Worth the Fall (The McKinney Brothers, #1)(50)

He looked so good, standing there in jeans and a chest-hugging T-shirt. Cooking bacon. In her kitchen.

Stepping up behind him, she slid her arms around his waist, gave him a little squeeze, and pressed a kiss to his back. He covered one of her hands with his as the bacon sizzled and popped. The noise of abandoned cartoons echoed from the other room. She rubbed her cheek against the soft cotton of his shirt and sighed. Maybe this was the happiness Angie had spoken of.

“I sent the kids upstairs to get dressed,” he said. “We need to get a move on. Big day at the zoo.”

“You sent them to get dressed? Have you seen the outfits Gracie puts together?” She pressed another kiss between his shoulders. “I’ll just go check. Even zoos have standards.”

An hour later Abby stood in the kitchen, watching the kids swing in the backyard.

“Okay, honey, you ready to go?”

Honey. She swallowed against the knot in her throat. It was just a word, but it felt like more on Matt’s lips.

“Abby?”

She turned to face him. “Sorry. What?”

“What were you thinking about just now?”

Abby looped her arms around his neck. The zoo could wait a few more minutes. Be honest with him. And with yourself. “I was thinking that I’m happy.” And that was the simple truth of it.

“Well,” he said, sliding his arms around her waist, “I’m extremely glad for that.”

She pulled his head down and kissed him long and deep, taking every advantage of the moment. All confusion and fear aside, when she was in his arms she felt safe.





Chapter 19


Later that night Matt made love to Abby again, learning every luscious curve, every spot that made her burn. Now he watched her sleep with the moonlight falling across her cheeks. He traced a finger along her delicate brow and the edge of her hairline, pushing back dark strands to reveal a cute little ear. He smiled at the memory of his lips there and the sounds she’d made. That had turned out to be a sweet spot for sure.

Mesmerized by her satiny skin, he made lazy circles over her bottom and down the back of her thigh, letting the sexy curves of her body guide him. They lay melded together, face-to-face, with the baby nestled between them. The entire scene amazed him. Awed him. Lying with a woman—not inside her, but beside her—and feeling so close to her, it was as if their hearts beat together.

Matt laid his head next to hers on the pillow and watched the rise and fall of her chest. The baby moved, a tiny push and roll against his stomach, and the air hitched in his lungs. He pulled Abby closer, hoping to feel it again.

Abby stirred and stretched, rubbing her nose against his neck. Her hand moved to cup his neck, then across his chest, and lower. Was there anything sweeter than Abby’s hands on his body? Had anything ever felt so right?

“Matt?” Her voice whispered over his skin.

She rose up on her elbow and he thought she was about to comment on his morning erection, but her expression was serious, somber. Her eyebrows were pinched and furrowed. Not the look he wanted after what they’d done. Was she having second thoughts? Regrets?

Her eyes bored into his, and she shook her head the tiniest bit, like she was baffled. “Why are you here?”

The question coupled with the honest and utter confusion on her face grabbed at his heart and squeezed. Why was he here? Had that bastard of a husband made her that unsure?

“I mean it can’t be easy for you to get away. And I doubt you need to travel to get…” Her eyes left his as she continued. “You know.”

A smile teased his lips and he couldn’t resist a quick kiss. His sweetheart, who lit up the sheets and burned him from the inside out, couldn’t even say the word. Pressing her head back into the pillow, he held her face in his hands. So damn beautiful. And she had no idea, which made her even more of a puzzle.

“I’m here because I couldn’t stay away.” Then he tried to convey the fullness of his heart with his lips, his tongue. He angled her head and she opened to him as she always did, giving herself over to the kiss and to him.

—

The kids had challenged Matt to a pancake-flipping morning, which had gone well, for the most part. Though every evidence of the resulting chaos had been erased, Abby hadn’t stopped cleaning the kitchen since he’d laid his bag by the front door.

He’d never had a woman avoid him the morning after. That had been his role. Lord knew he wasn’t one to stick around for uncomfortable conversations with the opposite sex. Though that was changing. Abby was a new battlefield turning him into a desperate man.

Matt didn’t blame her for the hard shell around her heart. Someone as sweet as her needed it. Just not with him.

Or maybe she did.

She moved her attentions to the stainless-steel sink. Head down. Hair shielding her face.

He leaned against the counter next to her. “Abby?”

“Hmm?”

“I have to go.”

She scrubbed harder.

“Can you look at me?”

“I’d rather not.”

Damn it. “Are you mad?”

“For what?”

For coming? For leaving? He let out a deep sigh. “Hell, I don’t know.”

“Of course I’m not mad.” She threw him a quick smile, her eyes not coming close to meeting his. “I’m glad you came.”