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by Lisa N. Paul


  “I’m saying if the garters fit, Mr. Brand…”

  That, right there, was the reason he couldn’t give up on April Maddox. Hell, it was the reason, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get her out of his fucking mind. She was the total package—beauty, intelligence, and a sense of humor to boot. But no matter how many attributes he mentally clicked off in his mind, the only one she seemed to care about was being Elijah’s mom. While he certainly understood the bond between parent and child, especially the connection between a single parent and only child, he also knew how important it was to have a healthy adult relationship. They’d both done it wrong before. The difference was, he wasn’t ready to give up. Not when he saw something worth fighting for right in front of him.

  “Here’s the deal.” Decker picked up the dumbbells that lay by her feet and placed them on the weight rack. He gathered his words while his back remained to her, but when he lifted his eyes, his gaze met hers in the wall-length mirror. “I want more time with you, and you want the same thing. Let me take you out.”

  There was no question being asked, because he already knew that her heart and her head would give different answers. He wasn’t a gambling man, so he wasn’t going to take a chance. April opened her mouth to interject, but Decker pivoted took two steps toward the bench and kneeled down in front of her.

  “You can avoid it, but you can’t deny it.” His heart thudded in his chest when she licked her lips before rubbing them together. “So save us both time, make us both happy, and just say, ‘Yes, Decker.’”

  The desire to run his tongue up the length of her throat as she swallowed was nearly as strong as his urge to moan when she licked her deep pink lips again. “Yes, Decker.”

  Knowing it would look amateur to fist pump, he quelled his excitement and settled on a silent nod.

  * * *

  SHE COULD PRACTICALLY feel the enthusiasm brimming in his body, and no way did it match the slight inclination of his head when she accepted his offer. Although his smirk… that smirk screamed “gotcha” as his nostrils flared. Truth be told, she was just as excited to spend time with him, even if she had been stacking up reasons why dating wasn’t a good idea. The thought of spending time with Decker alone made her body parts tingle. Sure, they’d kissed since their date. Each day as they left the gym, Decker would place his hands on either side of her face and pull her in for a leisurely kiss, one that warmed her skin and softened her insides. She savored those moments when his calloused hands met her soft cheeks. Each quiet whimper she released was a tiny crack in the wall she’d erected after her ex-husband shattered the very essence of her being. However, their kisses were rushed as they each had a child that needed their love and attention. As always, Elijah would come first. His needs were the most important, and his happiness was the only thing that counted.

  However, having another date with Decker… mmm, even the thought was decadent. She’d ask her siblings if one of them could babysit, but she already knew her brother would gladly watch Eli without giving it a second thought. He’d repeatedly offered his nephew-watching services, especially since their Christmas chat on the porch swing outside their parents’ house. August will be thrilled. April smiled. He’d most likely cancel his own plans just so I can go out with... the plans she’d made earlier with Janie and Rori popped into her head. “Shit.”

  “No way, beautiful.” Decker’s heated stare penetrated her. “I’m not letting you out of our date that easily.”

  Wow, was that unease she saw behind the dark eyes and firm jaw? I really do suck, she scolded herself, remembering Janie’s words and Rori’s agreement. I guess I do cancel on everyone.

  “I’m not kidding, April.” With her hands tucked firmly in his, Decker rose from his knees, leaving her no choice but to stand as well.

  His six-foot stature, powerful and strong, towered over her five-foot-four-inch frame, yet she didn’t feel daunted or afraid. In fact, her body snapped to full alert when, without further words, he lifted her hands to his mouth, touching his lips to her knuckles.

  “Whatever excuse you’re about to sell me, you can forget it, cause I’m not buying. This thing here, between us, is a relationship, babe. It may be undefined, but that doesn’t make it any less real.” He released her hands, only to obliterate what was left of the distance between them. “It’s a give-and-take. You gave me a yes to a date, now I’m taking the reins and making sure it actually happens.”

  The combination of his commanding tone and soulful, tender eyes made it nearly impossible for April to breathe, let alone think straight, but she needed to keep her mind clear in order to figure out the best resolution for the situation she’d gotten herself into. As much as she wanted to spend time with Decker, and oh my God did she want that, she refused to be the stupid girl who dropped her friends for a guy—been there, done that, ended up with zero friends and Ben. Not a good trade-off and not a mistake she’d make a second time, but how the hell did she explain the scenario to Deck without making him feel like he isn’t important?

  “Um.” She heaved a heavy sigh. “So here’s the problem…”

  “April, I can practically hear the cogs turning in your brain. Tell me what’s bothering you, and I’ll help you figure it out. But let’s go out to the lobby.” Decker’s lips thinned as he looked around the weight room. “I wanna be able to concentrate on what you’re saying, but if I see one more guy staring at your ass in those thin yoga pants while we’re talking, I may lose my mind.”

