Page 86 of A Home for Harmony

She lifted and stretched her arms over her head to land around his neck, then hopped up so that her legs were around his waist. “You did. I love waking up like that too. How about you?”

“Shit yeah,” he said, laying his lips on hers softly.

Tenderly.

Gently.

You’d never think Micah Barnes would have that in him if you crossed him on the street. Least of all in his uniform.

He did and she got to witness and experience it.

“I almost wish my family wasn’t visiting today,” she said playfully. “Then we could spend the time in bed.”

“Another time,” he said. “I know you want me to meet your siblings and your father is coming too, right?”

She was happy her father decided to come for the day. Of course that meant at some point she was going to have to tell her mother too.

Ugh, that could put her in a worse mood than thinking of who was sending her slimy messages!

“Yes. I want you to meet them,” she said. “Are your parents around? You never said. Only that Trinda’s were.”

“My parents moved to Arizona when they retired. They come back a few times a year for a month.”

“I bet they stay with you, don’t they?” she asked, then unhooked her legs from his waist.

“They do,” he said. “There hasn’t been a reason for them not to. I’m not around much and they come to see Scarlet.”

“Are you an only child?”

“I am,” he said. “My parents wish I would have had more kids.”

She cocked her head to the side. “I guess this might be premature, and they put us on the spot last night, but do you want more kids?”

Micah took a deep breath in and let it out, making her think that what he’d said last night wasn’t true.

“I always wanted more than one.” He was searching her eyes and she was waiting for him to say that he didn’t want one this late in life now. It’d break her heart because they’d just said they loved each other, but maybe they didn’t see their futures aligning. “I’d like another, but I don’t want to wait too long.”

She nodded. That was the same as he’d said last night. “That’s a good answer,” she said. “I wasn’t sure if you truly meant it. I’d like a few kids and I always wanted them close together. I hate being the baby, but maybe it wouldn’t have been as bad if I were closer in age to Erica.”

“Scarlet hated being an only child for years.”

“She’ll still feel like one by the time you have another. She’ll be off to college.”

He snorted. “Yep,” he said. “Do you need to shower?”

Which meant he was done with this conversation and she knew she pushed it more than she should have anyway.

“I do,” she said.

“I’ll start breakfast.”

“That’d be great. I love that you don’t mind cooking.”

“If I didn’t do it, it didn’t get done.”

She wanted to ask if it was like that even when he was married, but it didn’t matter.

She got some clothes out of her room, then jumped in the shower and was down in the kitchen ten minutes later.