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  Briley smirked, opening the door for her. “Promises. Promises.”

  By the time lunch rolled around, Briley was exhausted. All three of the adults ran after Griffin, but Leah had bowed out ten minutes ago. She reclined on one side of the picnic table they had claimed and Evan had met up with a few of his friends to play basketball.

  “Briley.” She turned slowly from Leah to Kat. “Griffin and I are going to explore.” Kat motioned with her head in the direction of Leah. “Spend some time with her. I’ve got this.” She nudged Griffin with her shoe. This caused the child to giggle.

  Well, Briley guessed that settled that. Not that she was complaining. “Have fun,” she called after them. If the way Kat was interacting with Griffin was any clue, Kat would probably be a mom in the next few years. She was a natural.

  They’d decided on the smaller park, and even though almost all of the twenty picnic tables were full, it didn’t seem that crowded. She knew most of the people here, but they’d stayed to themselves, opting on spending a quiet time with their family, like she was, instead of making the rounds and talking.

  She made a detour to the Escalade and grabbed a blanket that lay in the backseat. She folded it and dropped it onto the concrete beside where Leah lay. The good thing about this park was that a few picnic tables were set on concrete and had a roof built over top of them to keep the sunlight out. They were lucky enough to snag one.

  Leah was lying on her back with one arm covering her eyes and the other dangling by her side. Her head was resting on a folded hoodie and her sunglasses were on top of the picnic table. Briley was close enough to her that she rested one arm around Leah’s stomach and ran the fingers of her other hand through Leah’s hair. She didn’t really want to disturb her but wanted to let her know she was there.

  The emotions that flooded her when she was with Leah were almost too much. It felt like she was on the run and always dodging some obstacle in her way. The rush was intoxicating and addictive. It scared her far more than she wanted to admit. Leah held so many cards that made Briley afraid of coming on too strong or pressuring her into something she wasn’t ready for. Everything was still so new. She rested her head on the arm around Leah’s stomach and watched Leah’s chest rise and fall steadily.

  It felt like her heart was held in a vice grip, and every time she thought of Leah ending what they tentatively had, it squeezed a little tighter. There was no denying their chemistry, but Briley wanted so much more than just a sexual relationship with Leah. She wanted everything. She closed her eyes, but kept running her fingers through Leah’s hair. In the distance, she could hear Griffin and Kat laughing. It would kill her if she lost Leah. If she lost this.

  “I can hear you thinking.”

  Briley smiled but didn’t open her eyes, just enjoying the feeling of being with Leah. She sighed, then felt fingers run along her forehead then through her hair. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

  “You didn’t.”

  Briley opened her eyes to see Leah staring at her. Her heart started pounding in her chest, as it always did when they were this close. God, she loved her. There was no denying that. She ran one of her fingers along Leah’s eyebrow.

  Leah’s features grew soft, as did her voice. “I’ve told you before. Your feelings are written in your eyes, Briley.”

  She had. “Does it scare you?” ‘As much as it scares me,’ was left unsaid.

  “Yes.” Leah swallowed, but never averted her gaze from Briley.

  “It terrifies me.” Briley sighed.

  “Oh, Briley.” Leah tangled their fingers together, then looked up at the sky. “You have your whole life ahead of you.”

  She understood where Leah was coming from but was so tired of dealing with the age difference. Instead of telling Leah it didn’t matter, she would continue to show her. “You make it sound like yours is over.”

  “Not over, but it is starting again. I love my grandkids, but I never thought I would be raising another child their age. I’d planned on traveling again when Evan went to college. If I was lucky, meet someone and travel with them. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed in the living room, but since our brunch with Mrs. Hanlin, I took your words to heart. I have a large Mason jar that I’ve been filling with places I want to visit. Now, it’s going to be at least sixteen more years before I can even touch that jar. I hope I don’t sound bitter because I’m not.”

  “You don’t. This isn’t something that anyone expects. I don’t blame you for being a little selfish or upset. It’s okay to be upset and angry. Not at Kathy or Lilith but at the circumstances. No one will fault you for that.” She ran her fingers down Leah’s jaw, tracing her lower lip, and yelped when Leah nipped it. “No one, and if they do, that’s their problem.”

