He moved so quickly she barely registered it, but he came to his knees in front of her, the blanket sliding from her shoulders. “I would do anything for her too. And you. Damn it, let me in, baby. I’m dying out here with you scared and not letting me help. Even if you don’t need the help, please.”

Everything she’d built to keep from loving him was unthreading. She was coming undone and there was nothing to do but let it happen. He’d laid himself bare before her, opened up. He hadn’t judged her. And she wanted to let him in. She wanted to let him in because she couldn’t imagine her life without Brody Brown in it.

Her arms went around him, where they belonged, as she held on to someone she’d never expected. He wasn’t supposed to be there in her life, but there he was and thank the heavens for it.

20

“I think I have an attorney your attorney can work with,” he said quietly as she let him in the front door later the same evening. She’d been shaken very deeply by what they’d shared that day and hadn’t had enough time to process it.

Pausing there in the quiet of her front hallway, he kissed her. Slow, gentle and totally sure of himself. That combination was as powerful to her as when he was all take-charge. That sureness of his sexual lure, of his connection to her, shook her even as it washed over her, making her happy. Even as he got bossy and tried to handle her, she was happy. Because he was there, touching her.

He smiled and went back in for another kiss. “I know.” She looked up, confused. Knew what? Her head still reeled from the kiss and the way he affected her.

“I know how much this is.” He motioned back and forth between them, indicating he felt some measure of what she did. “But also, I know you’re chafing a bit at my presumption at doing a check on this lawyer. Listen, Shorty. I’m bossy. I can’t help it. It’s who I am and what I do. I’m pushy and I like to take over. But I’m going to work really hard not to do it too much, and you’re going to try and accept me the way I am. Flaws and all. Because I’m good in bed, and I can carry heavy things and reach high shelves.”

“You’re ridiculously full of poop.” She, of course, diminished her tough stance when she continued to keep her arms around his neck and cuddled close. “Good thing you’re handy with your mouth.”

He groaned softly, closing his eyes a moment. “Not fair. She won’t be asleep for hours.”

Elise laughed. “We’re a package deal, Rennie and me. Get used to it. I have.”

“Is that Brody?” Speak of the devil, Rennie came pounding down the stairs, and Elise’s heart stuttered when he held his arms out and her baby jumped into them with a giggle. “You’re here! I like when you’re here. Are you having chili with us then? Aunt Erin sent over pie. I like her. I like pie too.”

Aunt Erin? Elise smiled at the term. Erin had become somewhat like an aunt to Rennie come to think of it. She liked it. She didn’t have any siblings left, but she did think of Erin as a sister quite often, and she was glad Rennie had that kind of connection with her too.

“I’m with you on both things. I love Erin and I love pie; the combination of the two is a very good thing. And I wouldn’t miss chili for anything. Although it might be nicer if I’d been asked. That way I could say ‘thank you’ all pretty-like.” Brody put Rennie down and grinned up at Elise.

He was something else. She smirked at him before her smile won over. “Excuse my terrible manners. I made plenty. Would you like to stay for dinner?”

He bowed and kissed her hand. “Thank you, I’d love to stay for dinner.”

He checked over Rennie’s math homework while she set the table, and she realized just how much Rennie loved him. She was a friendly kid; affectionate, yes, but her eyes twinkled when he was around. She saved all her best stories for him and she talked about him nonstop to her parents. Rennie cared what Brody thought, wanted him to be impressed with her schoolwork and her artwork. Brody was someone special to Rennie, and having special people was important.

At first Brody had held himself back a little, but Rennie had made it impossible for him not to open himself up. He listened to Rennie. Not the way some people listen to kids, which was with one ear open, thinking about whether or not to tape the new episode of their favorite television show. No, he focused on her, interacted with her.

She’d never expected Brody. Elise had never really considered finding a man who would come into their lives the way Brody had. She had always assumed she’d either never be serious with anyone again, or that it would be with a much different man.

Which would have been a shame, because Rennie didn’t need a guy in a Mr. Rogers sweater. She needed a man like Brody who gave himself to people he cared about in a way that was unmistakable and made the other person feel special.

At the same time, he’d made it clear nearly a year before, when they’d started this affair, that he wasn’t looking for anything permanent. They had something more than just a casual thing; there was a depth of feeling between them. She believed that, felt that. But it wasn’t the road to marriage either. He’d made himself clear, and she knew thinking she could change someone was stupid. He was an adult; he knew what he wanted, and she respected it, even if she wanted him to want what she did.

She didn’t have any plans to rip Rennie and Brody apart, though. She didn’t want to. She wanted Brody in her life, and as she’d told him earlier, she and Rennie were a package deal. Elise just needed to be sure that Rennie didn’t expect Brody to become her daddy, no matter how alluring that was to her and Elise as well.