Page 88 of Beating Heart
“Nope. I had a best friend named Farah, and she was more like a sister to me back then.” I cleared my throat. The pain always hit hard when I talked about Farah. “And now that we’re talking about this, I just remembered something.”
“What?” he asked.
“Farah’s mama always brought all the treats on the first day of school and on her birthday and her half birthday. She didn’t have any siblings, so her parents really spoiled her.”
“And did you ever feel bad about that?”
“Nope. Because I had such a good family, just like you do. Farah was always really lonely because her parents were very busy. But they’d always throw her fancy parties and bring her special treats, but they didn’t spend a lot of time with her. And sometimes, things look good on the outside, but it’s more about feeling good on the inside.”
“I always feel good on the inside. My girl, Ruby, taught me about that.” He took the measuring cup that I’d filled with powdered sugar and carefully poured it into the mixing bowl. “Do you think Farah was sad on the inside because she was wishing she could spend more time with her family?”
My chest was heavy. That girl practically lived at our house when we were growing up. “I think she might have been. So always remember, being loved is most important. It’s not about how something looks, Beefcake. It’s about how it feels.”
“I feel happy when I’m with you, Sunny. I’ll bet this is how Jolie feels when she bakes with her mama.” The words left his mouth so casually, I sat there gaping at him with surprise. I loved how honest he was. How he just said how he felt.
The door sprung open, and Winnie came running in before I could respond to Cutler.
“It smells like cupcakes, and I’m getting hungry,” Nash said, with a big grin on his face. “I’m done being kicked out of the cool kids’ baking club.”
I shook my head and chuckled as Cutler charged at him, and his father scooped him up effortlessly.
“Sunny is the bestest baker and the bestest girl, Pops. We better hope she stays a long time, because she makes me feel real good on the inside.”
Nash barked out a laugh, and so did I. “Yep. She makes me feel good on the inside, too.”
With that, he winked at me, and I could feel the heat climbing my neck.
This man had such an effect on me, and I didn’t know what to make of it.
But I’d decided not to overthink it, and I was just going to enjoy myself.
Because I couldn’t get enough of Nash or his little boy.
twenty-three
. . .
Nash
“You did this on purpose,” Kingston whined, and I used my hand to cover my mouth. “What is she, some sort of Olympic volleyball player?”
“My Sunny is the bestest player I’ve ever seen.” Cutler was jumping up and down after Emerson and I smoked Kingston and Romeo in the final round of volleyball. She high-fived my son before bending down and wrapping her arms around him and kissing his cheek. These two were thick as thieves these days. I also didn’t miss the way she was always assessing Cutler’s breathing when we were outside being active. She’d study him the same way that I did, checking for signs of breathing struggles. I’m sure it had a lot to do with her being a doctor, but my gut told me that it had even more to do with her loving my boy. And I had no doubt that she did.
“Hey, you never asked. You were the one who suggested we play volleyball, seeing as I already smoked your ass at baseball a few weeks ago.” I laughed as Emerson came up beside me, hair in a long ponytail on top of her head, short shorts showing off her long, toned legs.
She was already the most beautiful woman I’d ever laid eyes on, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that seeing her smoke all the guys in volleyball was even sexier.
She made it all look so effortless.
Romeo and Demi had a beach area down near the water on their new property, and they’d put in a volleyball court. Kingston was one of those dudes who was basically good at all sports, and he felt pretty confident that he’d dominate at this one. But I hadn’t mentioned the fact that Emerson played college volleyball. And I’d loved watching all of them gape at her as we played game after game as partners, taking every single team out.
“Damn, girl, you’re smart and athletic. That was badass,” Ruby said, as she handed Emerson a bottle of water.
River sauntered over and handed me a beer as Ruby and Emerson led Cutler over to where Demi, Peyton, and Saylor were sitting a few feet away.
“Of course, Heart dates the girl who can treat his son’s asthma and kick King’s ass on the volleyball court. Always the overachiever, this one.” River clinked his bottle with mine. Normally, I’d get defensive about him claiming we were dating. But the truth was, we spent every free minute together. We weren’t with anyone else. So call it what you want.
A relationship. Dating. I wasn’t going to deny any of it anymore.