  Leah opened her eyes. “Sixty-seven, Briley. I might not even be alive. Then what? Where will she go?”

  Briley sucked in a breath at her words. “Don’t talk like that. I could die tomorrow. Yes, the older you get, the closer death is, but dying of old age isn’t a given, as we both are well aware. I’ll be fifty-one. So what? You’ll still be the sexiest woman at Griffin’s graduation and the sexiest woman I’ve ever laid eyes on and you won’t be alone. If for some God awful reason we don’t work, Evan will be beside you.” Leah looked at her disbelievingly and Briley hurried on. “You don’t have to believe me. Not yet, but it’s true. I’ll show you. You make me weak in the knees, and it’s still hard to formulate words around you. I get this weird fluttering in my stomach that I’ve never felt before. My heart feels like it’s going to burst out of my chest every time you smile at or touch me. And your kisses are mind-blowing. The sex is the best I’ve ever had. I want you to be happy with me.”

  “You seem to be doing okay on the word front now.” Leah grabbed Briley’s hand and kissed the palm.

  “I guess what I’m trying to say is,” she gulped, “in for a penny, in for a pound.” She knew Leah liked her, and they had agreed to give them a chance, but there was so much more to them than that. “Look, I don’t want to scare you away, but you need to know I’m here for the long haul. I feel for you, Leah. A lot. You won’t scare me off. I’m here and I’m not going anywhere. Whether it be as your friend or your lover, you don’t have to worry about me leaving. Worry about Brandon and me screwing up a flip, or me messing up a recipe or spending too much on my hobbies or spending too much on your kids. Or Kat and I getting into trouble. I’ve had to bail her out a couple of times. I have a bad habit of leaving wet towels on the floor and I squeeze from the middle of the toothpaste tube. I love, love to put sour cream on my pizza, and I hate mushrooms. We have so much time to find out about each other and we will have plenty of time for worries. I just want to assure you that you don’t have to worry about me suddenly leaving. I’m sure I’ll get overwhelmed. No doubt I’ll mess up. We all do. Probably say the wrong thing to you and your kids. I may even leave if I get angry enough, although I never have in the past, but if I do, I will always come back.” She traced a heart on Leah’s chest. “It’s too much, isn’t it?” she asked, without looking at Leah’s face. Stupid. She should have waited.

  “Briley.” Leah’s voice was soft.

  Briley shook away her morbid thoughts and turned to Leah. “I’m sorry.”

  Leah pushed Briley’s hand off her chest and sat up, patting the spot beside her for Briley to take. Briley reluctantly got up, placed the blanket on top of the table, then straddled the spot beside Leah. Leah mimicked her position and ran her hands along Briley’s thighs without breaking eye contact. “Don’t ever be sorry for sharing your feelings with me. It’s such a good look on you. I can’t help but believe you when you say you won’t leave, but I also can’t help but wonder if it’s all too soon. I know we talked about this yesterday, but…I don’t know.”

  “Maybe it is too soon.” She tapped her fingers on the picnic table. “It’s crazy, but a good kind of crazy. Don’t you think? You don’t have to be scared alone. We can be scared together. I’m
not talking about moving in or getting married. That will come later if that’s something we both want. All I’m talking about is spending time together. Just being together. Like we have been. Making something together. I’m all in for that. And let the record show, I’m okay with the kids that you have. I don’t want any more.”

  Leah scooted forward and pulled Briley into her arms. “You always know the right thing to say. I’m scared, but I want this. You. I really do. I want us to make it.”

  Briley tilted Leah’s chin up so she could look at her. “We’re going to be amazing.”

  “You’re so sure of yourself. So sure of us. It’s refreshing. I’ve never had that before. I’m not sure what to make of it.” She kissed Briley’s lips. “It’s not going to be easy.”

  “Who said it had to be? Anything worth having is worth fighting for.”

  “Yes, it is.”