  Gah, the man was a multitude of contradictions. Hard and soft, gentle and rough, sweet and crass, understanding and “no bullshit,” caring and … well, there was no opposite of that one. He was always caring, considerate, and kind. The problem was her; she couldn’t let him in because she wasn’t capable of that kind of trust. That said, she was perfectly capable of enjoying him and whatever time they had together before he moved on to the next woman who would enter his life. The thought stung, but she shook it off as they walked to the juice bar in the lobby.

  Once they were settled on the plastic chairs with their bottled waters in hand, April explained the situation. Since almost all of their conversations were held over the phone, it was still novel—fuck, even sexy—the way Decker listened to her problem as if he truly cared and not just nodded blankly while he played on his cell phone.

  “Okay, so let’s see if I have it right.” He brushed his large hand over the five o’clock shadow that spread across his squared jaw. “You already promised your friend Janie that you’d celebrate her engagement with her and a bunch of people over at Danny’s on Main this Thursday, and you don’t wanna leave Eli with a sitter two times in one week. Am I right?”

  April looked at the sexy man addressing her and nodded. Why had she been putting off a second date with him for so long? She’d been a fool, and now she’d need to put it off even longer. She’d deserve it if he got bored waiting for her pathetic ass and walked away.

  “April, I think it’s really important for you to spend time with your friends—”

  “You do?” she interrupted, incapable of hiding the astonishment in her question.

  “Of course I do. After everything you’ve told me over the last month or so, it doesn’t seem as though you’ve done nearly enough socializing since Eli’s been born.”

  “Try since I was sixteen,” April muttered quietly.

  Decker’s brows clinched together. “What do you mean by that?” When she didn’t answer immediately, he asked the question a second time.

  She studied the designer label on the plastic bottle. “I guess I never gave it any thought until recently, but Ben didn’t necessarily like to share me.” As the words left her mouth, realization entered her mind. “He claimed that he loved spending time with me, just the two of us. I had a lot of friends in high school, I was on a bunch of committees, and I had a lot of boys who were interested in dating me. Ben wasn’t one of them… until he was. And once we got together, he preferred our alone time. Looking ba
ck, I should have known he was a classic asshole, but as a sixteen-year-old girl, I was in love with him, and I swore the feelings were mutual.” April took a swig of water as Decker rolled his bottle between his hands. “Anyway, he used to tell me that when I chose my friends over him, it hurt him. Made him wonder if I loved him at all—”

  “What an abusive son of a bitch,” Decker growled.

  “Yeah”—she shrugged—“but I didn’t see it that way. I just wanted to make him happy. So I stopped going out with my friends and spent my time with him.”

  Decker leaned forward, placing his palm on her cotton-clad knee. The warm touch sent tingles up her thigh, directly to the juncture between her legs. “I know how it feels to be with someone who uses your love and kindness against you. That’s how Olivia was, always putting her own needs first, believing that my loyalty to her and Charlie would stay steadfast even when her bitterness poisoned my love almost from the get-go.” He reclined back in the chair, severing the connection of their bodies, a move that immediately had her eyes lifting to meet his. “I’m not looking to hold you hostage, April, nor do I need to be the only person who matters in your life, because let’s face it, we’re both coming into this thing with the most precious cargo.” Her breath quickened as he leaned forward again, this time cupping her cheek in his warm hand. “I just want to know that I’m one of the reasons those sexy-as-sin dimples appear on your face each day.”

  Holy shit. April looked down at her body; yep, it was still there and not an ooey-gooey mess in a puddle on the floor. There was no doubt she needed to find a way to go out with Janie and still see Decker without taking any extra time away from Elijah, but how? “You want some dimple action?” There was no disguising the huskiness in her voice. “Then come up with a way for me to see you and celebrate with Janie and her friends without adding an additional night out this week.”

  She stared as Decker finished off his water. Transfixed, she followed his Adam’s apple as it moved up and down the column of his neck with each swallow, wishing her lips were the rim of the plastic container.

  * * *

  HE ALREADY HAD a solution in mind, but watching her drink him in, with wide eyes and plump lips parted slightly, left an insatiable thirst he doubted water would quench. Draining the remains of the liquid, Decker chastised his body, willing his erection to subside long enough for him to give his suggestion without sounding like an overprotective asshole or, even worse, her ex-husband.

  “So,” he asked casually, “Thursday night—the celebration at Danny’s on Main, is it just a girls’ thing?”

  He watched carefully as she processed his words, waiting for the minute the meaning behind his question became clear. When her brows shot up to her hairline and her supple mouth formed a perfect O followed by a tiny smile, Decker allowed the trapped air to quietly leave his lungs.

  “No, it won’t be just girls,” April professed. “Janie wants Rori and me to meet her fiancé, Max, as well as the rest of her friends, both the guys and the girls. They all co-own the bar and most of them work there, so it should be a pretty big group.”

