“So,” he said casually. “Next week, we’ll find out who is interested in doing a field trip with us?”
Relief flooded her. “Sounds good,” she replied. “And find out what their interests are and maybe we can reach out to others for a go-to-work day.”
They bounced around the differing professions of people they knew while they finished eating. Tiana lifted her empty plate and began to stand. DeShawn took the plate from her, his fingers brushing against hers.
“I’ve got it,” he said. The warm sexy voice was back. She needed to get the hell out of here.
“Thanks. That was great. Thank you. I should probably... I need to...do...some stuff,” she stammered out as she got up and began gathering her coat and purse.
After putting the dishes in the sink, he crossed the small space to stand in front of her. “You’re babbling, Tee.”
“I’m not babbling.”
His hand came up and he traced his fingers along the curve of her cheek. “I want to talk about that kiss.”
“That was a mistake.”
“I don’t think it was.”
“Fine. You don’t have to.”
He grinned that annoying grin at her. She scowled. Then he leaned in slowly and she should be stepping back but no, she was frozen to the spot, unable to move as his lips stopped millimeters from hers. She could feel his breath, warm against her skin. Her heart was pounding like a drum. No. No. No. Do not do this.
“Walk out that door if you think it was a mistake, Tee,” he whispered hoarsely.
It was a mistake. But she so desperately wanted to make it again. Her entire body yearned toward him. She pressed her palms to his chest, intending to push him back. But the shudder that ran through his body at her touch and his sharp intake of breath undid whatever bit of resistance she had left. Her fingers gripped the fabric, pulling him to her and pressing her lips to his. His arms went around her, pulling her even closer as he deepened the kiss.
His hands traced hot lines of fire down her back as the kiss went on and on. Her own hands were busy, skimming up his chest to his shoulders and up to his cheeks. Finally, he cupped her jaw with both hands and pulled back. His gaze was hot on hers.
“I want you,” he whispered.
“I can see that,” she whispered back.
“Are you still leaving?”
Damn it. Her brain wouldn’t work when he was this close. She rested her hands against his as he leaned in and kissed her again, his arms circling her and his knee wedging between her thighs. Her low moan was all the encouragement he needed to press closer. His lips moved from her lips across her cheek to her ear.
“Still leaving?”
No. She wasn’t leaving. Not now. And he knew it. She slipped her hands up under his shirt and traced across his skin. Hard lines of muscle quivered and jumped at her touch. Up on tiptoes, she caught his earlobe between her teeth for a tiny nip. “Only if you don’t have protection, Man Maid.”
* * *
“DON’T RUN AWAY NOW,” DeShawn said as Tiana began to sit up. He tightened his arms around her. He wanted to stay here in this bed with her for the rest of his life.
“Not running,” she said. “I need to check my phone.”
Pushing the pillows up against the headboard, he sat up and watched her pad naked out of the room. The bed already felt cold. She scurried back into the room and dove under the covers, snuggling up close to him.
“Brrrr. Why do you keep it so freezing in here?”
He pulled her close and kissed her cheek. “So you’ll do this.”
She shook her head and did a quick scroll of messages on her phone.
“Anything urgent?”
She laughed. “Nothing urgent. But I don’t have time for round two.”
“Will there be a round two sometime soon?”
“This wasn’t enough?”
He pulled her down. “This was not enough. This wasn’t just sex. I don’t want just this. I want you, Tee.”
As he said the words, he realized how true they were. He was falling for her. Falling for this tough, smart-mouthed, strong-willed woman.
She reached up and pressed her palms against his chest. “My life is a package deal. You know this, right?”
That stopped the giddy feeling that was jumping around in his gut. “I didn’t think about that. I’m sorry. Of course, we have to consider your daughter.”
“You mean it? Now’s the time to cut and run.”
That hurt but he kept his mouth shut. Because she was right. There was a kid involved. He had to make sure he was in one hundred percent. Rolling over on his back, he stared up at the ceiling.
