Then There Was You: A Single Parent Collection

by Gianna Gabriela

  Instead, I step back and allow her to breathe without me crowding her. She’s beautiful. There’s an allure to her that makes every inch of my body burn with want. But I can’t. She can’t.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “You keep saying that,” she teases, a grin breaking on her lips. “I liked that,” she admits then, earning herself a smile.

  “Well, I have a few more where that came from.” I chuckle when she giggles. A soft, tinkling sound that reminds me of metal against glass. One of my favorite sounds.

  “Perhaps we can do this again over the weekend?” My voice holds hope. It’s laden with need I’ve not felt in a long while.

  Kayla nods. “I’d like to. Perhaps we can do lunch?” This time, she’s the one with a lingering of hope dancing in those pretty eyes.

  “We can. I’ll have Libby with me,” I tell her, running my hand through my hair. “I mean, I can’t get a sitter on Saturday, but . . . if you don’t—”

  “I’d love to meet her outside of school. If that’s okay?”

  Her question calms me. It confirms what I’ve wanted to suggest since yesterday. Perhaps it would be easier jumping in with both feet.

  “I don’t normally do this, Kayla,” I explain. “But something tells me this will be good.” My confession makes her smile, and it lights the night like a goddamned star.

  “Then it’s settled.” Kayla grins. “I have to go.”

  “Yeah, me too.” I nervously reach for her hand and press a kiss to her knuckles before she slides into the driver’s seat of her hatchback and starts the engine. I watch the red taillights disappear around the corner before I head to my truck and slide into the cab.

  The engine roars to life, and soon I’m heading home. Even though Silver Pine isn’t big, it takes me ten minutes to pull into my driveway. Exiting the vehicle, I head up the steps and unlock the door.

  My mind is still on Kayla when I shut myself inside and smell sweet confectionary wafting through the entrance from the kitchen. When I make my way into the open-plan space, I find Libby sitting at the table, her face covered in flour, and Mrs. Griffon laughing at my daughter.

  “You’re home early,” the older lady remarks.

  “I guess I interrupted the fun,” I respond, leaning in to press a kiss to Libby’s hair, trying not to get flour all over me.

  “Dad, I made this for Miss Kayla,” Libby tells me with a satisfied smile as she shows me the small cupcakes with icing lacing the top.

  “Wow, she’s a lucky teacher,” I assure my daughter, but I can’t stop my heart from thudding. My chest aches. I don’t want Libby to think I’m replacing her mother, but I also would like her to enjoy spending time with Kayla. Even if whatever is going on between us doesn’t work, at least Libby will have a woman to go to if she needs it.

  “I like her. She’s always nice to us,” Libby tells me earnestly. A small yawn stretches her mouth, and I can’t help but to chuckle.

  “Time for a shower and bed,” I inform her, and soon enough, she’s on her feet, cleaning up the mess. Mrs. Griffon tugs me aside, pulling me into the living room.

  “I’m glad you’re getting out,” she tells me. She’s been our neighbor since we moved into the house almost ten years ago. I think it was Sarah who won her over first. Everyone loved Sarah. She had this happiness that seemed to emanate from her, making everyone want to be around her.

  “It was one date.”

  “A date is a good thing. One or two, it doesn’t matter,” the older lady effuses. “I’m not saying you’re going out to buy a ring, but you’re taking a chance to live your life.”

  Sighing, I run my hand against the back of my head. I’ve never been one to talk about feelings, but right now, I feel I need to. “I don’t know what’s going to happen either, but I will say, for the first time in a long while, I felt at ease with a woman.”

  “I’ve known Kayla for a while,” Mrs. Griffon confesses. “She’s a good mother, and she’s grown up with a strong foundation. Her mother is one of my best friends.”

  I should’ve known. This town is small. Everyone knows who you are and what you’ve been through. Even though Mrs. Griffon isn’t gossiping, there’s an underlying hint that soon enough, everyone will be talking about Kayla and me.