  A blinding smile broke out on Briley’s face and her stomach filled with knots. She couldn’t believe this was really happening. It felt so unreal. To have everything she wanted in front of her. Leah grabbed her hand and tangled their fingers together. Briley marveled at the softness of Leah’s skin. She was pulled out of her thoughts when Leah spoke.

  “Kiss me, Briley.”

  Briley didn’t hesitate to pull Leah close and kiss her with slow deliberation. She wanted to savor the taste and texture that was all Leah. When Leah moaned, Briley deepened and lingered the kiss. She wanted Leah to feel everything she felt. This kiss was different from the rest. A promise of more to come.

  Leah nipped Briley’s lip before she broke the kiss. Her breath sounded hard and fast. With eyes still closed, she let out a low moan. “Wow.” She rested her forehead against Briley’s and ran her hands up and down Briley’s sides. It was a feeling, no matter how long they stayed together, that Briley would never take for granted.

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Briley settled down on the couch as Leah put Grif to bed. She’d wanted kisses from Briley and she’d been more than happy to oblige, but left story time to Leah. Today had been a good day. An eye-opening day. She was ready for Leah’s moods to shift. It was a huge life change to suddenly take custody of her dead ex-wife’s daughter. She closed her eyes, and laid her head back against the cushions even when the couch dipped beside her and a finger traced along her brow and down her jaw.

  “What’s that smile for?” Leah asked.

  “You.” Briley pulled away from Leah when she leaned in for a kiss. “None of that right now. If we start, it’s going to be hard to stop and I have other plans. At least for now. Later is a different story.”

  “Really? Well, what are these plans?” Leah danced her fingers along Briley’s thigh, and Briley grabbed them.

  “You deserve to be pampered and I have the perfect solution.”

  “Do tell.”

  Briley leaned closer until their noses were touching. “A foot massage. Lay down and put your feet in my lap and relax.”

  A contented sigh escaped Leah. “That’s sounds amazing.” She did as she was told and lay back on the couch with her head on a pillow and her feet in Briley’s lap.

  “Just relax. I’ve got this.” Briley slipped Leah’s socks off, picked up the lotion, and started on her left foot. Each of Leah’s moans sent shivers down Briley’s spine, but now wasn’t the time for that. This was about Leah’s comfort. “What was your favorite gift at Christmas when you were young?”

  “When I was growing up, my parents didn’t have a lot of money. When I was eight or nine, there was only one thing I wanted. A camera. All my friends were asking for dolls and clothes, make-up, but I wanted that camera. I had a specific one in mind, but knew my parents would never be able to afford it. When it came time to write Santa a letter, the only thing I put on the list was a camera. I know my parents probably didn’t think I heard them later that night, but they were talking about other things they could get me instead of the camera. I was disappointed but I would have never shown them that. They worked hard, and four or five years later, that hard work paid off for them, but that Christmas, money was tight. I went to bed Christmas Eve and promised myself I would not be upset when I saw the gifts under the tree. I woke up Christmas morning and crept down the stairs, scared of what was there. My parents were already up and they smiled at me when I saw only one gift under the tree. I don’t know how they did it, and I never asked, and they never told me, but they got my camera. The one I wanted, with lots of extra film. Over the years, of course, they got me more expensive gifts, but none ever meant to me what that camera did. It was a fantastic Christmas.”

  Even as the story brought tears to her eyes, Briley continued with her massage. “That’s a beautiful story.”

  “What about you? You can start on the other foot.” Leah wiggled her toes to get her point across.

  “Let’s see.” She dug her fingers into Leah’s heel. “I was twelve. Like you, all my friends wanted clothes, and stuff like that, but I had seen this chemistry set at a store. That is what I set my heart on. My parents were skeptical because I had never shown any interest in chemistry. Even Kat tried to talk me out of it, but when I have my heart set on something, I go for it.”

  Leah chuckled. “No, not you.”

  “You’re sassy, tiny.” At Leah’s glare, Briley hurried on. “I woke up Christmas morning and there was my chemistry set. Not even wrapped, just sitting under the tree. Granted, I only played with it one time, but not because of my parents’ reasoning. Kat and I had researched different projects we could try, both of us hopeful I would get it.”

