"Reed?" Teagan called out, entering the studio after lunch. She was running a few minutes late and expected him to beat her there for his lesson, but he was nowhere to be seen. Taking a moment to breathe, she placed her bag on the shelf and began stretching.

As busy as her day had been, she'd actually gotten a good night's sleep last night, and it had her thinking about sleeping with Reed. She was more than ready to take that step, and, honestly, she'd even do it right here in the studio. She licked her lips at the thought of being pressed up against the mirrored wall, Reed burying himself inside of her.

Good Lord, the things this man did to her mind.

"Hey, Teag." Reed walked into the studio a second later. "I want to introduce you to someone."

Teagan's gaze turned down to the young girl by his side, her hand in his. She immediately recognized her from the pictures he'd shown her of his niece, and quickly rerouted her thoughts to something a little more PG. "Hi, guys! Who's this?"

"This is your student today—Nell." Reed gently pushed his niece forward, though she looked nervous and was clinging to him. "Nell, this is my really, really good friend, Teagan."

Teagan tried not to laugh at his description of her. To be fair, she wouldn't know what to call them either. Friends seemed like the safest explanation, especially in front of a six-year-old. "Hi, Nell. It's wonderful to meet you. Your uncle talks about you all the time."

The little girl smiled up at Reed then shyly stepped forward. Uneven pigtails sat on her shoulders, and she was wearing a plaid dress over stockings that didn't match at all. She put out a pudgy hand and Teagan shook it very stoically, as if they were professionals about to go into a meeting. "Nice to meet you, Teagan."

"Tell her why we're here," Reed encouraged, his hands on her shoulders leading her forward.

Nell grinned, shuffling her feet and picking at a flower on her dress. "We're going to a dance!"

"You're going to a dance?" Teagan gasped, purposefully dramatic. "What dance?"

"Um…" The little girl seemed to consider the question for a minute. "It's for first graders, like me. Only daddy's and daughters, but they said Uncle Reed could be my dad this time because my dad's not here. Mom said it was okay."

Teagan glanced up at Reed, his expression was sheepish.

"Uh, she means it's a Daddy/Daughter Dance. My brother-in-law is deployed, so I'm helping out, going in his place." He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. "It's not a big deal, but I figured we could get some dance lessons beforehand. Nell wanted to practice."

"Yeah, I want to practice," Nell spoke up. "Addison said I'm a bad dancer and she's going to laugh at me. I don't want those girls to laugh at me, and Uncle Reed said he wouldn't let that happen."

"All right, we don't need to tell her every single thing, Nell," Reed said, looking completely embarrassed now.

He didn't have to be, however, because Teagan was infatuated by the entire scene. She had to take a second to force herself not to cry right then and there, because it was all so heartwarming.

But then she saw Reed's hand when he took Nell's hand in his.

His fingernails were bright pink and glittery, and matched the nail polish on Nell's tiny fingers, too. It was clear she'd painted them on him, because the lines were messy and it honestly looked terrible. But he didn't even seem to notice, and definitely didn't seem to care.

Whatever parts of her heart she'd been holding back from him completely crumbled in that moment. The Reed she'd known eight years ago hadn't even really liked kids. He'd certainly never had the time of day for them—more focused on his own needs and wants. It had been the same way with them as well—she'd always felt he chose himself over her, which was exactly what she'd been afraid had happened when she thought he'd left her at the altar for a movie role.

But this Reed? He was his niece's date to a Daddy/Daughter Dance and letting her paint his fingernails.

Teagan wasn't sure her ovaries could handle it.

She cleared her throat. "Well, let's get started. I'll put on some music and we'll learn a few moves, okay?"

"Okay!" Nell shouted, already getting more comfortable and grabbing the bar, swinging her body below it. "I'm a good dancer. Addison is just a meanie. I always get the high score on my Wii."

Teagan chuckled, loving that the young girl's only frame of reference for dancing was an interactive video game. "Well, that just sounds amazing."

She turned on some music and then instructed Reed and Nell to stand together and walked them through a few different simple dances that would be sure to impress her classmates. An hour later, Nell was more confident than ever and was practically bouncing around the studio, asking if they could go to the dance immediately.

"It's not till this weekend, Nell," Reed reminded her, calling across the studio. He turned to Teagan and lowered his voice. "When I get out of here tonight, can I come find you?"

Teagan's tongue slid across her lower lip. "I'm going home early tonight."

"I'll come there then." Reed stepped even closer, his hand tracing a line up her arm. "I need to be with you, Teag. Do you want that? Do you want me?"

"Yes." Her voice was breathy and soft, completely unexpected. "Come tonight."

He grinned mischievously. "I plan to. After you." Leaning in, he placed a soft kiss against her cheek. "See you tonight, beautiful." He pulled away and turned to find his niece. "Come on, Nell. Let's go find your mom before she gets kicked off set for stalking every celebrity she can find."

Nell laughed and hugged her arms around her own torso. "Mom said she's going to find McDreamy. She said he's her hall pass, but Mom isn't in school. Why does she need a hall pass?"

"I, uh, well you see…okay, that's…" Reed put out his glittery pink hand and she interlaced her little fingers with his. "Let's just go. Mom can explain it to you."

Teagan watched them go, trying to suppress her laughter. She was beginning to realize that there was no questioning them anymore. She was in love with Reed Scott. She always had been, and despite years apart and a hatred that could kill, she'd never stopped loving him. She'd never stopped wanting him.

Now he was back, and he wanted to be hers. She just had to decide if she wanted to be his.