  “Just take it a day at a time.” She smiles then, the corners of her eyes crinkling as she regards me. “I have to go.” The announcement comes with a flourish, and soon, I’m shutting the door behind her and locking it.

  “Dad!”

  Another sigh pulls its way from my lungs, and I head to Libby’s room. She’s already on the small stool of her vanity drying her hair from the shower. Every day she gets older, and she looks more and more like her mother.

  “What’s up?” I ask as I near her.

  Long, golden strands fly around her head as the dryer whooshes hot air over them. When she’s done, she sets the device on the wooden top and stares at me in the mirror. Her eyes are shiny, and I wonder if something is wrong.

  “Libby?”

  “Did you have fun tonight?” she asks, turning to regard me.

  I crouch down so we’re at the same height as I look into those pretty hazel eyes. I never want to lie to my daughter, so I’m not going to hide the fact that I enjoyed my time with Kayla.

  “Yes, we had a lovely evening. We spoke about work, school, and the tattoo shop. We didn’t talk about your mom or her husband.”

  “She’s married?” My daughter’s eyes widen to saucers, causing me to chuckle.

  “No, baby,” I tell her. “He passed away, he was in Iraq and something had happened. He didn’t make it home.”

  “Oh, that’s sad.”

  Nodding in agreement, I respond, “It is. And she’s a lovely lady. Perhaps if you’re not too busy this weekend with all your friends, you can spend the day with us.” My words are tentative because I don’t know how she’s going to take it or if she’ll even want to.

  Silence hangs in the air for a while, and I can’t help but hold my breath in the event of her refusing. But then she smiles. “I’d like that, Dad.” She wraps her arms around me, and I pull us both to stand.

  Holding my daughter, I sigh a breath of relief in knowing she’s not angry with me for stepping outside my own comfort zone. I never expected to move on, and I hope Sarah isn’t angry with me. I doubt she is. That woman had the biggest heart, and deep down, I believe she would be okay with this.

  10

  Kayla

  Even though it’s been a few days since I last saw Caleb, I’m nervous as I push open the door to his studio. Friday is Nicholas’s soccer practice, and since I had nothing planned until four when I pick him up, I wanted to see Caleb in his element.

  The buzz of the needle from somewhere in the store sounds. But the moment the bell above my head tinkles, I’m met with silence and then the sound of heavy boots coming this way.

  Caleb steps into the front of the store in a black T-shirt with a Metallica logo painted on the front. His arms are laden with color, and his eyes glimmer with mischief when he sees me.

  “To what do I owe this pleasure?” He steps around the counter, coming toward me, and soon his hands are cupping my face, and he’s pressing a soft kiss to my lips. The gentleness of it takes my breath away.

  When he finally breaks the contact. He steps back, regarding me as if I were the most precious thing he’s ever seen.

  “I figured it’s time to get a tattoo?” I venture, hoping he’s got space in his schedule for me. Even though I didn’t think this through, I’ve wanted to get the ink for a long while.

  “Well, I’m almost done with the client on my table, and then I’ll be right with you.” Caleb grins, leaning in for another kiss before leaving me in the waiting area. The buzzing starts up, and I settle on the leather couch, flipping through a magazine as he works.

  Last night, I laid in bed, thinking about this, about him, and I wondered if I was doing the right thing. Nicholas shuffled into the room, snuggli
ng in bed with me. He used to do it when he was little and had a bad dream. I asked him about it this morning, and he told me he missed me.

  Sometimes I wonder if he’s more intuitive than I give him credit for. When Caleb enters the room once more, he’s followed by a statuesque blonde who has legs for days. On her upper thigh is a butterfly, along with some script I can’t make out. My gut feels heavy as the unwelcome emotion — jealousy — riddles its way through me.

  Once Caleb has swiped her card and she’s gone, he settles in beside me. Those piercing eyes lock on me, and I wonder if he’s trying to suss out my reaction to the woman he’s just been pawing over. I know I’m being silly, but I can’t help it.

