“I’m afraid to move too fast. I don’t want to scare Nova or rush into anything, but what I feel for Lennon…” My gaze drifts toward the kitchen. “It’s real, it’s strong, and it’s a little bit scary.”
I half expect my dad to reach over and take away my man card, so I’m surprised when he does the exact opposite.
He presses a hand to my shoulder. “That’s how I knew your mother was the one.” He smiles adoringly at Mom. “She scared the shit out of me.”
“And you’ve been together ever since?”
“No,” he says, somberly. “I was a coward. I ran away from that feeling at first.” Dad reaches out and pulls my mom up into his arms. “But I’m a lucky son of a bitch because when I finally pulled my head out of my ass, your mother was still there…waiting.”
“He made me wait for six long months,” she says, staring into Dad’s eyes with a wistful smile.
I can’t believe I’ve never heard this story.
“You waited six months?” I ask, a little surprised.
Mom grins. “When you know, you just know.”
“What do you know?”
I spin around at the sound of Nova’s voice and find her and Lennon standing side by side in the living room. The sight of the two of them together is again like a punch to the chest.
“Well,” Mom says, bending down to scoop Nova up. “I was just telling your dad about how I fell in love with your grandpa.”
Nova’s smile grows. “He’s your prince.”
Lennon sits down on the couch next to me, her hand precariously close to mine. When I look up, she’s giving me that sexy little grin I love. Her fingers inch closer until the warmth of her skin is pressed against mine.
What I feel from her simple touch absorbs into my skin, seeps through my veins, and infiltrates every last cell in my body. Never in a million years did I think I could feel so strongly about someone so fast. But everything with her, once I got out of my own way, has been incredibly easy.
So why complicate things now? Easy has worked for us so far. Without giving it much more thought, I grab Lennon’s hand, entwining our fingers. Her breath hitches, and I look up.
Everything stops, and for a brief moment, it’s just me and her. The electricity sparking between us owns the room, and my heart thrashes against my chest like a live wire.
Lennon squeezes my hand, and if eyes could smile, hers just did.
“Isn’t that right, Lennon?”
Lennon blinks several times and turns to Nova, who is seemingly oblivious to the fact that I’m holding Lennon’s hand.
“I’m sorry.” Lennon licks her lips nervously. “I, uh… I missed what you said.”
My mom just laughs, her eyes glued to our joined hands. “Never mind, dear.” She turns to me. “Noah, what time do you have to be at work?”
Shit.
“What time is it?” I completely lost track of time, wasn’t even thinking about work.
“It’s only eight thirty,” Dad says, looking at his watch.
“No,” Nova whines, wiggling out of my mom’s hold. She slinks toward me and falls pathetically in my lap. “I just got home.”
It kills me to pull away from Lennon, but I do. I pick Nova up and plant a big, fat kiss on her cheek. “I know, baby, but I still have to go to work. How else am I going to make money to buy you toys?” I ask, ruffling her hair.
“Fine,” she mumbles, not at all encouraged by the toy comment.
“How about tonight when I get home we have a Daddy and Nova night?”
She perks up.