“You sound happy.”
Sam’s voice came from behind her, making her jump. How he still managed to do that astounded her. His arms locked around her waist from behind and he kissed the nape of her neck, sending a shiver of delight through her body. She turned in the circle of his arms with a smile on her face and brushed a kiss against his lips.
“Good morning. And if I sound happy, it’s because I am.”
She gave him a good look. She felt that over the past few weeks she’d begun to get to know him pretty well, but there was something different about him today. It was as if he pulsed with a new energy. Something that shone from his eyes and lightened his features.
“I hope you weren’t planning on working today,” she continued, “because I have plans to kidnap you and take you away for the day.”
“Sounds intriguing.” He smiled back. “I’m open to persuasion. Riley will enjoy a day out, too, I’m sure.”
“I’ve made other arrangements for him today. Sasha will be looking after him here at the lodge.” She leaned closer and punctuated each of her next few words with a kiss. “I. Want. You. All. To. Myself.”
She was tingling all over when she pulled away to finish checking the contents of the basket. She hefted it up off the table.
“Let me help you with that,” Sam said, stepping forward to take the basket from her.
“No, it’s okay. I’m just going to take this out to the boat and then I’ll be back.”
“You know it’s okay to accept help from other people from time to time.” He said it softly but some of the light and energy that had surrounded him seemed to fade a little.
Erin wondered if she’d hurt his feelings by not accepting his help. Sure, he’d been injured, but he wasn’t incapacitated by any means. But that wasn’t it. Not for her, anyway. She was used to looking out for herself. Even with her marriage she’d maintained a measure of distance, of independence that she hadn’t been prepared to relinquish. Probably a hangover from the days when she’d been reliant on others for everything, and nothing had been forthcoming. She gave her head a small shake. She didn’t want to go there, not today.
She smiled up at him. “I know, but I want everything about this to be a surprise treat for you. How can I be sure you won’t peek and spoil the surprise if I let you take this out to the boat for me?”
His features softened and he gave her a crooked smile. “Nice cover,” he said. “I’m inclined to argue but let’s leave it at that for now.”
“Look, if you want to help, can you keep an eye on Riley for me? He’s on his play mat in my sitting room.”
With her free hand, she unclipped the baby monitor from her hip and put it on the kitchen table then shifted the weight of the basket on her arm.
“Sure, no problem.”
“Great, thanks. I’ll be back in a minute. Sash should be here soon and then we can head out.”
* * *
Sam didn’t wait for her to leave the house. He went straight through to the sitting room to where Riley was having fun with the play gym set up over his mat. His heart gave that now-familiar squeeze when he saw the little boy. Little boy? Hell—his son.
“Hello, little man,” he said, lowering himself to the floor beside the baby.
Riley squirmed on the mat, pumping his arms and legs in excitement.
Sam laughed, he couldn’t help it. Looking at Riley, knowing he was his son, filled a missing piece inside of him that had threatened to overwhelm him without him even realizing it. He reached for the little boy, scooting him out from under the play gym and scooping him up to sit on his stomach. Riley clutched at the hair on his forearms and gave him a gummy grin, then gabbled a run of baby-speak.
Sam couldn’t take his eyes off Riley. Now almost five months old, Sam had missed a whole lot of his early development, but as he lay there he promised himself he wouldn’t miss a minute more than absolutely necessary. He’d wanted to argue with Erin back there in the kitchen, to insist that whatever they did today include Riley as well, but he couldn’t tip his hand too early. He would reveal who he was in relation to Riley in good time. She probably wouldn’t take the news well, especially when she found out that he’d had her tracked down to jump ahead of the slow-turning wheels of the legal system.
But it was worth it. Every second had been worth it. And he and Erin were on the precipice of something special, he knew it. They’d make a great family, raising Riley together. She was falling in love with him, he felt it with every glance, every special thing she did for him. It wasn’t arrogance that made him feel the strength of her emotions toward him. It was an intense and deep-seated awareness. An awareness that he, too, was developing the same level of feelings toward her.