I pried one of his fingers off me. “You could let me up.”
“In due time.” He wrapped his arms around me, resting his hand possessively on my stomach. “I’ve been waiting for this, so I’m going to savor it, especially if you won’t let me have it again.”
I slid my hand over his, slotting our fingers together, and accepted the truth. Elliot Levy really liked me, and he wasn’t afraid to show it now that it was out in the open. This feeling of being wanted and adored, something I hadn’t had much of in my life, would be what I would savor.
“Maybe it could happen again.” I kissed the underside of his jaw. “Once or twice more.”
Chapter Twenty-seven
Elliot
Catherine smoothed her hands over her sunny yellow top and flicked her eyes to mine. Even unsure, she was stunning, taking my breath right out of my lungs in her ripped jeans that hugged her ass and a flowy top that showed a lot of tattoos and a peek of cleavage. She’d left her hair down at my request, and it was all I could do not to shove my fingers in it and gather it in my fists.
While I was drinking in every beautiful inch of her, she was worrying her lip and working herself into an anxious dither.
“Are you sure I should come with you? Won’t it be weird?”
I took her hand and tugged her against me, giving her ass a hard squeeze. “I’m not going if you’re not with me. And if I don’t show, my sister will beat my door down since I’ve missed the last few brunches.”
“Because of me.”
Because I’d chosen to spend my precious free time with her and Josephine. It wasn’t a difficult choice. Now that Catherine had signed the contract and we’d settled into our relationship, sharing her with the other important people in my life was the next logical step.
I touched her lips with mine. “Because I’ve been busy, which my friends are used to. Now I’m available, and so are you. No more excuses.”
We were already in the parking lot of the restaurant anyway. There wasn’t a chance I was letting her get back in the car to go home.
I grabbed Jo’s car seat from the back and slipped Catherine’s diaper bag from her shoulder. She grumbled a protest, but there was no need for her to carry either while I was with her. Eventually, she would get used to being treated the way she deserved, but we were still getting there.
The day was mild but still held a winter chill, so we were inside instead of the patio. I flagged down a server before we got to the table.
“We’ll need another chair, please,” I told her. “And a sling for the car seat.”
Catherine looked at me with alarm. “They know I’m coming, right?”
I hadn’t felt the need to announce I’d be bringing Catherine and Josephine with me, the same way Weston never forewarned us when Miles was tagging along. He just appeared, and we accepted it. Admittedly, the others more readily than me.
Of course, this had to be one of the days Miles showed for brunch. Happily sitting at the large, round table between Elise and Saoirse, he was the first to notice our approach, pointing us out to everyone else.
“They do now,” I muttered.
With my hand on Catherine’s lower back, I steered her to the table. Elise hopped out of her seat first, pressing her hands together beneath her chin.
“You still exist. If West hadn’t told me he saw you at the gym, I would have thought you had disappeared off the face of the earth.” She arched a brow at me, then swiveled to Catherine. “I had no idea you were coming, but I’m so pleased to see you.”
“Elliot forgot to tell me no one knew I was coming with him,” Catherine whispered, her cheeks glowing a pretty pink.
In true Elise style, she wrapped Catherine in a hug. “That’s very Elliot. But there’s plenty of room at the table for you.”
Next, Saoirse hopped up to greet her while Weston and Luca exchanged glances with each other, then me. They were probably wondering why Catherine was with me since I hadn’t told them she was with me.
An extra chair and sling to prop Joey’s car seat at the same height as the rest of us were brought to the table. She was awake, bright-eyed, looking around at everything, content to observe for now.
Elise and Saoirse were bent over her, cooing and talking to her. I sat beside Weston, who stared at me expectantly.
“Is there something you’d like to say?” Weston prompted.
“Sure. A lot of things,” I replied.
Luca rolled his eyes. “Come on, man. We saw you three times this week. What is happening right now?”
Miles pointed his finger back and forth between Catherine and me. “I might be slow on the uptake sometimes, but I think it’s pretty clear there are only two options. One, Elliot made his assistant give up her weekend to follow him around and take notes during all his meetings, including brunch. Or two, Elliot and Catherine are together, and he didn’t bother telling anyone.” He scratched his chin. “Since this is Elliot, it could go either way, but I’m going to go with option one. Just seems the most plausible.”
Catherine’s laugh was rich and genuine as she slipped into the chair beside me with Joey in her lap. “Or the third option. We ran into each other in the parking lot and Elliot insisted I join him for brunch. Since I skipped breakfast, I accepted.”
Miles nodded. “Yeah, that makes more sense.” Then he stuck his hand out to her across the table. She slid hers into his and they shook. “Miles Aldrich. The food here is incredible, so the spontaneous kidnapping worked in your favor. Cute baby, by the way.”
Her blush deepened, and it was all I could do not to knock his hand off hers. Flirty bastard.
“Catherine Warner, but everyone besides Elliot calls me Kit.” She patted Jo’s stomach. “This little girl is Josephine. Everyone calls her Joey.”
Saoirse chimed in. “Even Elliot?”
Catherine slid me a sidelong glance. “Usually, it’s Josephine, sometimes Jo. Occasionally Joey.”
Elise eyed us both then turned her attention to Catherine. I braced myself for what she might ask. Coming here, I’d prepared myself for an inquisition, but I hadn’t considered Catherine might be uncomfortable being the center of attention. That was the last thing I wanted.
“So, what’s it like being a mom?” Elise asked.
Catherine sighed with what seemed like relief. She’d been bracing too. “It’s strange, but I barely remember what life was like before she got here. Don’t get me wrong, it was rough being completely on my own, but now that I have help and I’m back at work, it’s just…lovely.”
Miles cut right to the chase. “Where’d the dad go?”
Weston groaned at his brother. “Jesus. Have some couth.”
Catherine scrunched her nose. “Australia.”
Miles jerked his chin. “Loser.”
She nodded. “My sentiments exactly. I got the cute baby. He got the continent with the most poisonous snakes and spiders in the world.”