Fate Actually (Moonstone Cove #2) - Elizabeth Hunter Page 0,46
spend regular time together?” He held up a finger. “Not go out on dates, but spend time together.”
Saturdays in the garden. Home-improvement projects. Phone calls that turned into watching movies together that turned into something in the neighborhood of phone sex.
“Uh…”
“You know we do.”
The cat, sensing an opportunity for more attention than Toni’s half-hearted pets, decamped from her lap and headed toward Henry.
“We spend time together,” he said. “We like talking and being together. I’d like to actually show my face in public with you and meet some of your friends since I’ve liked the ones I’ve met so far.” He moved one hand to pet Shelby and kept rubbing Toni’s legs with the other.
Betrayer cat. Toni would have to plot some petty revenge.
“And you know, just as an aside, we’re also going to have a kid together,” he said. “So there’s that.”
Toni opened her eyes and sat up straight. “See? This is what I was afraid of. Just because I’m pregnant does not mean that we have to change everything and commit to some kind of long-term—”
“Toni.” He cut her off. “I was trying to have a committed relationship with you before the baby happened. It’s not like this is some kind of one-night stand. We’ve been involved for almost a year. I’m in. Do you get that? I am in this.”
She felt her heart racing. It wasn’t that she didn’t want Henry, it was just that no man in her life had ever been able to accept her—all of her—without trying to change who she was.
And Toni wasn’t okay with that. She liked who she was. She liked her life and her job and her crazy family that was constantly in her business. She wasn’t going to change. No relationship was worth that.
“Do I want more of a commitment from you?” Henry continued. “Yes. I mean, that’s not exactly a secret. But I can’t force you. I know you well enough to know that if I push it, you’re just going to dig in your heels.”
She closed her mouth and sat back. “You make me sound like a child.”
“You’re not a child.” His hand snuck up to her thigh. “But you do have a slightly overdeveloped need for independence.”
“I don’t like everyone knowing my personal life.”
“Considering the size and closeness of your family, I get that. But can you just… consider letting me be your boyfriend and not keeping me a secret for the sake of our relationship and also possibly our future child?”
She slumped down. “I told Megan and Katherine about you.”
“Which is great.” Henry raised an eyebrow. “Is your mom aware that I exist?”
“How can you ask that? You’ve been to dinner at her house.”
“Yes, as Nico’s winemaker. And you didn’t speak to me all night.”
Okay, he maybe had a point. Toni took a deep breath. “Henry…”
“Yes?”
She said it quickly so she wouldn’t lose her nerve. “Would you like to go with me to Sunday dinner at Frank and Jackie’s this weekend?”
Both of Henry’s eyebrows went up. “As your date?”
She nodded.
“Yes.” He leaned over, grabbed her hand, and kissed her knuckles. “Antonia Luciana Dusi, I would like that very much.”
“Okay.” She wasn’t panicking. Who was panicking? Not her. Probably the cat. Maybe she was panicking a little. She reached outward and searched for Henry’s calm, centering presence.
“Toni.”
“Mm-hmm?”
“Don’t freak out about your parents. I like your parents.”
She took a deep breath. “I mean, you think you like them because you met them as Nico’s new winemaker, but you didn’t meet them as my boyfriend, did you? Also, you like my parents, but do you like my brother, my sister, my nieces and nephews, my aunts and uncles, my forty-two cousins, and all their children?” She stared at him and his goofy smile. “You’re stuck on the fact that I called you my boyfriend, aren’t you?”
“Yeah.” His smile was wide and… Yes, it was goofy. And adorable.
Toni sighed. “You need to understand something. When you dive into this pool, it’s not the shallow end. There is no shallow end with my family, and they are not optional.”
He nudged the cat—who had slowly taken over his lap—to the floor and pulled Toni’s hand until she was nearly sitting on him.
“I know I’m diving into the deep end.” He brushed a thumb over her cheek and examined her lips. “I know you don’t come solo.” He drew her across his lap so she was straddling him before he took her mouth in a long, lazy kiss.