“I do,” he answered emphatically. “I just want to skip the pregnant-and-fearful stage. Holy hell, and the going-through-labor part. How does a guy stand to see the woman he loves in pain?”
The possessive, protective look he gave her allowed Kristin a taste of what was ahead for them in the future, but she knew she could handle it. “Women safely have babies every day, Julian.” An errant thought popped into her head. “Oh, hell, I guess that’s going to put the ladies’ skydiving on hold.”
“What?” Julian looked at her suspiciously.
“We’d all like Micah to take us skydiving someday. But I think Emily and Sarah will want to wait.”
“You’ll be waiting forever,” Julian answered, his tone adamant. “There’s no way you’re jumping out of a goddamn plane.”
He pulled her into the bathroom so they could clean up, still mumbling about how he’d kill Micah if he ever mentioned taking her diving.
Kristin didn’t bother to tell him that Micah had never asked her, because she just might ask Julian’s older brother to take her one day. Honestly, their love was so new that she would probably feel the same way if Julian did anything to risk his safety. She’d present her argument when it was time.
Right now, all she wanted was to surround herself in the love that Julian was giving her, and wrap herself up in him until they were both sated.
After Julian had taken the bandages off his hands, and they were waiting for the water to reach the right temperature, she threw herself in his arms. “I love you,” she told him with a sigh, kissing the corner of his mouth as she hugged him tightly.
“I love you, too, sweetheart,” he said tenderly as he wrapped his arms around her tightly. “But you’re still not jumping out of a plane.”
She did the only thing she could do when the hot, naked man of her dreams was trying to give her orders.
She laughed until he hauled her into the shower and made her totally forget anything else but him.
CHAPTER 26
The next evening, Kristin still felt like she was walking around in a very surreal dream, one where she was still married to a man she loved with all of her heart.
And he loves me.
That miracle still mystified her, since she and Julian were so different. She knew—no matter what Julian said—that she wasn’t anything but ordinary when it came to her looks and oversized ass. But she wasn’t about to mess with destiny. She was quite happy with her fate.
Julian had hauled her into downtown Amesport this morning. Every single thing they’d done during the morning and afternoon had been frivolous and fun. After spending a few hours at the arcade, Julian had insisted on hitting the movie theater to see a lighthearted comedy that she had mentioned she’d wanted to see when they were in Vegas. Kristin was surprised that he had even remembered, since she’d only mentioned it briefly, and she’d said she’d like to see it when it came out on DVD someday. She usually never had the time to actually go to a movie theater, and she hadn’t been to the old arcade since she was kid.
Later in the afternoon, he’d cajoled her to a few of the shops, buying her outrageous items, like a giant teddy bear that she’d made the mistake of saying was adorable. Finally, she’d had to coerce him away from Main Street to make him stop buying her things she really didn’t need.
Finally, they’d stopped at Sullivan’s for lobster rolls before heading back to Micah’s house on the way back home, to pick up Haven. Tessa hadn’t minded watching the puppy, since she had Homer, her service dog, who had enjoyed his playtime with Julian’s new pup.
Now, Kristin was sitting in front of a warm fireplace at home, surrounded by the fixings for s’mores, wondering what was taking Julian so long to get downstairs. He’d only gone up because he said he wanted to get something on the upper level.
Haven was curled up next to the couch, sleeping peacefully.
“Did Homer wear you out today?” Kristin said aloud to the sleeping puppy with a smile.
Kristin was pleasantly tired herself, having spent one of the most incredible days of her life doing everything and nothing with Julian, the two of them acting like lovers, which they were. She sighed, thinking about how sweet he could be. He held her hand, stole kisses everywhere he could, and never let her forget that he loved her.
And she believed him. She sincerely believed that neither one of them would ever regret their choices. They were too damn happy together.
Her phone pinged with a text, and she pulled her cell out of her back pocket.
Julian: I love you, Scarlet.
She chuckled, wondering why he was texting her when he was in the same house.
Kristin: Love you, Hotshot. Why didn’t you just come downstairs?