by Roxie Ray
Because you have a mate.
Artemis was right. She was my mate, even if it wasn’t going to work between us. Did that mean I couldn’t ever date another woman? Like... ever?
“Is this normal?” Rico asked. Jury had finally convinced himself to stop punishing himself for a night and come hang out with us.
“Yes,” I said sullenly. Jury said the same word at the same time, causing all three of us to chuckle as another woman walked up and offered to buy Rico a drink.
He smiled politely and shook his head. “I’m good, but thank you.”
She nodded, looking a little disappointed, but walked away.
I felt the pull before she even entered. My gut clenched and I couldn’t stop my head from swiveling to watch the door. Bethany walked in with her blonde hair in a messy bun. She didn’t have on any makeup, and she wore yoga pants and a big T-shirt.
What in the world was she doing here?
And why did she look so incredibly sexy like that? Normally I gravitated toward women fully made up and in nice clothes. It proved they took care of themselves.
She looked around, and in seconds, her face hardened, and she made a beeline for the opposite side of the room.
A big guy stood from a table when he saw her. He looked about my age, and as soon as he was on his feet, it was painfully obvious that he was fall-down drunk. I focused on her lips and channeled a little extra energy into my ears to make out what she was saying. Her words reached me like through a tunnel. “You know how stupid it is for you to get this drunk.” She put her hand on his arm, but he was a big guy. He jerked away and said something unintelligible.
“Come on, Nash. Let’s go.” Bethany sounded exasperated. Nash turned his back to me, so I couldn’t really make out his response, but his body language said he had no intention of leaving with her.
“Be right back,” I muttered. It took me seconds to cross the bar floor. “Bethany, are you okay?”
She looked at me in surprise. “What are you doing here?”
I gestured to our table. “Out with Jury and Rico.”
She looked over and nodded at them. The big guy turned back to the table and grabbed a beer. A girl I didn’t know glared at him. “That’s mine.”
He shrugged and drank it anyway.
“You’re always coming to my rescue,” Bethany said as she grabbed the guy’s arm again. “Come on, Nash!”
He shook her off again.
“Hey,” I said in my best cop voice. I let Artemis add a bit of alpha weight to it as well. The guy, Nash, turned toward me in surprise. “Time to go.”
For a second, I thought he was going to argue with me. But he sighed. “Fine.”
Bethany followed close behind, then darted around him and opened the door. The big oaf had looked like he was going to plow right through it.
I stayed behind him in case he decided to turn around, but once he’d made up his mind to leave, he didn’t give her any trouble. She opened her passenger car door and I watched in amusement as the tall man folded himself down to sit in Bethany’s small car. He looked like a busted can of biscuits in it.
“Thank you,” she said when she shut the door on him.
“I can follow you,” I offered, but she waved me off.
“No, it’s okay. He’s my cousin. He drunk texted me, and I called and realized how wasted he was. He’s always gotten into trouble, but I thought maybe I could prevent it this time.” She looked into her car and laughed. “He’s already passed out.”
“It seems like you’ve done this before.”
She sighed. “Yeah. A time or two. Or more.”
“Reminds me of my cousin, Rico. He’s living with my grandparents. They’re trying to help him get his head on straight.”
“I do thank you for helping,” she said softly.
Ducking my head, I shrugged. “It’s my job.”
Bethany studied my face for a moment. “It was more than that, and I appreciate it.”
She smiled softly and walked around her car. I waved as she got in, but after she turned the engine on, she rolled the window down. “Maddox,” she called.
I hurried around the car. “Yeah?”
“Would you like to try again?”
“What do you mean?” My stomach danced with anticipation because I had an idea of what she meant.
“Let’s go to dinner.” The brake lights shone behind the car as she put it in reverse, but she didn’t move yet.
I stared at her in shock until she raised her eyebrows. “We don’t have to?”
“No,” I cried out. “I mean, yes. Sure, yeah. I’m off this weekend. Dinner. Tomorrow?”
