Page 97 of Better Daddy

Me: Hey, call me after you get T.J. to bed. I just felt Tia move…and I miss you.

The dots don’t even dance on the screen before a message appears.

Sully: On my way.

Me: Sully, it’s late. It would be silly to drive all this way. I’ll see you tomorrow. I was just missing you and wanted you to know it.

I’ve barely set the phone down when there’s a knock on the door.

What the hell?

I set the computer on the bed and pad to the entryway, and I’m only a little surprised when Sully’s face greets me on the other side of the peephole. I throw the door open quickly, excitement coursing through me. In a sweater and a pair of jeans, he looks utterly delicious. But it’s the smile on his face that makes my stomach flip.

“Has she done it again?” he asks as he sets a brown bag on the table in the foyer.

“Not yet, but what are you doing here?” I ask as he wraps his arms around me.

The feel of him pressed up against me sends emotions flooding my system. The smell of him, the hardness of his chest, and the comforting warmth emanating from him pummel into me, overwhelming me in the best of ways.

He dips his head into my shoulder and breathes me in. With a kiss to my neck, he murmurs, “I missed you too much.”

I peek up at him. “T.J.?”

“Was excited for spaghetti night with Cal. They put butcher paper down on the table and dropped the spaghetti and sauce andmeatballs directly onto it. They were eating with their hands when I left.” He scowls.

Laughter bubbles out of me. “Oh my god, that must have driven you crazy.”

He chuckles. “Yes, sweetheart.” With one arm still banded around me, he snags the paper bag and leads me inside.

“No wonder you came to the city for dinner.” I chance a glance at him quickly to see his reaction, because something tells me that wasn’t what he was doing.

He rolls his eyes. “Right. No wonder.”

“So whatcha got there?” I ask, pointing to the bag.

He gives me a sexy as hell smirk. “Cheesecake from Paulo’s.”

Mouth watering, I reach for the bag. “Seriously?”

He laughs. “Kitchen or bed?”

“Totally eating in bed.”

“I’ll grab the utensils. You go pick a movie,” he tells me, heading for the kitchen.

I practically skip into our bedroom, grinning like a fool, only to pull up short at the sight of my computer.

With only a second’s hesitation, I shut it and move it to the nightstand. My excitement over Sully’s surprise far eclipses any excitement I had over the new job.

When Sully walks in, I’m cozy under the covers, propped up by a mountain of pillows, with the to-go container set between our spots.

“What did you pick?” Sully eyes the TV with an easy expression.

He doesn’t care what I put on. He rarely stays awake for an entire movie. If he’s not planning to stay in the city tonight, he’ll have to, I guess, but my goal, I’ve already decided, is to lure him into spending the night here.

“Top Gun,” I tell him.

He grins. “Your favorite.”