I drove too close to her car. I hoped I wasn’t making her nervous, but I was unwilling to take any chances. After all we’d been through, I was not going to lose that woman again. I couldn’t rightly keep her in my sight at all times for the rest of our lives, but I would do my best to try.

The drive did give me a few minutes to let things settle in my mind. I hadn’t talked much to Kylie before we left; she knew we needed time to ourselves. But it was weird not to talk her about what was going on. There would be much conversation at some point, no doubt. She’d already accepted Kodi as her nephew, but she’d be getting a sister-in-law, too. And then there were the parents. Hopefully, my mother would be so excited over having a grandbaby that she wouldn’t be too disappointed in me for having him out of wedlock.

My dad would likely give some unhelpful advice about carrying condoms with me all the time. But they would love Alexis and Kodi. No doubt about that. Even if things were tense at first, Alexis would win them all over quickly.

There were so many decisions ahead of me, I didn’t know where to start. Alexis probably had it all figured out already; she was good about making plans. We’d have to find a place to live, plan a wedding, all of that and more. I started to feel a little overwhelmed by the time I pulled up beside her in her apartment’s parking lot.

We got out and I helped her carry the diaper bag while she carried Kodi in the car seat. I followed her upstairs and had already made the first decision before we walked through the door.

“So, you’ll definitely have to move in with me,” I said, looking around and setting the bag down.

“It’s not that bad.” She laughed. “It wasn’t like I got to check out a bunch of places before I came, you know. It’s cheap.”

“For a reason.”

“I’m certainly not tied to this place or anything. We can live wherever. I don’t really care.”

“Huh.” I watched her take Kodi out of the seat and hold him close.

“What?”

“I thought you would have had things planned out already.”

“Well,” she brushed her hair out of her eyes, “all my plans were thrown to the wind when Kodi came along. I’ve learned not to plan so much. Things change. For instance, I thought when I found you, it would be some grand moment where we fell into each other’s arms, and it was supposed to be this glorious reunion. Instead, my car got stuck in the mud—obviously, your clan doesn’t drive to the clubhouse often, but you can’t make a baby shift, so I had no choice—and you thought there was someone else, and nothing I had planned worked out. Nothing I’ve ever really planned has worked out like I thought, so what’s the point?”

“There is one thing I think we can plan.”

“Well, the wedding will take lots of planning, for sure. So will moving and breaking my lease and all that. Gosh, I didn’t even think about that. We’ll have to tell our families and we need to make a trip to Florida so you can meet my family.”

“For now, maybe we can just plan to spend some time together once the baby is sleeping. That’s all I meant.” I gestured to the boxes along the wall. “Besides, you’re already packed.”

She gave me a seductive smile. “Oh yeah? What did you have in mind?”

“Something we haven’t done in a long time.”

I followed her into Kodi’s room. It was obvious she’d spent the most time there. No other room in the apartment looked so put together and finished. She’d hung decorations and made it cute with animals all over the place. She lay Kodi down carefully and watched for a moment to make sure he wasn’t going to stir.

We snuck out of the room with the baby monitor and sat in the living room.

I took her hands in mine. “I have to say, I am so sorry you’ve been alone in this. I’m sorry that I didn’t give you my number sooner, that I wasn’t more careful about making sure we could contact each other. I should have just gone to your room before I left and said goodbye.”

She shook her head. “You were thinking of Kylie. It’s understandable. She told me a little about the accident. She almost died? No wonder you weren’t thinking about me. I wouldn’t have wanted you to be.”

“I was, though. I wished you were there with me to make it better. It was the most terrible few days of my life, and they came right after the best few days of my life. I was just spun from it all. But you went through the whole pregnancy and birth and first few months of Kodi’s life alone, and I’m sorry for that.”

“It wasn’t your fault. And I had Hailey and my family to help.”

“I’m still sorry it happened that way. I thought…well, so many things I thought were wrong, so it doesn’t matter. But I never saw things ending up like this when we first met.”

“No? I can’t imagine why you couldn’t foresee this craziness.”

“But, look at what happened. We found each other again. I wish we had never been apart, but I’m grateful that it was only a year. What if you wouldn’t have found me until Kodi was older? It would have been terrible to miss all that. At least I have you both now, and we can be a family, and I won’t be missing either of you.”

“Ever again.”

“Ever again, because if you think I’m letting you vanish again, you’re nuts,” I said.

“I wouldn’t try. I mean, I did move across the country partly because you were here.”

“And I am so, so glad you did. I guess I’ll have to tell my boss that his recruitment campaign is a success.”

“What part of the park do you work in?”

“Up near the preserve,” I said.

“We work at opposite ends of the park. With so many miles between us, we might have never run into each other.”

“Nah. There’s an annual Christmas party and pretty much everyone goes. I probably would have seen you then.”

She laughed. “Well, good thing, because I’d hate to think we might have been so close to each other this whole time and not found one another.”

“You know what? Let’s not think about that. We did find each other.” I tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and leaned in to kiss her.