She smiled again and backed out of the parking spot.
I stood in the parking lot in stunned silence as she drove away with her cousin in the passenger seat.
I had a date.
9
Bethany
“Don’t let him pay,” Mom said as I kneeled near Tiffany. “He’ll think you owe him something.”
I sighed and ignored her. She’d been throwing dating advice at me since I arrived with Tiff. She’d kept her last night so I could do facials and manicures with Abby and Harley, so I hadn’t planned on leaving Tiff a second night in a row, but the urge to ask Maddox to have dinner had overwhelmed me, and I’d given in to it. Like an idiot.
More than likely, he’d say or do something to ruin everything. Again.
“Mom, stop,” I said, and hugged my daughter.
My mother’s excitement was palpable in the air. She was so eager to marry me off. “If the first few dates go well, then you can get excited, okay?”
I plopped Tiffany on my Dad’s lap and he grabbed the TV remote. “I got you a new movie,” he said.
Tiff’s face lit up. “The one with the ice princesses?”
He nodded, and I groaned. “I’ve been avoiding that one. The little girls are obsessed with it.”
“Pshaw,” he said. “Let her enjoy it.”
It wasn’t about her enjoying it. It was about me distinctly not enjoying it. But, of course, I’d let her become obsessed with it if that’s what she wanted. “Sure, Daddy.” I dropped a kiss on his head and headed for the door.
At the last minute, after I said goodbye to my mother, who was still bursting with excitement, Tiffany called out my name. “Mommy, wait!” She jumped off my dad’s lap and hurried across the room. “I need another hug.”
I nearly canceled the date right then. “Are you okay?” I bent over and gathered her into my arms.
“Yes.” She squeezed my neck with her strong little arms. “I just needed another hug.”
“Tomorrow we’ll spend the day together, okay?” I whispered in her ear. “And do something fun.”
My mother sniffed and held out her hands. “Come on, sweetheart. Let’s go see if I’ve got some cookies in the pantry.”
Tiffany brightened up and lunged for her grandmother. “Don’t expect the worst,” Mom said. She couldn’t resist a bit more advice. “Just relax and try to have fun.” Mom winked as I slipped out the door. “Let things happen naturally,” she called.
I yanked the door shut before she could think of any more advice, then hurried to my car. Suddenly, now that it was time to drive to the only restaurant in town that could be considered a nice date night, I was nervous. I wanted to do exactly as my mom had said and let things progress naturally, but it wasn’t easy.
It was just dinner. No big deal, no strings attached. Just two people eating to see if we could start a conversation without arguing or saying the wrong thing. There was no reason for the butterflies in my stomach.
I pulled into the restaurant’s parking lot far too quickly. I was a good fifteen minutes early, but I spotted Maddox standing outside the restaurant’s front door as soon as I parked.
He hadn’t seen me yet, I didn’t think, so I grabbed my purse and checked my hair and makeup. I wasn’t one to wear a face full or try all that contouring stuff people did these days. Just the thoug
ht of trying to contour my makeup made me nervous.
I had on a light layer of base, a brush of lavender shadow in my crease, and mascara. At the last second, I dabbed on a neutral lip gloss, tossed my blonde hair around a little, and stared at the restaurant.
“It’s no big deal,” I whispered. “Just dinner.”
Steeling my nerves, I made myself get out of the car. As soon as I stood, Maddox’s gaze darted toward me and glued to mine.
Walking toward the front, I had to make myself stop staring. I was about ready to drool. He wore a snug button-down shirt that accentuated his muscles. And he had the sleeves rolled up to just underneath his elbows. Why was that so hot on a guy?
And how had I been able to ignore how buff he was? I mean, I’d known he was attractive, but his shirt and crisp slacks accentuated what a perfect body he had.
I thought about the few stretch marks remaining around my belly button from having Tiffany. They were my tiger stripes, and I tried to be proud of them. But would a man like that want me with my imperfections?
