. We shouldn’t act like she did something wrong by sharing it with me.”

A lump formed in my throat. This woman constantly caught me by surprise. I leaned forward, my lips taking hers. Her body melted against mine, and I knew my arms were the only things holding her upright.

“Take me home,” she breathed out at the same time I said, “Let’s get out of here.”

The drive back to my place would take less than ten minutes, but you’d never know it by the way I squirmed against the driver’s seat, my dick pressing against the zipper of my jeans. No matter how many times I shifted or tried to adjust the damn thing, it wouldn’t calm down.

The big guy knew what was about to happen. He was just as excited as I was, and I couldn’t blame him. Every time I glanced over at the passenger seat to look at the red-haired goddess sitting next to me, she was watching me, her eyes filled with a desire that I planned on quenching for as long as she let me.

Once I parked the car, closed the garage, and walked into the house, it was on. Our mouths crashed together in a passion-filled exchange of tongues and nipping. We moaned. She hopped into my arms, her legs wrapping around my waist, and I thought I might come apart right then and there, like a scene out ofAmerican Pie.

“I want you so fucking bad, but our first time will not be on the granite countertop in my kitchen,” I said as I kissed her neck, my tongue following the soft lines toward her jaw.

“How about the second?” she teased, her hand running along the length of me, and my knees almost buckled.

“Upstairs. Now.”

I smacked her ass, and she started running. Only once she was at the top of the stairs did she stop and turn around.