Going Down Easy (Boys of the Big Easy #1)(42)

“Yeah?” Gabe asked.

She looked up and saw that he had his hands clasped together between his knees and was staring at her intently.

She nodded. “Yeah.”

“Cooper! Come play Chutes and Ladders!” one of the kids called just then.

Cooper sighed.

“Go on,” Gabe encouraged. “For a little while.”

“That’s a baby game,” Cooper said.

“Well, maybe you can play one game of that and then suggest something else,” Gabe told him.

“Okay.” Cooper turned on her lap, then reached up and threw his arms around her neck, hugging her briefly. “Bye, Addison.”

He’d slid off her lap and was across the room at the game table before she recovered from her surprise.

Gabe watched him go, and then as soon as Cooper was occupied, he slid his chair close, put his hand on the back of her head, and pulled her in so he could whisper against her ear.

“It’s probably totally inappropriate, but seeing you holding my son and talking about alligators has made me harder than I’ve ever been. I would do anything to hike up this pretty sundress and bury myself inside you right now.”

Addison couldn’t catch her breath. She simply gave a soft moan.

Then Gabe kissed her forehead and let her go. “Swamp tour on Sunday afternoon,” he said.

It was clearly not a question.

She nodded. “Okay.”

His gaze burned into hers for another long moment, then he nodded. “Okay.”

And Addison thought that just maybe everything really would be okay.





Chapter Seven

The swamp-boat tour was . . . pretty much what Gabe had expected.

It was hot and humid, the airboat was loud, and there were lots of gators.

Stella had been in heaven. She’d clambered aboard the boat and headed for the front seats immediately, and Gabe had agreed to sit with her when the guide said kids had to be with an adult. Cooper had been equally torn between fascination and horror as he’d carefully stepped onto the boat, holding tightly to Addison’s hand, and he’d happily taken Addison’s invitation to sit with her on the bench seat in the middle of the vessel.

Stella had bounced in her seat the entire time and peppered the guide with questions. Cooper had sat quietly, looking, watching, taking it all in but not getting too close. Besides, he’d already known all the answers to Stella’s questions. A fact he’d informed her of on the drive home.

Stella had not only petted a baby alligator but held it and kissed it on the head. Cooper had looked like he might throw up as he watched her. Addison had wanted nothing to do with the lizards—big or small—and had looked a little green around the edges by the time they docked.

And Gabe—well, Gabe couldn’t have thought of a better way to spend a day. The kids had gotten to know each other, he’d gotten to know Stella, and Addison seemed able to understand and make Cooper feel more secure. And Gabe had gotten to hold an alligator, too, which, no doubt about it, was kind of cool.

All in all, it was a very successful outing in his opinion.

Except for the fact that with their two kids along, Gabe couldn’t back Addison up against the inside of her front door and kiss the hell out of her when he dropped Stella and her at home after driving back from the bayou.

“Stella, why don’t you take Cooper in and get some juice. And you can show him those drawings you did of the alligators last night?” Addison asked as she unlocked the front door and pushed it open.

“Okay.” Stella started down the hall at, of course, a run.

Cooper stepped across the threshold more slowly—though, in fairness, most people did things slowly compared to Stella—and looked around Addison’s foyer curiously. Stella stopped halfway down the hallway and looked back.

“Do you want juice?” she asked Cooper.

“Yeah,” he told her.

“Then come on.”

“I’m just looking,” Cooper told her.

Stella put a hand on her hip. “At what?”

“Your house.”

She frowned. “Why?”

Cooper shrugged. “Because it’s different from mine. And it’s neat to see different things.”

Stella tipped her head, then came back to stand by Cooper. She looked around the foyer from his vantage point. They stood side by side, just looking, for nearly two minutes. Addison and Gabe exchanged a look and a smile but said nothing.

Finally, Stella nodded and looked over at Cooper. “You want to see the rest of the house?”

“Sure.”

“Okay,” she said, taking his hand. “But juice first. And in my room we have to play with Sammy for a while.”

“Who’s Sammy?”

Stella gave him a smile. “You’ll see.”

That seemed good enough for Cooper. “Okay.”

They disappeared down the hall into the kitchen, and Addison turned to face Gabe. “Wow,” she said simply.

Wow was a pretty good summary. “They could be good for each other,” he said.

Addison nodded. “Cooper will make sure she slows down and smells the roses.”

“And Stella will make sure he doesn’t spend all his time just looking around.”

Addison took a deep breath. “Want to make out while they play?”