20. Sam

“It smells great in here.” I press a kiss to Carter’s neck, looking over his shoulder to see how dinner’s coming.

“Thanks. It’s just about ready.” He leans back into me as he stirs the white sauce that’s bubbling on the stove. The man made homemade ravioli. It blows me away at the things he does without any effort at all.

“Cooper and Quinn should be here any minute. Can I help with anything?” I ask.

“Maybe grab down the plates and stuff? I figure we can serve ourselves and then eat at the table.”

“On it.” While I get the cutlery together, Carter pulls out some cheesy garlic bread that makes my mouth water.

A knock on the door announces the arrival of Cooper and Quinn, and I rush across the house to open the door for them. Carter and I asked them to come over when we got a whole lot of nothing from the officers who processed the scene of the break-in. It’s been almost a week, and there hasn’t been a single update.

I didn’t expect them to find the guy immediately, but I had hoped there’d be some form of progress.

“Hey, guys, come on in.” I move away from the door to let Cooper and Quinn inside the house. Baby Charlotte is snuggled in her dad’s arms, and I can’t deny that the guy looks hotter than hell with a baby in his arms. Cooper’s always been good-looking with his short, cropped brown hair and amber-colored eyes, but fatherhood suits him just as much as his uniform does.

I lean in to kiss Quinn on her cheek. She’s tall with dark brown hair and blue eyes. She’s also just about the sweetest woman I’ve ever met.

“You guys holding up okay?” We walk into the living room, where Quinn drops off the diaper bag while Carter sets the car seat down next to the couch.

“As well as we can be. It’s getting better now that Charlotte isn’t waking up screaming every two hours.”

I grimace. “We really appreciate you guys coming over.”

Cooper pats me on the shoulder. “Honestly, it’s kind of nice to have an adult conversation with someone outside of our family.”

I laugh at that. “I can only imagine.”

Carter comes over to say hello. “Hey, Cooper. Quinn, it’s nice to see you guys again.”

“You, too. I’m so sorry to hear about the break-in,” Quinn says.

“Thanks. I appreciate you guys coming over to talk with me about it. I’m sure there are other things you would rather be doing instead.”

“I was just telling Sam it’s nice to have a reason to leave the house.” Cooper grins.

“Who’s this little one?” Carter reaches out a finger to run it over Charlotte’s soft smattering of hair.

“This is Charlotte Rae.” Quinn’s proud smile couldn’t be wider.

“She’s beautiful.”

“She’s all Cooper, the little stinker. I did all the work, and this is how she shows her appreciation.” Quinn teases.

“Hey, I distinctly remember doing some of the work.” Cooper winks. It makes Quinn flush, and I can’t say I blame her.

Carter grins. “I have a feeling she’s going to wrap you around her little finger, Cooper. Maybe you can use that against him, Quinn.”

“Oh, that’s brilliant.” The gleam in her eyes says Cooper is in for trouble.

“You guys hungry? I made ravioli and cheesy garlic bread,” Carter asks. We all agree that we’re ready to eat, so we follow him into the kitchen to grab our plates. Cooper hands Charlotte off to Quinn while he makes two plates of food. We sit down at the table together and talk about random things until it becomes obvious that Cooper is struggling to eat and hold a wiggly Charlotte at the same time.

“Do you mind if I take her?” Carter asks, holding his hands out. He finished eating a few minutes ago.

“Not at all.” Cooper hands Charlotte to Carter, and he settles the baby on his shoulder like he’s done it a thousand times.

Carter’s hand rests on Charlotte’s back, his thumb swiping back and forth to soothe her. I watch in real time as Charlotte’s little eyes grow heavy and begin to close. Within minutes, she’s sound asleep in Carter’s arms.

“He’s a baby whisperer,” Quinn breathes.

Cooper laughs. “The next time she refuses to fall asleep at three in the morning, we’re calling him.”

“I’d be happy to hang out with this one anytime,” Carter murmurs. A fresh wave of longing hits me square in the chest. Seeing him with a baby in his arms is doing something to me.

“Tell me about the break-in,” Cooper says, interrupting the fantasy I’d begun to build, starring Carter and a little one with dark hair and blue eyes.

Carter looks over at me with his eyebrow raised, silently asking me to tell the story. I nod my head and start from when we got home from our camping trip.

Cooper asks several questions about the destruction pattern. Then about what the officers collected as evidence.

“We stayed out of the way for the most part. I didn’t see them carrying much of anything to their cars when they were done, but they did dust for prints. Officer Brady told us they weren’t able to get any clean ones, though. He said the perps must’ve been wearing gloves or something.”

Cooper nods. “That’s not a surprise. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot to be done at this point. I’d suggest putting up cameras around your house, Carter. That’s how we managed to catch the killer who targeted Quinn.”

“I’ve already contacted a security company that Adam and Matthew’s PI suggested. They’re scheduled to come out tomorrow after the cleaners are finished,” Carter responds.

“That’s good. I’m sorry I can’t help much more than that.”

“Honestly, we didn’t believe you could do much more than what’s already been done.” I look at Carter. “We just got a weird vibe from one of the officers, so we wanted to make sure they weren’t short-changing us based on prejudices.”

“Aww. I hate that. Small towns suck sometimes,” Quinn grumbles. Her frown is adorable, and I grin at her.

“Nothing we’re not used to, and it could’ve been worse,” Carter tells her.

“And Officer Brady was great.”

“I made crème br?lée for dessert. Anyone want some?” Carter asks, changing the subject before we go down a rabbit hole of the many pitfalls of living in a small town.

“Me, but first, I need that baby. I want some cuddles.” I hold my hands out for Carter to pass her over. He gently tips her away from his shoulder, careful not to wake her up, and holds her out for me to cradle her in my arms. She’s fucking precious. Her little button nose and pouty lips are pursed in sleep. I could just eat her.

I glance up to find Carter staring at me with the same look I had on my face. It’s as if the future we’ve both dreamed about is sitting right in front of us. All we have to do is hold on to it.

A sniff has us both turning toward Quinn. She waves her hand in the air while grabbing her napkin from the table to wipe her eyes. “Ignore me. Hormones are a bitch, and I’m just so glad to see you both this happy.”

Cooper smiles at her in amusement. “Agreed.”

Quinn narrows her watery eyes at him. “About which part?”

“Both. I’m happy to see them happy, and I hate how the hormones have been hard on you.”

“Humph.” Quinn sniffs. The laughter in her eyes gives away her enjoyment of his answer.

Carter heads into the kitchen to put dessert together while the rest of us stay at the table.

Quinn grins at me almost maniacally. “Please let me tell Alice you’re dating Carter. She’s been hounding us to think of people to set you up with.”

I bark out a laugh and then cringe as I wait on pins and needles to see if I woke up Charlotte.

Thankfully, she stays out cold, and I shake my head. “Whew. Close one. Anyway, yes. You can tell her but only on one condition.”

“Anything.”

“You have to make sure she knows I told you to tell her since you’ll see her first. If you tell her as if I’m keeping it a secret from her, I’ll never hear the end of it.”

Cooper busts out laughing while Quinn giggles. “You know her so well. But I agree to your terms.” Quinn claps her hands with excitement.

I catch Carter’s gaze in the kitchen, and he winks at me. I’ve never known happiness like this. I’ve felt contentment, anxiety, restlessness, and you name it when it comes to dating. But being with Carter brings me a sense of completion. As if I’ve been waiting for him specifically to come into my life.

This is what I’ve always wanted. Now I just have to ensure I never lose it.