“DeShawn?”
“I have feelings for you. I really think we could make something here. I want this.”
Her face appeared above him. That take-no-shit Nurse Ratched face. “But?”
“I want to be a part of your life. Of Lily’s life. The only but is that I don’t want to mess it up.”
“It’ll be complicated.”
“I’m an engineer. I can do complicated.”
“It’ll be on a six-year-old’s schedule, not ours. She’s the boss.”
“I’m patient.”
“My heart can be broken but hers cannot,” she said quietly, cutting through the banter.
That staggered him. Was he ready for such a commitment? He and Tee were adults. But once he let a child see him as part of her life? He drew in a breath. “Where’s her father?”
He’d half expected the question to anger her but her expression didn’t change. “We were young. Went away to different colleges. Lily stayed with my mother. He just drifted away. He tried to come around occasionally, but it was hurtful to Lily. She didn’t understand why her daddy kept leaving her.”
Reaching out, he brushed a curl away from her cheek. “And you’ll not have that repeated. I get it.”
“You see how big this is now?”
“I do. I’d never want hurt her, Tee.”
“Still in? And you can say no and walk away and I won’t think any less of you for it.”
“I’m still in.”
“Okay. I guess we’ll figure it out as we go.”
CHAPTER TEN
“HOW OLD IS this pizza?”
Tiana had about two minutes for lunch. The nurses’ break room was its usual horrific mess of half-full cups of coffee, half-eaten plates of food and a pot of sour, burnt coffee spitting and hissing on the burner. The box of pizza was in the middle of the table that never actually had people sitting at it to eat, which in Tiana’s mind meant anything on it was up for grabs. The overhead paging system dinged and squawked. Controlled chaos. How could it be so busy on a Tuesday afternoon?
“I dunno,” Kasey replied, flipping the lid open. “Congealed cheese.” She pulled up a slice and banged it against the edge of the box. “Hard-as-a-rock crust. I’d say more than six hours, less than twenty-four.”
“Sold,” Tiana said, snatching the slice from Kasey’s hand and tossing it on a paper plate into the microwave.
“So, what’s up with this face of yours?” Kasey asked, pointing.
“What face? It’s my I’ve-not-eaten-in-fourteen-hours face.” Popping open the microwave, her stomach growled loudly as the scent of hot cheese hit her brain cells. “Microwave kills germs, right?”
“No. The I-haven’t-eaten-in-fourteen-hours-but-I’ve-still-got-a-goofy-grin-on-my-face face. Something is going on. Tell me. I’m bored.”
“We’ve been running like maniacs all day. How can you be bored?” Tiana took a huge bite of the pizza and immediately regretted it as molten lava hit the roof of her mouth. She swallowed quickly and fanned at her open mouth. “I have to put a catheter in that little old lady in bay 12 in five minutes i
f she hasn’t peed yet. You got a point? Get to it.”
Kasey shook her head, making her red ponytail dance. Crossing her arms, she looked over the top of her glasses. “My point is this—you got laid, didn’t you? That’s a remembering-some-really-good-sex smile.”
One thing, she’d learned over her few months as an ER nurse: her scowl game was weak. These women were professional fierce face makers. She tried anyway. “Girl, you got too close to that meth head, inhaled too many fumes.”
“Tell me. Tell me now. Is he cute? Does he work here? Is it that Mateo guy from radiology that’s always flirting with you?”
“No.”
“No he’s not cute? No he doesn’t work here? No it’s not Mateo? Come on, Tee. Work with me here.”
Devouring the rest of the pizza in three bites, she dusted her hands off. “Wanna go help me with that catheter? The woman’s got a vocabulary of a demon-possessed sailor.”
“Only if you help me get the meth head in the shower and delouse him.”
“No deal.”
“I’ll help if we have a drink after work and you tell me about this mystery man.”
“There is no mystery man.”
