Proving Paul's Promise(14)

Suddenly, Emily shoves Sam’s shoulder. “Seriously?” she squeals. “Did you seriously just do that?” She covers her nose and holds her breath. “That is just foul.”

Sam grins. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Sam,” I warn, trying to keep my voice firm. But it’s hard. “There are women here.”

He looks around like he’s looking for them. “Where? All I see are Emily, Friday, and Sky, and they don’t count as girls.” Sam gets up and goes to put his hands on Sky’s belly. She smiles and lets him. He glances up. “Did you feel that?” he asks, and he grins.

“Oh, I feel all of them,” Sky says with a sigh. “Four feet and four hands. And two rear ends sitting on my bladder.” She motions to Sam so he’ll move back, and she holds out her hand. “Pull me up so I can go pee.”

He laughs and helps her lumber to her feet, her belly coming up out of the chair before the rest of her.

Matt gets up and takes Sam’s seat on the couch, and Emily leans into him. “You doing okay?” I hear him ask her. He brushes her hair back behind her ear. Matt and Emily bonded when they first met, and he cares so much about her. And she feels the same way about him. I’m just glad Sky’s not jealous of the amount of care he takes with Emily.

“I’ll be better once she gets here,” Emily says. She lifts her feet onto the coffee table. “Look at the size of my ankles,” Matt turns her so that her feet are in his lap and starts to rub her instep. She smiles and closes her eyes. “I’ll give you ten minutes to stop that,” she warns playfully. Matt laughs.

Friday wiggles her toes, and I realize I’ve been sitting here rubbing the inside of her ankle for about ten minutes. I pull my hand back, kind of chagrined that I let it go on that long. Matt raises his brow when I catch his eye, and he grins at me. I flip him the bird.

Gentle fingers slip into the collar of my T-shirt and start to tickle the back of my neck. I lay my head on Friday’s knee and close my eyes. It feels good having her touch me. It hits so much more than my dick, which is where girls usually strike me. This time, it reaches deep inside and wraps around my heart so tightly it steals my breath away. I hope she never stops.

But then the door opens again and Pete’s girlfriend Reagan walks in, with my ex right behind her. Kelly freezes in the doorway when she sees Friday touching me, and I get up and go to her, although all I want to do is have my daughter launch herself into my arms while Friday stands beside me. I don’t want the feeling of being near Friday to ever go away. But now Kelly’s here, and it’s over.

Kelly lays her hand on my arm and says, “Can we go somewhere and talk privately?” She looks at the full room, which has all my brothers and Friday’s friends in it, and turns up her nose.

“About what?” I ask.

She purses her lips and nods toward my bedroom, so I heave a sigh, take her by the elbow, and lead her in that direction.

She closes the door behind us, and I flinch. I have an immediate need to open it back up, but I’m hoping she just wants to say something she doesn’t want Hayley to hear.

But then she opens her mouth.

“I don’t want my daughter to walk in and find you in bed with Friday,” she says, blowing a lock of hair from her forehead with an upturned breath.

“What?” I ask. How dare she?

She crosses her arms in front of her chest. Once, that would have immediately drawn my gaze to her boobs but not anymore.

“I mean it, Paul. You can f*ck her all you want, but don’t involve my daughter in it because we both know she won’t be around tomorrow. They never are.”

I hitch my hip against the dresser and lean back, trying to look relaxed, but I’m anything but calm. My heart is beating as fast as my tattoo gun does, and I don’t know where I might find my next breath. “You’re getting married,” I remind her. “Why do you care what I do?”

“I don’t care who you do. I only care if you involve my daughter in it.” She tosses her hair over her shoulder.

“What’s this really about?” There’s more to this than she’s telling me.

She bites her lower lip, and for once, I don’t want to pull it free and kiss her teeth marks away. She shakes her head. “It’s nothing.”

“Tell me, Kells,” I say. “We’ve never had secrets from one another before.” I motion from her to me and back. “That’s why this thing between us works so well.”

Suddenly, she buries her face in her hands and waits. When she lifts her head, her eyes are shiny. “I’ve never seen you with that look on your face, not when it’s not for me.”

“Oh,” I say. I scratch my head. “What look?”

She jerks her thumb toward the living room. “When I walked in, you had your head on Friday’s knee and you looked so peaceful.”

Friday makes me feel anything but peaceful. “So you were jealous?”

She nods, nibbling on that lower lip again.

“You’re getting married, Kells,” I remind her again. I push off my dresser and walk toward her, then take her in my arms. I pull her gently against me and hold her. But this time, holding her isn’t about heat or passion. It’s about friendship. It has been weeks since we’ve slept together, and holding her this close to me doesn’t even make my dick get hard.