  “Hey.” He smiles, the glint of the piercing in his lip shimmering when he does, and it’s alluring. He’s beautiful. I take him in, and I mean really take him in. It’s the first time I’ve noticed a man. Sadly, it’s the first time I’ve wanted to. After losing the one person who held my heart, I didn’t think I could be here, sitting beside someone I am starting to really like.

  “Hey.”

  “What am I doing to you?” he questions, causing my heart to flutter wildly and the butterflies to awaken in my stomach.

  “What?”

  “Your ink? What did you have in mind?” A cocky grin plays on his lips, causing me to roll my eyes.

  “Oh, yeah, um . . .” I pull out my phone, swiping through the images I have saved and find the design I kept from months ago. I’d found it while scrolling through Pinterest one day, and it’s been on my mind ever since.

  An intricate design of text which reads “forever moving forward” alongside roses which surround the script. It’s beautiful, and even though it’s bigger than I had wanted, I feel it’s perfect.

  “Nice,” Caleb says, holding the phone. “Email it to me, and I’ll print out the image to get the stencil done.”

  I nod, tapping away at the screen. Even though my focus is on the task at hand, I’m aware he’s staring at me. He’s watching me intently, and I wonder how I’m going to survive lying on the bed and having him touch me.

  “Where did you want it?” he asks, his voice dropping low, causing everything below my belly button to tighten, and for the first time in a long while, it’s a man making me feel desire I’d only used my fingers for.

  “I was thinking on my torso?” I gesture with my hand over my side, and he nods deep in thought.

  “You do realize it’s the most painful place?”

  Laughing, I nod. “I know. I just think it would look best there.”

  He rises, heads to the door, and locks it. “Well, we best get started,” he tells me, holding out a hand, which I accept. He pulls me along into the back of the store, where there’s a leather bed along with a desk filled with the tools of his trade.

  “You’ll need to lift that top or take it off,” Caleb informs me and turns his back. “I’ll get set up and draw out the stencil.” I watch as he settles on a small, black leather stool and goes to work. He’s left-handed, and I watch in awe as he outlines the design. His meticulous, strong hands and deft fingers make me shiver with anticipation.

  I tug off my top, covering my chest with the material, and I wonder if he’ll be as affected by my body as I am by his. I’m a mom; I’m not skinny or statuesque. I don’t have a flat stomach, and I have a scar from the C-section when I had Nicholas.

  Suddenly, I feel more nervous than I did before. Not because I’m about to get a tattoo, but because Caleb is going to see me like this. Not a perfect beauty, but a rather broken woman.

  When he rises and turns to me, my breath catches at the burning gaze he pins me with. He lifts his hand, running his fingers through the back of his hair, a nervous tick I noticed is his signature move.

  “It’s been a while,” he tells me, causing me to frown. “Most of the clients are . . .” I expect him to say beautiful models or something similar when he tells me, “old burly men, not stunning women who make me want to do things I haven’t thought of in a long time.”

  A giggle floats up my throat, falling from my lips. “What?”

  “I’m sorry, Kayla. I’m trying to be a gentleman, but you’re gorgeous, and . . .” His words filter into the heavy silence that surrounds us, and I can’t stop the blush that heats my cheeks. I’m sure I’m bright red with embarrassment.

  “I . . . Um . . .”

  “This is new to me, feeling something for someone,” he admits, lifting his gaze to mine. “I don’t know how to be.”

  This causes me to sit upright, to allow my top to fall to the bed beside me. I’m opening myself to him. Showing him I’m not scared, because I don’t want him to be.

  “Please don’t feel like you need to change yourself. Just be you,” I tell him as he nears me. Every inch of my exposed skin dots with goosebumps when he steps between my legs. Every hard inch of him pressing against me, and I can’t help but whimper.

  “I want to kiss you, taste you, make you feel like a queen,” he utters against my lips, and I tip my head back, locking my eyes on his. A slight nod is all he needs, and his mouth crashes to mine in heat and yearning.

  My hands twine around his neck, holding him to me as my tongue dances with his. There’s fire in his touch, in his lips, and it slowly but surely consumes every rational thought I have.

  11

  Caleb

  I break the kiss, looking into her eyes as if I can delve into her mind with a stare.

