by KL Donn
Leah rolls her eyes. “I think I told you that like a thousand times.” She pulls me into a hug when I frown. “Oh honey, it’s okay. I know you thought you were doing the right thing then.” She draws back from me, looking me in the eye. “And he’s here now. So let’s just focus on that, okay?”
“Okay.” I smile at her. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“Ditto.” We start walking again as she continues. “I have so much to tell you. The tour was so much fun.”
“So, married life is good?”
“Amazing.” She’s practically glowing as she beams a hundred mega-watt smile my way. “I’m so happy, Megs.”
“Good.” I beam back at her.
We turn into the kitchen, my mom giving a little shout of joy when she lays eyes on us. “Leah! You’re here! I didn’t hear you come in!” She strides over, then wraps her arms around Leah in a hug. “Now both my girls are home.”
“Awe, Mrs. Lewis, you’re going make me cry.” Leah blinks her glistening eyes as they pull apart.
“Happy tears are the best kind.” My mom places her palm on Leah’s cheek affectionately, a warm smile on her face. “You look good. Marriage agrees with you.” Before Leah can reply, my mom drops her hand and swings back in the direction of the counter. “So, where is that husband of yours?”
“I’m right here.” His deep voice sounds as he enters the room. “And look who I found!” He looks over to his right, Tom strolling beside him.
“I come bearing gifts.” He holds up a bottle of wine in each hand. “What’s a party without a little alcohol?”
“Oh my God, I love you so much right now.” I surge forward and snag one of the bottles from him, turning my head to Leah, a wide grin on my face. “Have I told you lately how much I adore your brother?” I stop in place when I notice her attention is focused on the far wall. The wall lined with windows looking out over the back yard.
“Hell’s bells. He’s still pretty smoking hot, Megs.” She continues to stare out the window, stepping closer as she does.
“Um, husband here.” Tyler calls out, reminding her of his presence.
“No one is hotter than you babe.” Her head swings momentarily back to him as she flashes a quick smile his way, then turns back to the window. “But you can’t deny that is one fine piece of male specimen out there.”
“Still here.” Tyler chuckles. “And do you maybe want to say hello to your brother?”
“Hey Tom.” Leah tosses out.
“Love you too, Sis.” Tom laughs, walking over to the counter to set down the other bottle of wine, then walks over to me, taking the bottle I snagged a second ago. “I’ll open it.”
“Oh, thanks.” I give him a smile then move to join Leah. I lower my voice to a whisper. “And yeah, he’s still pretty fricking fine.” We both break out in laughter, my mother muttering under her breath at our silliness.
“I’m going out there.” Leah states.
My head snaps away from the window to her. “Absolutely not.”
“I’m going.” She starts moving toward the door at the end of the kitchen. “I’m going to find out what’s going on here.”
“Leah!” I chase after her. “He’s here for Jasper. That’s what’s going on here.”
She stops and looks at me. “But what about you?”
I throw my hands up. “What about me?”
“How does he feel about you?” She persists.
“I have no idea.” Which of course is a lie. If my instincts are right, he’s still as attracted to me as I am to him. But I have no idea what his dating status is, or where his affections may lie now. “Besides, that doesn’t matter. This is about Chase.”
“Oh you silly friend.” She shakes her head, giving me a pat on the cheek. “Of course it matters.” And before I can stop her, she’s out the door heading straight for Jasper. I stand, frozen, like my feet are stuck in quicksand, and watch as she strolls right up to him. I keep watching, Chase’s face lighting up when he sees Leah, jumping off the swing to run into her arms. Her talking to Chase for a few minutes before he runs over to the slide. Her shaking Jasper’s hand. Her crossing her arms as she begins what I can only assume is her interrogation.
“Here, take this.” Tom’s voice is beside me, dragging my attention away from the scene in front of me, a glass of wine in his hand. “I think you’re gonna need it.” I take the glass from him, taking a gulp as he walks away, my head turning right back to Jasper and Leah.
