That had been a really long time.

“Oh my God,” I breathed.

He shrugged, looking uncomfortable.

“Toby, that’s sweet,” I whispered.

But it wasn’t sweet.

It was . . .

It was . . .

It was the sweetest thing I’d ever heard.

“Mm,” he hummed.

“Really,” I stressed.

“Unh-hunh.”

I slid my hand up his chest, got on my knees, then pressed the rest of me to his chest and glided my hands in his hair.

“How did you go that long our first time if you haven’t—?” I started to ask.

“Baby, I got a hand and I’m not scared of lube, and you’re all that’s you and I got an active imagination. What do you think?”

I grinned.

His dark brows rose. “Those vibrators seen any action ’cause of me?”

“They’re named Toby One, Two and Three.”

His arms suddenly snatched me to him and he twisted, falling to his back in the bed with me on top.

“Actually, I should have called them Toby, Tobias and Talon, but I wasn’t feeling inspired in that way,” I shared.

He was grinning when he asked, “What way were you feeling inspired?”

“Let’s just say, in Toby and Addie Fantasyland, you’re addicted to my blowjobs.”

He burst out laughing and rolled us so he was on top.

But all of a sudden, I wasn’t feeling anything was funny.

“I’ve got some miles on me, honey,” I admitted.

“So?” he asked. “I do too. You got a problem with that?”

I pressed my lips together and shook my head, feeling the relief that Toby was all things Toby.

“You want me to get tested?” he offered.

“I think for you and me, it would be wise.”

“I’ll get tested,” he murmured.

“Toby?”

“Yeah?”

“Just to say, you’re pretty awesome.”

He smiled and lines formed beside his eyes when he did.

I’d probably noticed them before, but being all about that beard, those white teeth, his hair (and incidentally, his lips), I hadn’t taken in his eyes.

They were as awesome as the rest of him.

“Day one is done with us and we got our shit tight,” I bragged.

His smile got bigger and he kissed me.

When he finished doing that, he did this cute thing with rolling us this way and that to get us under the covers.

He reached for his lamp.

I reached for mine.

They went out.

But the glow from his Christmas lights outside filled the room.

He pulled me in his arms.

I settled there.

I gave it a while before I shared, “You should know, even with it being just after that ugly scene with Perry, the second I noticed you, it was you for me too.”

“I know, Adeline. You told me I was perfect so that wasn’t lost on me.”

I tipped my head back and looked at him through the glow. “I did?”

“Yeah, and I hadn’t even got the shot to be as perfect as I actually am.” His arms tightened around me. “So you might have lost your touch with that dick of an ex-husband, but you got your good instincts back when you noticed me.”

“Sadly,” I groused “cocky is hot.”

“I know that too.”

“You need to shut up and go to sleep,” I informed him.

He tipped his beard into his neck, brushed his lips against mine, and whispered there, “Okay, honey.”

Then he cupped the back of my head, shoved my face in his throat, his beard now brushing my forehead, and relaxed into me.

I stared at his throat.

And something struck me.

“You don’t have to feed Brooks in the morning.”

He gave me a squeeze. “Shut it.”

“Or take care of him until I get home Thursday and Friday. I can ask Iz or Margot.”

I found myself dragged up the bed so we were face to face.

“Makin’ this clear only once even though I thought I already did that,” he began.

Oh man.

I had Toby’s ticked-off growl.

“I get you come as a package,” he declared. “I picked that package. My choice. Nothing against how beautiful you are or funny or feisty or all the other shit I dig about you, but honest to God, don’t know if I’d be in this deep if Brooklyn wasn’t a part of you. So get over this and do it now because I want you and I want him and that’s it.”

And that’s it.

That was it.

“Okay,” I said shakily.

“You over it?” he asked.

“I think so.”

“You have another second to be sure about that.”

That second came as silence.

Then he asked, “You over it now?”

I really wanted to bust out laughing.

I didn’t.

I whispered, “I’m over it, Toby.”

“Jesus,” he muttered irritably, pushed me back down and then tucked me close again.

Being ticked and tucking me close was funny too.

I didn’t laugh.

I just pressed closer and remarked, “You Gamble Men really don’t fuck around, do you?”

“No, babe, we don’t,” he stated firmly.

I didn’t bother with beating back my smile.

I gave him some time to cool down before I said, “Goodnight, honey.”

“’Night, baby,” he replied.

Day one.

Done.

And seriously.

We had our shit tight.

It Was Family

Addie

ON SATURDAY, TOBY drove my Focus into town with me in the passenger seat and Brooks in his seat in the back.

It had been a week of Toby and me having our shit tight.

I noticed he was a mellow dude and there was very little he put his foot down about, and this was good since I was not a putting-a-foot-down-man type of woman.

Since we weren’t talking about him buying groceries (and incidentally, he came through my line with Brooks on Thursday night and filled some of those kickass burlap bags again (four of them) to take food to my house, and I was pretty proud of myself I didn’t say a word—then again, he’d spent every night at my house since we got together so he was eating the food along with me) . . .

Or paying my copay (something he handed me a twenty on Tuesday morning in order that I could do) . . .

Or taking Brooks on, along with taking me . . .

It was all good.

That was, it was all good until we were set to go into town for the Fair and we couldn’t put the car seat in his truck because his truck had a bench seat, therefore we had to take my, car and I told him no one drove my car but me.

This was when I found out that, unless you had a dick, Tobias Gamble did not ride shotgun.

And even if you had a dick, there was a discussion.

But no dick, no way.

He’d said this, straight out.

“You won’t let a woman drive?” I’d asked.

“Babe.”

That was his answer.

Babe.

Obviously, that was no answer at all, so I called him on it.

“Why?” I queried.

“It’s just the way it is,” he replied.