“I’m going on a date tonight with Ben! I’m so nervous, Elle.”

“That’s great, Cass. Don’t be nervous. You’ll have fun.”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been on a date.”

“Just relax and be yourself. Call me tomorrow and let me know how it went.”

Just as I hit the send button, Connor came walking into the kitchen and took Julia from me.

“Let me finish feeding her. I missed her today.”

Connor sat down in the chair and couldn’t stop smiling at Julia as he held the bottle in her mouth.

“Cassidy just texted me, and she’s going on a date with Ben tonight.”

“What? Are you serious?” he growled.

“Yes, I’m serious, and what’s your problem? Your sister deserves to be happy.”

He sighed. “Don’t get me wrong. I want nothing more than for Cassidy to find the man of her dreams that will come in and sweep her off her feet and make her happy, but I’m afraid she’ll get hurt because of Camden.”

“Because of Camden? Why?” I asked.

“Because of his autism. It’s going to take a pretty special guy to get involved with my sister under those circumstances. Not a lot of guys want to jump into a relationship like that.”

“Maybe Ben is that special guy.” I smiled as I got up from the chair and grabbed the diaper bag.

“Doubt it.”

I sighed as I looked over at Connor. “Are you still being pissy because I said he was hot?”

He wouldn’t look at me and he had a smirk on his face. “You’re lucky you’re holding Julia, because if you weren’t—”

“If I weren’t, then what, Ellery?”

“Oh, nothing.” I smiled as I walked out of the kitchen and into the living room to get Julia’s blanket.

Before I knew it, Connor had followed me. He laid Julia down on her blanket, which was on the floor and looked at me.

“If I weren’t ... what?” He smiled as he began moving towards me.

I started to back up as I bit down on my bottom lip. Once again, his look, his walk, his whole demeanor—I knew all too well. I ran up the stairs, but before I could make it, Connor grabbed me from behind and carried me back down.

“Now, tell me again what you were going to do to me if I wasn’t holding Julia?” he whispered in a sexy voice that sent shivers down my spine.

His grip on me was tight, and he wouldn’t let me go. I didn’t want him to let me go. When he held me, I felt safe from the world and all my worries disappeared. He put me down, but continued to hold me from behind. I could tell he didn’t want to let go as he buried his face into my neck. Finally, I broke the silence.

“Everything’s going to be okay, baby,” I whispered as I freed my arm and brought my hand to the back of his head.

I held onto Ellery, and Julia started to fuss on the floor. I removed her hand from the back of my head and placed her palm against my lips.

“Let’s get Julia packed up and ready to go,” I said.

As I walked over and picked her up, Ellery got the diaper bag ready. I put Julia in the car seat and we stepped onto the elevator. We dropped Julia off with Mason and Landon and headed out for dinner.

“Where do you want to go for dinner?” I asked.

“The Shake Shack,” she replied.

I looked at her as I twisted my face. “The what, what?”

“The Shake Shack, silly! We can get burgers and shakes, plus it’s right by Jack’s Tattoo Parlor.”

“It sounds dirty and greasy.”

Ellery laughed as she cocked her head at me. “You’re so adorable. Now, let’s go. I’m hungry.”

I sighed and we headed to the Shake Shack. As I sat there, eating my grilled chicken sandwich, Ellery shoved her burger in my face.

“Here, taste this. It’s the best burger in the world.”

“No thanks. It looks greasy and disgusting,” I said.

“Suit yourself, Mr. Black. I remember a time when you would taste anything I shoved in your face.”

I sat there and stared at her as she ate her burger and fries. I was mesmerized by how adorable she was, eating that burger full of grease. I couldn’t resist her, so I gave in.

“Bring it here, and let me taste it,” I said as I held out my hand.

A smile spread across her face. The one thing that I loved most about her was that the littlest things made her happy. I took a bite as she held it up to me and was pleasantly surprised that it was good.

“Well?” She smiled.

“It’s not bad.”

“I knew it! I knew you’d like it.”

We finished up dinner, if that’s what you wanted to call it, and headed out the door. The tattoo parlor was a couple of blocks over, and Ellery wanted to walk. I took her hand in mine and we headed to the parlor. We were walking down the street and looking in the various shop windows as we passed by, when Ellery suddenly stopped.

“Hi, Elle.”

“Hi, Kyle,” she replied.

“Connor.” He nodded his head.

“Kyle.” I nodded back.

He introduced us to his girlfriend and asked Ellery how she was doing. She pulled out her phone and showed him pictures of Julia. I was uncomfortable and just wanted to get the hell out of there. I could see by the way he looked at her that he still had feelings for her. We said our goodbyes and continued walking down the street.

“That was awkward,” I said.

“Not really. I’ve run into him before.”

“You have? You’ve never mentioned it.”

“It was no big deal. Just a quick ‘hi’ in passing.”

“I can tell he still has feelings for you.”

“Oh well. His loss, right?” She smiled.

“That’s right, baby, his loss and my gain. If he never would’ve left you, I never would’ve met you, and who knows where I’d be right now?”

She squeezed my hand lightly as we stood in front of Jack’s Tattoo Parlor.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” she asked.

“Of course I’m sure. I’ve never been surer about anything in my life, except for you.” I winked at her.

As we walked through the door of the parlor, Jack looked up from behind the counter.

“Well, look who decided to drop by; my girl, Ellery.” He smiled as he stepped out from behind the counter.

“Hi, Jack,” Ellery said as she gave him a hug. “I want you to meet my husband, Connor. He wants to get a tattoo.”

“Hey, Connor, nice to meet you, bro,” Jack said as we shook hands. “Take a seat right over here and tell me what you’re thinking.”

“I was thinking about the double infinity symbol in thick black ink, with Ellery’s name at the top and Julia’s name at the bottom. I want it on my right bicep.”

Ellery looked at me, grabbed my hand, and I could see the tears swell in her eyes. I shook my head at her lightly.

“Sounds good, buddy. Are you ready? Jack asked.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

As Jack was halfway into the infinity design, I asked Ellery how she handled getting the tattoos on both wrists.

“I was in a very bad place and nothing could hurt worse than the pain I’d felt from losing you.”

I took in a sharp breath because my heart ached when she said that.

“Ellery was a good sport. She didn’t even flinch,” Jack said.

“She’s a strong woman.” I smiled.

Two hours later, and my tat was finished. I looked at it through the mirror and it was exactly what I wanted.

“Connor, it looks great! I love it!” Ellery exclaimed.

“Thank you, Jack. You did a great job,” I said as I pulled out my wallet and Ellery grabbed it out of my hand.

“Here, Jack. Thank you for everything.” She smiled as she handed him the money, plus a hundred-dollar tip.

I looked at her as she looped her arm in mine and we walked out the door. “What is with you giving people such large tips?” I asked.

“He deserved it. Look at the wonderful job he did on your tattoo. I must say that I’m very turned on by it,” she said as a wide grin graced her face.

“Well, then, it was worth it.”

We walked down the streets of the city and back to the Range Rover. Ellery pulled out her phone and sent a text message to Mason, telling him that we were on our way to get Julia. As we reached the garage where the Range Rover was parked, I opened the door for Ellery and kissed her passionately before letting her get in.