Well, no one seems to be yelling, and so far, she doesn’t seem to have drawn blood, so maybe it’s going to be okay. Oh wait. Shit. I watch as Jasper shakes his head, his face flushing red as he throws his hands up, then turns and stomps away. What in the world did Leah just do? She calls to Chase, who goes to her instantly, and then a minute later, she’s coming back through the door.
“What in the world did you say to him?” I take another swig of my wine, then place it on the counter as I unzip Chase’s jacket.
“Nothing.” She rolls her eyes. “Well, not nothing obviously.” She snags my glass in her fingers and takes a sip of it. “I just asked him what his intentions were, and reminded him that he already-” She lowers her voice to a whisper as she speaks over Chase’s head. “fucked you over once with Miss McPoppy Pants.”
“Oh, for crying out loud.” I point a finger at her. “You had no business discussing that with him.” I glance at my mom. “Can you keep an eye on him?” Then swing my head back to Leah, shooting her a dark look. “I need to go clean this up.”
“Of course.” My mom nods, wiping her hands on a dish towel. “I got these boys here to help me too.” She looks at Tom and Tyler. “Go!” She shoos me away.
I give Leah one last angry glare, then hustle for the front door, hoping I catch Jasper before he leaves.
20
“Oh, thank god. You’re still here.” “You’re still here.”
I stop pacing and twist my head in the direction of the slamming front door. I kick my toe into the gravel of the driveway, nodding. “Only because I didn’t say goodbye to Chase.” I try to keep the anger from my voice, because what her friend just did to me isn’t Megan’s fault, but I know it still has an edge to it. “What the hell was that?” I point to the house, to her friend inside it. “If you want to know something about me and Poppy, all you have to do is ask. I’m not trying to keep anything from you, and I never did.”
“I know.” She’s reached me now, and crosses her arms over her chest, hugging herself. “I’m sorry. She’s just being protective.”
“You don’t have a jacket.” I frown, then open the hatch on the back of the Porsche. I reach into one of the boxes I have stowed there and pull out a sweatshirt. “Come here.” She takes a step closer, watching as I gather the sweatshirt in a way that I can help her put it on. She releases the hold she has on herself, then raises her hands, slipping them into the center of the material as I slide it completely over her.
“Thank you.” She tilts her head so she can read the front of the sweatshirt, then looks back at me. It’s got my name and number on it. Her hair is tousled and she’s smiling. She always did look good wearing my number, but right now she’s never looked more beautiful to me.
“I’m not a complete dick.” I shrug, jerking my chin toward the house. “Contrary to what your friend in there thinks.” I move to sit on the bumper of the Porsche, patting next to me, inviting her to sit as well. “I do care about you.”
“Like I said, she’s protective of me, and she doesn’t want to see me get hurt again.” She scoots up onto the bumper next to me, then turns to look at me. “My heart was pretty shattered after our time in Los Angeles, and Leah was the one that had to watch me process all that.”
I frown, watching as she picks at her fingernails. “I don’t know how many more times I can apologize to you until you believe that I’m sorry for what happened.”
“I believe you.” One side of her mouth slides up into a small smile. “I do.” She shru
gs. “We’re just going to have to figure out where we go from here.”
“Well, does it really matter how I feel or what I want when it comes to you?” I stare at the house. “Looks like the job of boyfriend is taken.”
“What are you talking abo-” I twist my head, just in time to see her eyes widen. “Oh! You mean Tom?” She covers her mouth as laughter escapes, my brows furrowing in confusion.
“What’s so funny?”
“Tom is so not my boyfriend. He’s Leah’s big brother and I’ve known him for ten years. We’re just friends.” She folds her hands in her lap, looking over at me. “And that’s what I think you and I should try and be.” She shrugs. “At least, that’s what I’d like.”
I nod, bending my head down in an attempt to hide the smile that erupts on my face the second she said Tom’s not her boyfriend. “Friends would be great.” For now.
“So, you always keep boxes of sweatshirts just lying around in the back of your truck?” She looks over her shoulder at the boxes there.
