Page 37 of Doctor Holliday
And more importantly, if he did want more, if he did want to spend most of his free time with Lucy—when she was free, of course—would she want the same thing?
“I know Callie’s eighteen,” she said softly, “but I don’t think I feel right being away all night. With you.”
He had expected her to say that. And as much as he hated the thought of dressing, of watching Lucy cover her creamy, pale skin, her delicious curves, and the two of them going back out into the cold night, he liked that she felt she should go home to her daughter.
“Okay.” He rolled over to his side and cupped her chin in his hand. “You say the word, and I’ll drive you home.”
“What time is it?” she whispered. “I think I can probably stay until midnight.”
They shared a chuckle, but Lucy pushed at him gently until he flipped over to lie on his back again. She eased her leg over him and moved to straddle him.
“You’re gonna need more condoms.”
“I am?” He smoothed his hands up her sides and locked eyes with her as she combed the hair back from his face. “We’ve only used one so far.”
“Mmm. Well, if we use two a night, that’s only going to last us seventeen days.”
Her words burrowed into him, under his skin, and into his blood, making his body burn for her.
“And I have the sneaky feeling, you could probably do a little more than that,” she whispered as she leaned over to brush her lips over his.
“Damn right I can.” He caught her hand in his and lifted her fingers to his mouth to nip at them. If this was her way of suggesting she wanted to be around for a while, Keaton would show her just exactly how much he loved that idea.
Chapter 17
Wednesday,December 20th
Lucy
Callie didn’t have to be brilliant to understand that something significant had changed. True, Lucy had been seeing Keaton less than a full week, and no, they hadn’t rushed to get their daughters together or make plans to move in after several dates and several intimate moments. But Lucy knew she was different.
Before Keaton, she had been happy. She had always considered herself a strong, independent woman, with a positive mindset. After all, she loved her life. Callie was her number one person, she was close to her parents and siblings, and she loved her career. She didn’t need a man to make her smile, to make her laugh, to make her enjoy day to day life.
But spending time with Keaton, falling for Keaton, had put so much joy, contentment, in her heart, that it was spilling over. The first time it happened, she and Callie were watching a sappy holiday movie, and she cried when the couple finally professed their love for each other. The next time, she was on the phonewith Kim, and she was trying to answer her sister about how things were going with Keaton. Callie, of course, was in the kitchen while Lucy was talking. And blushing. Even though she wasn’t talking about the sexy things she and Keaton liked to do when they were alone, she blushed like a schoolgirl when she talked about him, and Callie noticed.
“Are you inviting him to Christmas dinner? At Marty and Deanna’s?”
Lucy looked up from the sandwiches she had in the cast iron skillet. When she felt Callie watching her, she aimed an overly dramatic scowl in her direction. The trouble with being a fun but fair mom was that Callie always knew those looks weren’t serious.
“I gotta quit putting you on speakerphone,” she mumbled.
“Callie’s there?” Kim asked with a laugh.
“She is.”
“Hey, Cal.”
“Hi, Aunt Kim.” Callie sidled up to the counter and sat down on a stool.
“Talk your mom into bringing the boyfriend to Christmas dinner. I want to meet him.”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” Lucy argued.
“You’re dating, Mom,” Callie reminded her. “You’ve been inseparable since the two of you delivered that baby.”
“We’re not inseparable,” Lucy argued. “He’s not here now, is he?”
“No, but he dropped by earlier. Remember? Brought you the Italian dressing you needed for dinner. And a bouquet of flowers.”