Maddox stared at me as I stepped onto the sidewalk beside him. He shook his head and grinned. “You look amazing.”
I looked down at my dress and feigned modesty. I’d tried on what felt like a million outfits before settling on an LBD. “Oh, thank you. You look nice as well.” What an understatement. He looked like a million bucks, easily.
Maddox held the door open and when we went in, the hostess nodded at Maddox and led us past the people waiting in the lobby. He put his hand on the small of my back and I said a prayer of thanks that I’d worn the bra with light padding. As soon as he touched me, my nipples hardened like rock candy ready for a lick. “I came early and put our names down,” he whispered. “And greased her palm a little.”
I tried not to shiver, and Maddox kept his hand on my back the entire walk to the table. Normally, I might’ve seen that as slightly chauvinistic, but when Maddox did it, it just made me horny. Great.
The hostess seated us at a small table right by the huge windows that made up the back wall of the restaurant. They were treated somehow so the glare of the restaurant didn’t obstruct our view of the mountains and moonlight. “It’s beautiful,” I said. “This is pretty much the only date restaurant in a half-hour drive, but I never mind.”
“Neither do I,” he agreed. “The food is excellent, and I could watch this view all day.”
We slipped into a slightly awkward silence. The server came and dropped off goblets of ice water and took our drink orders. We both laughed softly when we each ordered iced tea.
The uncomfortable silence stretched through our menu selections, though we did each say a few lines about what we were going to have. When the server came and took our orders and left with the menus, I sighed. “I’m sorry,” I said bluntly. “I can be harsh sometimes. When I feel cornered, it would be fair to say I can get nasty.” I ducked my head and battled guilt for my previous behavior. “We got off on the wrong foot, and it wasn’t your fault for putting your foot in your mouth. It was mine for responding rudely. You didn’t deserve my hostility.”
Maddox smiled at me. “I appreciate your apology, but I deserve a little bit of the blame, at least. I was condescending. I found myself overwhelmingly attracted to you and it was like I couldn’t say the right thing. I didn’t mean to come off like I knew what was best for you or how you live your life.” He took a sip of his water. “Most of all, I want you to know that I’m absolutely positive that you’re a good mother. I didn’t mean to imply otherwise.”
His apology soothed the last of my worry about our date. The rest of the night went smoothly, to my delight.
“Tell me about yourself,” I said while we waited for our food.
“Well, I have a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, and I’ve been accepted to law school.”
I couldn’t keep my surprise off my face. “I just assumed you were going to be a cop,” I said. “That’s wonderful.”
He shook his head. “I see why you’d think that, but I’m technically only part-time at the Black Claw PD.”
The server dropped off our plates, so we spent a few minutes digging in. I moaned in delight. “I love this chicken piccata. Want to try it?”
He nodded eagerly, so I cut off a piece and slipped it onto his plate. “Bite of my steak?” he asked.
“Sure,” I said. “I’m a huge steak fan.”
As soon as he stuck a chunk of his meat out on his fork, I recoiled. “Sorry,” I said. “I’m not a big fan of rare steak.”
Maddox sat back and gave me an appraising look. “So you like beef jerky, not steak?”
“No, it’s just that I like to do more than walk my steak past the grill,” I teased.
Things flowed so easily after that I found myself telling him about Kyle. I didn’t know why I’d been so resistant to getting to know him. He was a great listener, and very sympathetic about what I’d gone through with Kyle, then he was very interested in my business and how I’d grown it.
After that, he asked me about Tiffany and what it had been like having her without Kyle. He smiled as I spoke. “What?”
“Nothing, it’s just sweet the way you light up when you talk about your daughter.”
Of course, that made me blush even more. But he wasn’t done.
“I feel like you love Tiffany the way my mom loves me, and that’s a pretty powerful thing.”
