“What did you want to talk about?” she asked, looking up at his face.
“Us.” The half smile she had gotten used to graced his face for a few brief seconds and then was gone, replaced by a slight frown.
“What?” she asked.
“Are you uncomfortable around me, Tessa? You know I’d never hurt you, don’t you?”
If he’d said anything else she couldn’t have been more shocked. Had she somehow given him an indication that she was afraid of him? She didn’t think so, but men thought differently than women. Of course, she tended to gravitate more toward Zander because he did talk more and showed affection so much easier than Tag did. Had she hurt his feelings somehow?
“No, Tag. You don’t make me uncomfortable. Why do you think that?” she asked, almost afraid of the answer.
He shrugged. “Most people are a little wary of me. They are of Zander at first, but after a little while they get over it with him. Not so much with me.”
“It’s because he smiles a lot and talks more. You don’t, but that’s okay, Tag. You are you. I like you just the way you are,” she admitted. “If you suddenly started talking all the time I’d worry that something was wrong with you.”
He just nodded, settling his head on top of hers for a few seconds. Then he pulled back and looked down at her. She could see another question in his eyes. The fact that he hesitated to ask her had her heart stuttering a few beats. Tag wasn’t afraid of anything, but he acted a little worried about asking whatever was on his mind.
“What?” she finally asked, putting the ball in his court.
“We want to be a family, Tessa. I want kids some day. Would you have children with us? Would it matter who the father was?” he asked, looking toward the window and avoiding her eyes.
Tessa sensed that this was important to him. She reached up and grabbed his face in both of her hands. Pulling it down so that she could look directly into his eyes, she smiled at him, making sure he could see her sincerity.
“If this works between the three of us, then yes, I want children some day. Not right away, mind you. We need to work things out between us, but one day when the time is right. As far as who is the father of our children, as long as it’s one of you guys, and you treat any children we have as if they are yours, I’m happy.” She could see the relief cross his face before he covered it with a smirk. This look on Tag was what she was used to seeing.
“Damn right you’re only having our kids. No one else will ever touch you again, baby girl. We may share between us, but we don’t share with anyone else.” He hugged her tightly against his body to the point she nearly protested, but he finally relaxed.
“That’s good to know,” she said with a laugh.
“Now,” he said with a huff. “About moving in with us. You’re doing it and that’s final.”
“Tag. Don’t piss me off. I was just getting over being mad at you two from breakfast.”
“About what?” Zander asked as he walked into the room, wiping his hands on his jeans.
She blew out a breath and tried to stand up, but Tag had a firm hold on her waist with his big hands.
“I swear. If the two of you think you’re going to team up on me, then you’ve got another thing coming. I can’t move in with you until I have a car. I can’t afford a car until I save some more money. End of discussion.” She wiggled some more but wasn’t able to budge.
“Kitten. We’re not teaming up on you. We just both want you here with us where we can keep you safe. We want to fall asleep with you between us each night and wake up with you in our arms every morning. Not going to happen in that firetrap of a box you live in now. It’s torture being away from you all the time.” Zander’s way with words melted her heart. She wanted to sleep between them, too.
But she couldn’t afford a car yet and wasn’t going to be dependent on them to get her to and from work or anywhere else she wanted to go. She bit her lip, unsure how to go about working it out.
“Look,” Tag began. “I have connections with the auto wholesale business because of my shop. I’m sure I can get a good deal on a used car that’s in decent enough shape I can take care of it. You can’t go anywhere but around town in it, but it would do for now. You can pay me back on time.”
“Tag…”
“It’s a good deal, kitten, and would mean you get your own set of wheels sooner. Take it. We want you safe and with us,” Zander said, giving her his best puppy-dog eyes.
Well, maybe pit-bull eyes with that bald head of his.
She frowned but couldn’t find any fault in their logic. It would give her more freedom than she had now and it would mean being with them sooner. She was anxious to see if whatever it was between them would last or not. She ached for a home and roots just as much as the men seemed to ache for her.