I chuckle, standing up to turn and look in the trunk. “I have an online store. We sell a ton of merchandise that way, but I usually have some with me for events that I pop into and stuff like that.”
“That’s cool.” She jumps off the bumper then pulls one of the boxes closer and pops open the lid. “You got anything else in here I might like?”
“You can take whatever you want.” Including me if that’s in the cards.
She stops rifling through the box and turns to look at me. “So, you’re still playing football?”
My eyes pop wide. “You really don’t go on the internet, do you?”
“Nope.” She shakes her head. “Crazy but true.”
“Not so much crazy, but rare these days.” I scrub at the scruff on my chin. “But to answer your question, yes, I’m still playing football. I’d like to get one more ring before I retire. But either way, this year will most likely be my last.”
“How come?” She pulls out a pom-pom hat with my logo on it and pulls it on her head.
“I’m going to be thirty-four this year. My body is tired.” I bat at the pom-pom on the top of the hat, smiling as I do. “I don’t want to get hurt so bad that I can’t get out of bed in another ten years without being in pain.”
“Well, I promise Chase and I will watch all your games this year.”
“I’ll get you both season tickets. You can come to a game anytime you want. I’d love to have you there.”
“That sounds great.” She looks toward the house, one side of her mouth drifting down. “Guess we should go back in there.”
I let out a heavy sigh. “Yeah, guess so.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll call off Leah.” She promises, then taps the hat on her head. “Can I keep this?”
“Of course.” I slide the other box closer, rummage through it, and pull out a child’s sweatshirt. “For Chase.”
We go back inside, and as promised, she has a chat with Leah. The rest of the afternoon goes by in a blur, but with much less hostility. I spend more time with Chase, feed him dinner, help give him a bath, and the best part, read him some stories before putting him to bed. When I step out of his room, I ease the door close, startled when I turn around to find Megan leaning against the wall of the hallway. Wow. She’s wearing a short white, sleeveless dress that’s lacey. Her hair is curly, and she’s wearing deep red lipstick, something I’ve never seen on her before. It’s sexy as hell and makes me want to slam my mouth against hers. “You look gorgeous.”
She pushes off the wall, then takes a few steps, closing the distance between us. She stops when she reaches me, the nude colored-high heels she’s wearing making it easier to look into her eyes. “It’s actually a gift from my mom. I know it’s a bit extravagant for a dinner with friends, but it will make her happy to see me wearing it.”
“It’s your birthday celebration, but you want to make other people happy?” I muse, unable to stop myself from brushing my fingers down the soft skin of her arm until they link with her fingers.
“It’s an easy thing to do.” She murmurs, her head tilting as she follows the path of my touch, swinging back up to meet my gaze when I join our hands. She stares at me, her tongue, so pink in contrast to the color of her mouth, darts out to pull her bottom lip between her teeth.
Lifting my other hand, I use my thumb to tug her lip free, her breath hot as it floats over my knuckle. “God I want to kiss you right now.” My voice is husky as my hand drifts across her cheek, then wraps around the base of her neck, her eyes never leaving mine as her head arches into my palm.
Her pulse drums under my touch, and she finally blinks, her voice a whisper as she grants her permission. “I’m not stopping you.”
I tighten the hold I have on her hand as I slide it around her back, hauling her body up against mine, inhaling her citrusy scent as I lower my mouth to hers.
“Meghan, where are you?” Her mother’s loud shrill sounds from the bottom of the stairs. “Everyone is waiting down here.”
I freeze, our faces so close I can feel the heat of her flaring cheeks a second before she pushes away from me, muttering under her breath. “Great timing Mom.” We free ourselves from each other, her eyes dashing to mine and then away as she starts for the stairs. “Sorry.”
“Me too.” Not really, but I don’t want to make her feel any more uncomfortable, so I say what I think she wants to hear. I almost run into her when she stops short and turns to me.
