Page 49 of Nothing to This

“Sky!”Kye screamed when Sky appeared from between their parents’ legs.

She flopped around just as Sky vaulted off the end of the bed.

“Cookies!”Sky called and ran for the door.

Like it was a call to arms, Kye threw himself away from his father and leaped off the bed to run after his sister.

“Guys!”she called and put a hand on JD’s braced arm, expecting it to move out of her way.

“Let them,” he said.

Still out of breath and underneath him, her eyes met his.Although he remained on his hands and knees, heat rose between them.Was that the humidity of their breath or… something else?

“It’s late for cookies.”

With a fingertip, he stroked her tousled hair from her forehead, drawing it down her temple.“If they win, they get a cookie before bed.”

She smiled.“Daddy relaxes Mommy’s rules.”

“Does he?”he asked, his fingertip continuing to her jaw.

Her rules for the kids… Was he on the same page?

“I meant—”

“I know what you meant… You can sleep with us tonight if you want.Like Kye said, we can squish.I just didn’t want to put you in an awkward position.”

Making a show of glancing around, she used her gaze to make a point of their current position with her on her back under him.“Didn’t you?”

“This isn’t meant to make you uncomfortable; I’m trying to look in your eyes.”

And that explained exactly nothing.

She smoothed a wrinkle on the seam of his tee-shirt.“Because?”

“Because then I’ll be able to tell if I have to ruin the bastard for hurting you.”

EIGHTEEN

The ferocity in JD’s gaze erased her discomfort.

“I told him who you were,” she admitted in a whisper.

“And?He didn’t take it well.”

She shook her head.“And he put things in my mind I don’t like.”

“What things?”he asked, brushing his curled fingers across her cheek.

“Did the kids ever meet Gabriella?”

Surprise and confusion joined his frown.“Gabby?No,” he said.“How did you—”

“He Googled you,” she said, trying to sound as non-accusatory as possible.Biting her lip, she slipped her fingers under the sleeve of his tee-shirt, fidgeting to distract herself.“I didn’t know you were engaged.I’m sorry it didn’t work out.”

Moving away, he sat up between her knees.“It was a complicated situation,” he said, touching her shin, reminding her she was still wearing her dress and it was riding kind of high, not that anyone noticed.“Her father thought the alliance made good business sense, and it did, but I was never sure about the engagement.Gabby said we should try it on for size, we did, I didn’t get any more comfortable.So I broke it off.”

She pushed up onto her elbows.“You broke it off?”