  “Lie back. Let’s get started.”

  She smiles; it’s shy, but sweet. She is a seductress, and she doesn’t even realize it. I don’t know why this woman stumbled into my life, but with each passing moment I spend with her, I want more.

  The moment I sit down, snapping on my gloves, and Kayla leans back on the bed, I’m in awe of her. She’s everything, beautiful, curvy, and she makes my dick hard as fucking rock. I can tell she’s tense, and when I reach for her, placing the stencil on her skin, she trembles.

  “Don’t be nervous,” I tell her, hoping she’ll relax around me. Granted, she’s in her underwear, but I am a professional. Once the blue lines have been marked on her flesh, I reach for my gun and dip it in the black ink.

  The buzzing calms me when it starts. I lean in, my gloved hand pressing her taut skin, holding it steady so I can finally put the needle against her. The moment I make contact, she gasps, but she doesn’t move or flinch.

  Slow, meticulous lines appear as I draw the image into her, forever marking her. The quote is perfect, beautiful, and while I get lost in the shading, I can’t help but smile when I think about possibly moving forward with her.

  Love is something you can never walk away from. And Sarah will always be my first love, but our chapters are over, and I know my story needs to continue.

  “That’s not too bad,” Kayla mutters as she glances at me from under those dark lashes.

  “I haven’t gotten to the sensitive spot yet,” I remind her, knowing I’ve left the worst for last. Also, I needed to start at one section and slowly move my way down.

  When I wipe at the blood, I notice her wince. It’s starting to take shape, and my focus lands on her once more. As the flowers bloom in the blood and ink, I take pride in knowing I’ve given her something she’ll forever have with her.

  Even if things don’t work, this is my gift to her.

  An hour and a half later, I turn off the fun and sit back, wiping at the image now ingrained on Kayla. It looks good. She twists ever so slightly to take in her new ink, and I notice the small, sad smile on her lips.

  “It’s perfect,” she tells me easily. “It’s just . . . perfect.”

  “So are you,” I admit, the words falling from my lips, but I realize I don’t want to take them back. I want this. I want her. “I know you said friends, but—”

  “Perhaps there’s something here, between us,” she finishes my thought. When I nod, she does as well. “I feel it too.” Her admission sets my heart ablaze in my chest.

  I ris
e slowly, grabbing the cling wrap to cover her up before she can put her top back on. I’m not sure what else to say, but I let the silence and the gentleness I treat her with speak for me.

  When Kayla is fully clothed, I turn to her, waiting on her to say something because the tension between us is palpable. I don’t want to rush her. I don’t want to do something that will scare her away.

  I’ve never been so unsure of anything in my life.

  Pain and heartache have made sure I’m wary, but the happiness I’ve felt in the past few days has been refreshing.

  “So, we’re still on for lunch on Saturday?” she asks me slowly.

  “You know it.” I wink, reaching my hand for hers, and when she takes it, my heart soars. We head to the front of the store, and I grab one of the booklets I have printed out on how to care for your tattoo. “This should give you all the information you need. If not, you have my number,” I tell her.

  “How much is it?” She pulls out her purse and flips it open, finding her card, which I wave off.

  “It’s on me,” I offer.

  “What? No. I can’t—”

  “I’m not taking any money from you,” I respond, pinning her with a serious stare. Her mouth opens, gapes, then closes. I know she’s struggling with taking this from me, but it’s a gift. One I’m not returning.

  “Thank you, Caleb. You’re sweet.” She grins, putting the wallet in her purse and rifling through for her keys. “I better get Nicky from soccer practice.”

  “I’ll call you tonight.” It’s a promise.

  This time, she gifts me one of her beautiful smiles that lights up my world. It’s only a moment, but it’s everything. “I look forward to it.” I watch her leave, and when the door shuts, I make sure it’s locked up tight.

  It’s only four now, but I decide to take the afternoon off. Perhaps I can spend time with Libby and make dinner with her this evening. She’s been studying a lot, and I want to surprise her with something nice.