“Sorry about my mother.” She clarifies, speaking low. Her eyes cut to my mouth again. “Not that you almost kissed me.” Then she spins around, skipping down the steps, addressing her mother before I can respond. “Coming, Mother.”
“Oh, don’t you look lovely!” Sandy exclaims as her daughter reaches her, her brow furrowing when Megan brushes quickly by her. Her eyes cut to me, a knowing look registering on her face as I scoot past her.
“Sorry about that. We were just finishing up with Chase.” I sputter out the first excuse I can think of.
“Uh-huh.” She drawls, following behind me. “If you say so.” Relief surges through me when I hear her chuckle lightly.
Dinner ends up being really nice, and I’m glad I stayed. I’m seated directly across from Megan, which normally would have been fine. If she didn’t look so damn sexy. If I didn’t constantly want to touch her. If every time she laughed I didn’t want to swallow her whole. Every single thing I had felt for her in Los Angeles still lived in me, and has only seemed to intensify now that I was with her again. When I arrived here today, all I wanted was to get to know my son and be a part of his life. In one day’s time, I realize my life will only be complete if she’s in it too.
21
Every time I look across the table at Jasper, pings of electricity zap throughout my body, every nerve ending tingling. He just looks at me and makes me feel so desired, so much like a woman, reminding me of the time we spent in Los Angeles. Never has anyone ever made me feel the way that he did, and being in the same space with him is stirring it all to the surface. And with every glance, every brush of our fingers, every word we share, it’s bringing that simmering heat between us to a boil.
“Should we go into the living room and have some more wine?” I suggest, now that dinner is over and my mother has thoroughly embarrassed me with a large cake. It was its own fire hazard she had so many candles lit, as she and all my friends sang me Happy Birthday.
“You kids go ahead.” My mom speaks first. “I’m going to head to bed. It’s been a long day for me.”
We all wish her good night and then the rest of us transfer to the other room, Tom and Tyler each carrying a bottle of wine with them. I wait until everyone finds a seat, and then settle myself in last. I make sure to not sit next to Jasper. And not because I don’t want to. That’s the problem. I want to more than anything. I’d like to crawl into his lap and curl up like a kitten. I’m quite sure I’d probably start purring too. So, in order to keep from making a complete fool o
f myself, I place myself on the opposite side of the couch from him.
Tom has another glass of wine, then excuses himself, citing an early morning departure for a client meeting he has in the morning. He’s a sports agent, and there’s an up and coming baseball player that needs representation. Tom’s going to the game in the city tomorrow, but wants to prep beforehand at his office.
“Thank you again for coming.” I move to rise off the couch, but he motions for me to stay. He bends, placing a kiss on my cheek.
“I wouldn’t have missed it.” He shares a look with me that only I can decipher, then whispers against my cheek so no one else can hear. “He’s a lucky bastard.” He’s standing before I can reply, so I just give him a smile that I hope expresses what his friendship means to me. He shakes Jasper’s hand, says something to him I can’t hear, then moves quickly on to Tyler and his sister, giving them both a hug before leaving the room.
“How long will you be home for this time Tyler?” I ask, wondering how long I’ll have my best friend around for before they leave on another adventure.
“Three weeks I think?” He looks over at Leah for confirmation, who nods her head. “I have to be out in Los Angeles to record some new tracks. We wrote some great stuff while we were on the road and we want to lay it down while it’s still fresh for us.”
“Three weeks?” I whine, shifting my attention to Leah. “That’s not nearly enough time! I’m just going to get used to you being here and you’ll leave me again.” I push my bottom lip out in an exaggerated pout. “And poor Chase; he never gets to see his Godmother anymore.” Yes, I’m trying to make her feel guilty, but only because I’ve missed having her by my side for, well, for everything.
“We’ll only be gone two weeks I think.” She defends, then swivels her body toward me. “What if I take Chase next weekend? I’d love to spend some time with him, and then you can spoil yourself rotten with a couple days off? It will be my bonus birthday present to you.” She looks at Tyler for confirmation. “That’s okay with you, right honey?”