Once we started kissing, all conversation halted. It didn’t take long for things to heat up. After a few minutes of kissing, I was pulling my shirt off. At first, I thought I was moving too fast, but then she pulled the hem of her shirt over her head, too, and wiggled out of her jeans.

I helped her tug them off and tossed them aside. I sat up a little and took a moment to look her over, to take in the sight I hadn’t seen in so long.

She crossed her arms over her stomach. “What are you doing?”

“Looking at you. What are you doing?”

“Just kiss me.”

I gave her a questioning look and kissed her, then pulled back again. “What’s going on?”

“It’s just, you know, I’ve still got a few extra pounds from Kodi. I want you to remember me how I was.”

I laughed and moved her arms to kiss all over her stomach. “Are you kidding me? I see your beauty. And I see where you carried our baby.” I ran my fingers over the light, silvery stretch marks in her skin. “These are the most beautiful marks you could have because they mean we have something together that can never be undone.”

She put her hand to my cheek. “I almost forgot how charming you are. No wonder I slept with you after only a few days.”

I wiggled my eyebrows at her, planting kisses along her neck and bit gently on her earlobe. “Am I charming now?” I breathed into her ear.

“Yes,” she moaned as I rubbed her nipple between my fingers.

She flinched slightly when I pinched the firm nub and then I thought of how she’d fed Kodi. I sat up again. “Is this okay?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, can you do this?”

“Well, I’m a little out of practice since it’s been over a year, but I think I remember how it goes…”

“No.” I shook my head. “You flinched when I pinched your nipple. Are they sore?”

“Oh. A little. They get a lot of use these days.”

“Alexis, we don’t have to—”

“Oh, yes we do.” She sat up to meet me and wrapped her arms around my neck. “I’ve been wanting you for so long. Do you know how many times I thought about our night together?”

“Almost as many times as I did? Wait a minute. So, you haven’t slept with anyone else since me?”

“Cooper, I was pregnant. No.” She laughed.

“Oh. Right. Well, good. I haven’t either.”

She bit along my neck and reached into my lap to rub my bulge. “Then I guess we’re both a little overdue.”

I hugged my arms around her tightly and picked her up, carrying her to what I thought was her bedroom. When I saw the toilet and shower, I said, “Whoops,” and carried her into the next room, laying her on the bed.

“Here for a minute, I thought you wanted shower sex.”

“Maybe after. I just wanted to make it more comfortable.”

She pushed her panties down and spread out naked on the bed. “Your turn.” She pointed to my pants.

I obediently took the rest of my clothes off. But I couldn’t help feeling hesitant. I stood there, staring at her, my erection pointing straight ahead.

“Are you gonna let that go to waste?” she asked, pointing to my cock.

I climbed on top of her, and she wrapped her legs around my waist. I took my time, making sure she was really ready. She felt wet and moaned when I touched her, but was that enough?

I played with her for a few minutes, feeling her wetness as I slipped my finger in and out. Was it just me or was she super tight? I swallowed hard and she reached down to stroke me. It felt so good that I paused and let her touch me for a few minutes before she moved me into position. Then I had a thought and pulled back.

“Wait.”

“What?” she asked, exasperated.

“Well, we have a habit of getting too…passionate and forgetting to use something.”

“Huh?”

“Like a condom or something? We didn’t last time. Should we now?”

She lay back and thought for a minute. “The chances of me getting pregnant right now are slim.”

“Because you just had a baby?”

“And I’m breastfeeding and my periods are really irregular. I mean, it can happen, it’s just less likely.”

“So…?”

“Do you want to make sure we don’t have another baby?”

“Do you?”

She shrugged and I laughed.

“Well,” I said, “everything else has come down to chance and fate. Let’s just see what happens.”

“Okay. As long as you actually get over here and make love to me. Otherwise, it won’t matter what fate wants.”

I settled back into place and she grabbed hold of me again. When I was in position, she lifted her hips to slip my head inside her. I pushed into her slowly, making sure there wasn’t too much friction happening.

She tightened her legs and thrust her hips up, pushing me deeper inside.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

She moved her hips back and forth. “I will be if you stop looking at me like I’m made of glass and just fuck me.”

“Yes ma’am.” I chuckled and went about my normal rhythm—almost. I was still being gentle, despite what she said. After a few minutes, she sat up and pushed me back, then climbed on top of me, sliding me back inside her and started riding me hard. I was shocked it didn’t hurt her, but if she was the one doing it, I didn’t have to worry so much.

I finally relaxed and enjoyed the feeling of her slick walls gripping my shaft. Rocking her hips, she slammed down hard on me; I grabbed her ass and moved with her. She was so hot, it didn’t take long for me to get close. “Slow down,” I groaned.

She leaned over me and tugged on my lip with her teeth. “No. I want to make you come like you’ve never come before.”

With that, she moved faster and harder, forcing me deep inside her until I was overcome by ecstasy and hit my peak. She cried out a moment later and thrust a few times before stopping.

She lay down on my chest, panting. “I needed that.”

“You sure you’re okay?”

“I’m more than okay. I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you, too. So much.” I closed my arms tightly around her and held her close, vowing to never let her go.