Knowing he had such a good relationship with his mother was a good sign. And I knew he lived in an apartment by himself, which meant his relationship with his mom wasn’t too good.
“How do you feel about kids?” I asked.
He paused and looked down at his half-eaten steak. “I don’t have any immediate plans,” he said. “Having a child right now would definitely throw a kink in the works as far as going to law school.”
At least he was honest with me.
“I do want kids one day, though,” he said. “For sure.”
So, was there any point to continuing this attraction and flirtation we had with each other? He didn’t want kids yet, and I had one. The ultimate downfall of single parent dating.
“I don’t think things are serious enough at this point that we need to worry, are they?” he asked. “We’re just having dinner and trying to become friends instead of being aggravated at each other.”
I nodded. “I can agree with that. I’d never pressure you into something you weren’t ready for. And you’re right. It’s nice to have a date, especially with no obligations.”
We moved on after that, though knowing he didn’t want kids yet left a slightly sour taste in my mouth.
By the time our dessert came, I was comfortable enough to ask him a potentially embarrassing question. “Why do women fall all over you?”
Maddox stared at me with a bite of chocolate cake in his mouth and a fleck of chocolate on the corner of his lip. “Um.” He swallowed audibly and I burst out laughing.
“I’m just kidding,” I said. I knew damn well why they did.
We both dug into our desserts and when we finished, Maddox asked about Kyle’s parents. “You told me about the accident, but not about his parents. Has anything else happened?”
I shrugged. “I haven’t heard from any lawyers, so that’s a good thing, right?”
He nodded. “I take it they blame you for Kyle’s death?”
“Oh, yeah. For sure.” I wiped my mouth on my napkin and put it on my plate. “His dad calls me often to tell me just how much they blame me.”
Maddox looked outraged. “He can’t do that. That’s harassment.”
I shook my head. “They lost their son. I can’t change them. It ruined their life.”
“Do you think they’ll really sue you for custody?” he asked.
I wished I knew the answer. “I have no idea.”
“Well,” he said. “I’m not a lawyer yet, obviously, but I’ve done some studying independently. Make sure you document any other encounters with them. If they call, write d
own what they say, the date and time, and so forth. Make a running log of anything, even if it seems insignificant.”
“Thank you.” I appreciated the advice. “I guess I need to consult a lawyer, just in case. Be prepared.”
He pulled out his phone and tapped at it, and in a few seconds, mine dinged in my little handbag. “I sent you the names of the two lawyers I’d use if it was me.”
“Thank you,” I whispered. “It’s nice to have someone in my corner.”
“No matter what happens between us, I’ll be in your corner,” Maddox said. “You can count on that.”
The waiter brought our check, and Maddox didn’t blink an eye when I slapped down a twenty to cover my portion. He put a fifty down and told the server to keep the change. My jaw dropped.
“What?” he asked. “I’m not trying to show off. We just made that guy’s night on a fifty-dollar tab.”
I grinned at him and once again tried not to shiver as we walked out. He had his hand on my back again, but this time it was near my shoulder blades.
On my bare freaking skin.
Damn it.
Maddox opened my car door, but I didn’t get in yet. I turned toward him and smiled up. “I had a nice time,” I said.
He nodded. “I did, too. Can we do it again?”
I should’ve said no. We couldn’t take this anywhere. I wouldn’t force Tiffany on him or put someone in her life that didn’t want her. “Yes, I’d like that.”
Okay, then my mouth decided to make another date.
Maddox leaned in and my stomach clenched in anticipation. He was about to kiss me. In the split second it took for his lips to touch mine, I wished it could’ve led to more. An image of us writhing around on my bed flashed through my mind, and I opened my mouth in surprise.
His lips pressed softly against mine. It took all my willpower not to press my body against his, but as badly as I wanted to, it was way too fast.
Instead, I let my lips caress his ever so slightly, then pulled back. “Have a good night,” I whispered, and slid into my driver’s seat.