  “Oh, no.”

  “Oh, yes. That Christmas I got my chemistry set and my mom got the new kitchen she wanted. I can’t remember what Kat and I mixed together. If we had stuck to what was in the box, we’d been okay, but Kat and I never really played by the rules. I mean, it wasn’t a big fire, but it ruined quite a few cabinets. It was a great Christmas either way. We all had a good laugh years later.” She patted Leah’s feet, then lay down beside Leah on the couch. It was a tight fit, but they made it work. Briley buried her head in Leah’s neck, and Leah wrapped her arms around Briley’s neck. “This is nice.”

  “It is.”

  “Favorite Halloween memory.”

  Leah settled her head on Briley’s chest. “When I was a kid?” Briley nodded. “I don’t know. One year I dressed up as Robin Hood. That was fun.”

  “I was six and I dressed up as the Pink Ranger. It was awesome. I believe Kat dressed as a pirate. She was going through a pirate phase, and my parents let her run with it. She won the costume contest at school. I didn’t talk to her for like two weeks after that.”

  “Yes, I have learned you’re quite competitive. It’s incredibly sexy.” Leah kissed Briley’s neck. “I do have a question though.”

  Briley held her closer. “Shoot.”

  “What did happen to my inflatable turkey last Thanksgiving?”

  “What? That’s not important.” Briley fiddled with her glasses and avoided her gaze.

  “I will ask again, but for now I’ll drop it.”

  “You’re too good to me,” Briley mumbled into Leah’s neck.

  Leah turned in Briley’s arms so they were facing each other and traced her finger along Briley’s cheek. “Our lives are never what we expect, are they?”

  “I think that’s true to a point, but there are always unexpected occurrences. I like to think we, as individuals, do a good job of weaving our own paths. Tragedy is not something we ever expect and it can break your heart.”

  Leah didn’t say anything and Briley wasn’t going to push her. They lay still and Briley welcomed the silence. It was almost twelve-thirty. “It’s almost one and I know how early Grif gets up.”

  Leah groaned and buried her face in Briley’s neck. “I know it’s short notice, but I have a favor to ask. You can say no. Don’t feel obligated to say yes.”

  “Go on.” Like Briley would ever say no to her.

  “I have a doctor’s appoint
ment tomorrow and I need to run a few errands with Evan. It should only be a few hours.”

  “Kat and I’ll watch her. Don’t worry,” Briley was quick to answer.

  Leah pulled back to look her in the face. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes.” Briley kissed her lips softly. “I’m sure. I mean, how much trouble can she get up to in a few hours?” Leah looked skeptical. “Really. Two adults against one toddler. What could go wrong?”

  “Briley.” Leah chuckled, and kissed her cheek.

  “What?” What had she missed?

  “Just make sure you keep an eye on her. It’s not about trust. I trust you with her, but she can get into a lot. A lot. Don’t let her size fool you. Don’t underestimate her.”

  “You make it sound like she’s going to destroy the house.”

  “Okay.” Leah kissed her. “You’ve got this.”

  “I do.” Warmth flowed through her when Leah snuggled closer. “I mean, really,” she mumbled. “How much trouble can she be?” She groaned when Leah snickered.

  “More than you realize, but enough of that. I do believe it’s time you took me to bed.”

  “When the lady speaks, I listen.”

  Chapter Thirty

  The next morning, everyone had a leisurely breakfast. Kat had come over early and helped Briley cook.

  Kat lifted her cup and took a sip. “How long are you going to be gone, Leah?”

  “A few hours. I pray for less, but anticipate more.”

  It was as if no one had any faith in her. Briley rolled her eyes. “We’ve got this, Kat. Grif is tiny.” She eyed Grif, who was sitting on Evan’s lap, eating a banana.

  “You’re awfully confident,” Evan said, wiping his sister’s hands off.

  “Is there a reason I shouldn’t be? Leah hinted that she could be a handful, but she’s been okay the last couple of days.”

  Kat ran her fingers through her hair. “And Leah and Evan have been with us, too. It’s the first time she’ll be alone with both of us.”