Kasey raised her eyebrows and tilted her head back and laughed. And laughed. And laughed. Wiping her eyes, she let out a breath. “That’s the worst lie I’ve been told since that girl told me rolling tobacco in the yellow pages and smoking it causes false amphetamine positives.”
“Fine. Don’t help.”
“I’m coming. Meth Head can wait a minute. I want to hear about this man.”
* * *
THREE HOURS LATER, Tiana was still feeling phantom lice creeping on her skin but the mimosa was helping. As was the stack of French toast she was demolishing. The Nurses’ Lounge was the best thing about working downtown. A small, hole-in-the-wall dive that served breakfast and dinner and alcohol twenty-four hours a day. You had to be a nurse to become a member.
“This is the best place ever on the entire planet,” she said around a mouthful. It was. She hated her three p.m. to three a.m. shifts because no matter how quiet she tried to be when she got home, she always woke her mother up.
“Seriously,” Kasey said. She’d opted for the burger and beer route. “Tell me about this guy.”
Tiana shrugged and took a sip of the mimosa. “You sort of know who.”
Kasey’s forehead wrinkled as she thought. “I do? Do I know him?”
“No. Not know. Saw.”
“Saw?” She screwed up her face as she puzzled it out. “Oh. My. God. That guy! That hot, hot, hot man from the bird show? Chemistry man!”
“Yeah, him.”
“You’re grinning again!” Kasey exclaimed. “You just think about him and start grinning. Are you in luuurrrvveee?”
“I am not grinning.” Except, she was.
“Sex must have been amazing.”
“That it was.”
Kasey lifted her beer and they clinked glasses. “To great sex. Now, tell me. Is it going to be more?”
Dropping her gaze to the plate, Tiana dragged the tines of her fork through the syrup. That was the million-dollar question. “I don’t know.”
“Do you want it to be?”
Did she? Yes. No. “It’s complicated.”
Kasey put her burger down and leaned forward. “Like he’s married or something complicated?”
“No! God, no. I would never.”
“Then what’s complicated?”
“Lily.”
“Ah. I see.”
“I don’t know, Kase. I really think there could be something with this guy. But I have to make every decision with her in mind. I’m not going to be bringing men into her life if they aren’t sticking around.”
“I understand that. But you can date, right? Until you know one way or another?”
Tiana forked another piece of toast into her mouth and chewed. Yeah. We could date. But I’d have to lie to Lily. Shaking her head, she put down the fork. “I don’t know. I’ve never been in the position before. I’ve not dated anyone since Lily was born.”
Sitting back in her chair, Kasey wiped burger grease from her fingers. “Is this about Lily or you, Tee?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Exactly what I said. Is protecting Lily your way of avoiding relationships?”
She wanted to be mad. Except she couldn’t. Kasey’s brutal honesty and refusal to play emotional games was why they were friends. “You suck,” she said petulantly.
Kasey laughed and took a sip of beer. “Not an answer.”
“I don’t even know anymore, Kase. I put everything on hold to get through nursing school. You know how tough it is. This is the first time in six years I’m not running at a hundred miles an hour. Let me catch my breath.”
“Do you have doubts about him?”
Doubts? She shook her head slowly. “I don’t think so. He seems to be a really nice guy.”
“Then give it a try. Have some fun, Tee. You’ve earned it.” Kasey’s fingers closed around Tiana’s. “Eventually you’ll know if you can trust Lily with him.”
“Thing is, if I bring a man around and let Lily love him, trust him, see him as a father figure, he’s going to have to know that is a lifetime commitment.”
“Lily doesn’t have to go on your dates with you,” Kasey said sarcastically. “This is what I’m talking about. You are pretending it’s completely about Lily and it isn’t. Do you even want to give him a chance?”
“Yes, I do. I’m just...”
“Scared?”
“Yeah, I made a stupid choice once and don’t want to repeat it.”
