Rumor Going 'Round (Lyrics and Love #3) - Lind, Samantha Page 0,5
in my sleep fills my ears. Tucker.
I turn in his arms, sliding my own around his neck as I rest my head on his chest and we start to sway around the floor to the song. I don’t even really hear the sound of the music with my ear pressed against his chest; all I hear is the pounding of his heart.
“How have you been?” he asks after a minute or so of swaying.
“Good, just busy with work and everything,” I tell him, looking up at him and into his chocolate brown eyes. “How’s Paisley?” I inquire about his daughter. She’s so damn cute.
“A spitfire, like always. Hounding me like crazy to get her a puppy for her birthday next week.”
“Every girl needs a puppy,” I tell him, trying to help his daughter out.
“Not you, too,” he groans. His hands shift slightly, one practically covering my entire lower back as he holds me close.
Much like my relationship with Allison, I’ve known Tucker for practically my entire life. He’s a year older than me, but in a small town, you play with everyone around you. We hung out with the same group of people, for the most part, so we have always been friendly. If I’m honest, I’ve always crushed on him but never got the same vibes in return. I’ve never been the outgoing and bold type that would ask a guy out, so those feelings and the attraction won’t go anywhere unless it comes from him.
“How’s work? I haven’t seen you in the ER lately.”
“Same shit, different day.” He chuckles. “Now that we’re back to full staff on the paramedic side, they don’t need our help as much with riding along in their rig.”
“That makes sense,” I say, shifting my hands after I realize I’m playing with the longer strands of his hair at the base of his neck. “Paisley will be, what, five next week?” I ask, turning the conversation back to his daughter.
“Five going on fifteen, but in about two weeks,” he grumbles, but I can feel the love that he has for her in that grumble. “She’s going to either give me gray hair or make me go bald before she’s ten,” he muses.
“I’m sure she isn’t that bad.” I laugh at his demeanor.
“She isn’t. Just the level of sass that comes out of her is amazing. I have to remind myself that she’s only four. Lilly and Mike having a baby a few weeks back has been a big adjustment for her. I think she’s taken it a lot harder than anyone expected her to. Most kids are super excited for a new sibling, but she’s been the complete opposite.”
“That has to be a hard adjustment,” I sympathize with her. “She’s so used to being the center of everyone’s attention, and now she’s playing second fiddle to a new baby.”
“Yeah, she begs to come to my house when I’m not working. Tonight was the first night that she didn’t ask to come over before our normal time,” he tells me.
“Ah, well, at least she knows that she’s got a safe place with you that she can get away from being around him, when needed.”
“Yeah, I’m just trying to make sure I don’t enable the behavior. We don’t need her learning at five how to manipulate Lilly and me when she’s not getting her way at one of our houses. That’s one of the reasons I’m struggling with getting her the dog or not. Lilly already told her no at their house right now. I know that deciding to get one for my house is a little different than, say, buying her a car down the road, because the dog wouldn’t just be hers, but mine, as well. But I also don’t want to do anything that would make Lilly’s life more stressful because it's affecting Paisley’s attitude when she’s with her and not with me.”
“Can I just tell you how amazing it is to hear of two parents that actually work together for the better of their kid rather than constantly backstabbing one another. I hear all about it at work, and I always just feel sorry for the kids caught in the middle.”
“We’ve always done our best since she was born. She didn’t ask to be born to two parents that weren’t together and never would be.”
“Y’all are seriously the best,” I tell him as I squeeze his biceps before stepping back from his embrace. The song we were dancing to has long since