Jocelyn

He adores his daughter; there’s no other way to describe it. And the feeling is mutual. The way Charli looks at her dad, it’s like there are beacons of light shining from her eyes.

When she’s old enough to get married, men everywhere are going to have their work cut out for them. They say women marry men like their father—I hope that’s true, for Charli’s sake.

“What do you say, one more ride?” Boxer asks. “Then we’ll call it quits.”

“Ten more rides!” Charli screams.

My stomach goes queasy with the thought. Thankfully, Charli’s friend, Abby, is looking peaked too, and it’s with a firm shake of his head that Boxer says no. “One more. That’s final.”

Charli, smart cookie that she is, picks the ride with the longest wait time ever. The ride itself is a rollercoaster, the biggest one in the park that they’re tall enough to go on, and it’s the one everyone wants to hit one last time before leaving.

“She picked this one on purpose,” I tell Boxer. “She doesn’t want to leave.”

“I don’t mind,” he says as the girls inch forward, leaning on the railing as they watch cart after cart take off, waving wildly to each one. “Hard to complain about a little more time next to you.”

He inches his hand onto my lower back, his thumb tucking beneath the fabric of my shorts. Luckily, we swung past my place so I could change out of my heels and dress clothes before spending a day at the park.

The girls are oblivious to us, and I’m suddenly grateful for the long line. Boxer moves me in front of him, wrapping his arms around my shoulders and pressing a spine-tingling kiss to my neck. It’s just tender enough to make me shiver, just hot enough to make me melt back into him.

He groans as my backside presses to him. I clear my throat and stand straight, but he growls his disapproval. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“We’re in public!”

“It’s dark outside. Park’s almost closing.”

Despite his argument, he moves to stand next to me and lets his hand meander back toward my waistband. All day we’ve been acting like high schoolers, waiting for the girls to get distracted so we could have a moment of privacy. Boxer hasn’t told Charli about us being anything but business partners yet, though she must be picking up on something—judging by the note in her handmade invitation.

Best friend, I think, leaning against his shoulder and watching as the first legs of starlight dance upon Charli’s hair. I like that. Best friend.

I slip my hand through his and raise onto my tiptoes to whisper in his ear. “Thank you for an amazing day.”

“Girls,” he says, guiding me forward with a hand to my back as he leans down to Charli’s level. “How do you feel about being responsible?”

Charli gives him a rightfully confused expression. “Meh.”

“Why don’t you and Abby ride by yourselves, and Jocelyn and I will wait right over here near the exit?”

Charli surveys the scene. We don’t have that much further until the front of the line, and we can see each other the entire way. The exit pops out right next to the entrance, so it’s next to impossible for them to get lost.

“That’s cool,” she says, sounding much older than her years. “We can do that.”

We wait with the girls until they’re safely buckled into the ride, and then step off the platform and perch ourselves near the exit. There’s a little offshoot that’s quite empty, a vantage point from which we can watch the girls and maintain some semblance of privacy.

“Not feeling well?” I tease, my breath catching in my throat as he boxes me in against the railing with one arm on either side of my body.

“Sure,” he says, nuzzling against my neck. “Whatever you want to believe.”

I laugh softly, cherishing the warmth of his arms against the chill of the night air. The ride takes off, and we separate for a moment, waving to the girls before they round the corner and shrieks carry them into the darkness.

“I needed this, needed it so badly,” he says, his arms landing on my shoulders and spinning me to face him. “Going four days without talking to you was too long.”

“I know. I missed you.”

His lips meet mine, starving for this moment. There’s no time to be tender, no slow build to fuel. We’re on fire. He presses against me as he clasps my face in his hands and deepens the kiss.

My arms are around his neck, dragging him under with me. I can’t breathe, can’t see, can’t think; I need him. To be apart from him is an ache impossible to ease.

These last weeks, we’ve been testing boundaries, pushing our limits. If New York wasn’t looming, I’d insist he come home with me tonight.

“This was a horrible idea,” he murmurs, breaking just long enough in his pause to pepper my cheek with kisses. “I just want you more, now. I don’t know if I can wait.”

“I know.” I grin, then squeeze him into a hug to get the smile back on his face. “Just think, though, the anticipation will all be worth it.”

“Are you ready?” he asks, his eyes landing on mine. Our bodies are still lined against one another, but the heat has faded to a cool burn. “Are you ready for New York?”

“Yes.” I meet his gaze head on and supplement my response with a nod. “Are you?”

“More than anything, sweetheart. But you know what it means—when we sleep together, when I introduce you to Charli as my girlfriend—”

I silence him with the softest kiss I can muster. “I know,” I tell him. “I want everything. You. Charli. Whatever that entails.”

“Come home with me tonight.” He’s got me pressed against him again, and it’s intoxicating. “I need you, Joss.”

“Tonight’s not the right time,” I tell him, gritting my teeth as I try to convince myself. I can feel his need, and my own desire is streaking through me. “One week.”

As if to prove my point, the ride comes to a stop and we’re forced to break apart. He gives me one last kiss, fast and hard to the lips, his hands covering my body in a way that has me feeling like I belong. To him. To the here and now.

“Fine,” he says, as the park employees start letting children off the ride. He glances over my shoulder for the girls, then turns his gaze on me for one fiery moment. “But don’t make any plans for New York because you’re all mine. All weekend.”

I barely manage to nod.

“The week after, and the week after that, too,” he says, brushing a kiss against my forehead. “For as long as you’ll have me.”

The moment is broken as the girls hop down the exit ramp, and we move to the gate to greet them. But as we drive home, I find myself sitting in silence, Charli’s recap of the day falling on deaf ears as I think about what’s to come.

Later in the night, as I toss and turn in bed, my stomach twisting in knots, I realize that I’m nervous. I’m nervous for the week ahead, the anticipated stay in New York. Our first night together, what it will be like—and what it might not. I worry about the future—what I will lose if everything falls apart.

Then I worry about my heart because somehow, I’ve fallen in love—so deeply and desperately in love that the mere thought of it brings an ache to my chest, and I hadn’t even seen it coming.