“You aren’t that teenage girl anymore either. You are a grown-ass woman who knows what she wants. Start acting like it.”
“Damn, you are bossy.”
“And you aren’t?”
Tiana stuck her tongue out at Kasey. Who returned the gesture. Taking a sip of the mimosa, she let out a sigh. Because she did want to try. DeShawn seemed like the total package. Smart, funny, educated, dedicated to building a career, compassionate with the kids they were working with. That he was smoking hot and amazing in bed were bonus points. But would that hold out over time or was she falling for a facade? That streak of smart-ass in him made her wonder.
“Give him a chance.”
* * *
DESHAWN SLOWED AS he turned off East Bay Street onto Broad. A painted window sign caught his eye. Reyes Financial Management. Lena. He’d completely forgotten that she had made copies of all the information she and her Saint Toribio team gave out at the mission for him to use. Looping around the block, he found a parking spot on Meeting Street. He hesitated for a minute. Should he barge in on her like this? Call first? Hell, man. You’re here. Go see if she’s got five minutes.
He let out a low whistle as he approached the office. Nearly on the corner of East Bay and Broad. On the south side, no less. This was some expensive real estate. Maybe he should beg her to take over his miniscule savings. As a charity. The door was open and he leaned in.
“Hello. May I help you?”
The man’s tone was cool as DeShawn approached the reception desk. “Yes. Hi. I don’t have an appointment, but I was wondering if Lena, I mean Ms. Reyes, had a minute to talk?”
This earned him a slightly raised eyebrow and a lazy up-and-down look. No, he wasn’t in a suit, but he wasn’t a bum off the street. He hardened his gaze slightly. Don’t be pulling the South of Broad snob act on me.
The receptionist lifted the phone. “A visitor for Ms. Reyes,” he said. “An unannounced visitor.” He motioned at the leather couch along the wall. “Have a seat.”
“Thank you.”
Sitting down, he realized he had some mud on the tops of his b
oots. He’d been out at the Maritime Center checking out a question about the Fort Sumter ferryboat’s dock. Sliding his feet under the couch, he tried not to look as out of place as he felt. This office wasn’t what he would have expected from Lena. Never. Lena’s office would be sleek, modern and bright. This looked like a cross between a funeral home and some stodgy old law firm.
The door to the back opened and a beautiful blonde woman walked into the lobby. “Hello,” she said as she crossed the room, holding out her hand. “I’m Chloe, Lena’s assistant. How may we help you today?”
He stood and shook her hand. “I’m sorry. I was driving by and remembered I needed to talk to Lena. Oh. I’m DeShawn Adams. She and I are working on a project for a school and she had some information about the work she’d done out at the mission.”
Stop babbling, dude.
The blonde took her hand back. “Of course. She’s mentioned it. I’ll check with her.”
He stood there for a moment, wondering if he was supposed to sit back down or stand here like a dork in the middle of the room. Before he could decide, Lena came through the door.
“DeShawn!” She gave him an unexpected hug. “Good to see you.” She hooked her arm through his. “Come on back to my office.”
As they went through the door, she glanced at the blonde. “Chloe,” she said in a low voice. “Please go explain to your hire why we always ask for a name when people come in the door.”
“It’s no big deal,” DeShawn said. He didn’t want to get the guy in trouble. He followed her into her office, which, as he’d expected, was sleek and modern.
Lena shut the door and went to her desk. “Sit down. What can I help you with?”
“You said you had materials that you gave out at the mission?”
“Yes! I’d forgotten, sorry.” She rummaged in a drawer and pulled out an envelope with his name on it. “I put together a group. People with expertise in different areas. One is a librarian who knows all the ins and outs of getting free or cheap tutoring for SATs. Another is a financial aid counselor, so she talked about how to find and apply for scholarships. Their lectures are outlined and copies of all the handouts they give are on this flash drive. You may have to tailor them to meet the needs of the kids, but it’s all yours to use.”
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