  “Would it be okay if I joined? I figure it solves your double-booking problem, plus while you get to meet Janie’s friends”—he shrugged with a grin—“I get to meet yours.”

  “Wow, big guy, you wanna meet my friends already? I don’t know, it feels like a big step.”

  Even though her smile was bright and her tone teasing, there was no hiding the uncertainty he saw swimming in her bright green pools.

  “Relax, beautiful,” he implored as he stroked her knee, rubbing measured circles with the pad of his thumb over the black cotton pants. “It’s not like you’re taking me home to meet your family.” Awareness struck him like a dart. He’d have no qualms about introducing her to Charlie and the rest of his family, because he knew even in a relatively short period of time that not only was he falling for her, but he saw her in his future. He did, however, understand that after everything she’d been through with the abandonment of her ex-husband, she was more than just a little gun-shy, and she felt strongly about protecting her son and herself from people who wouldn’t be sticking around. Decker wasn’t going anywhere, and he had no problem proving himself to her. “But I’d like to meet some of the important people in your life. So are you okay with me joining you on Thursday?”

  The twin indentations in her cheeks answered before her words confirmed, “I’d love it, Deck.” He couldn’t contain his chuckle when she squealed, “Rori’s gonna shit herself.”

  “You may want to tell her over the phone then, babe.” April’s quizzical look had him laughing. “Well, if you tell her at school, she’ll walk around smelling all day and hating you. A teacher with a load in her pants is not something middle-school kids soon forget.”

  “You are an unbelievable man, Mr. Brand.” April snorted as her smile grew even wider. “I’ll be sure to give her the news on the phone.” Glancing at her wrist, April let out a muffled curse. “It’s getting late, and I have to go get my little guy from day care. Care to walk me to my car?”

  Decker would have escorted her out to the parking lot regardless, but when she batted her long eyelashes in that flirty little way she did when she was trying to be cute, well… that would get her anything, anytime, anywhere. I hope she never asks for a pony, he thought, grinning to himself as he wrapped his arm around her waist and led her to her Acura RDX.

  Those stolen moments were some of his favorites - the two of them alone together but out in the open where an audience could appear at any time, standing close, breathing the same air, near enough to touch yet no physical connection linked them together. It was erotic, and it was torture. He dropped his eyes to her parted lips, wanting nothing more than to taste their flavor and wondering what sweet surprise waited for him; sweet berry, tart apple, or maybe the youthful bubble gum that she seemed to favor.

  There was no need for permission as her invitation was clear the instant she slid the tip of her tongue across her bottom lip. His patience turned to dust and his body to steel as Decker closed the remaining distance between them, cupping her face in his large hands and claiming her mouth. He loved how her warm body melted into his, their tongues caressing as an intimate dance began. Pulling her closer, he nipped at her sweet, flavored lips and inhaled her scent. The spicy sweetness sent a jolt through his body, causing his heart to pump a quick tattoo behind his ribs.

  Decker heard the blood flow though his ears as April pressed herself closer to him, grinding her pelvis against his rigid cock. Her muffled whimper would have brought him to his knees if not for the voices coming from the gym exit.

  “Fuuuck.” Decker pressed his forehead to April’s for a quick breath before placing some needed space between them.

  With her eyes round like half dollars but shimmering with excitement, April grazed her lips with her fingertips. “I think we have a bit of a problem, Deck.”

  “What’s that, dimples?”

  “I really enjoy saying good-bye to you.”

  “Hmm, that is a problem.” He leaned in and placed a quick peck on her forehead. “I guess I’m gonna have to start greeting you the same way.”

  “Sounds perfect to me.” She grinned as her cheeks flushed.

  “By the way, I couldn’t tell.” Decker ran his thumb across her bottom lip then placed the pad in his mouth just far enough to swipe the tip with his tongue. “What flavor did I just enjoy?”

  “Passion Fruit.” She winked before hopping in her car and blowing him a kiss.

  Chapter Twelve

  Happy Face Pancakes

  “HOW YA FEELING, Ror?” April spoke to her friend while driving home from the gym on Tuesday afternoon.

  “I definitely feel better than I did last night and this morning.” Rori still sounded weak, but at least she was able to speak, which was better than the partial conversation April had had with her that morning. Nothing said close friends like listening to someone vomiting on the phone. “Uhh, I’m
so sorry about this morning, chica. I can’t even imagine what that sounded like, but if it was even a quarter as bad as the real deal, then blech… I owe you big time.”

  “Stop it.” April laughed. “You don’t owe me anything. I called you out sick—it was no big deal. Clearly you weren’t able to make that call on your own. My God, it sounded like there was an alien invasion going on inside you.” Just the thought of the early morning call had April’s stomach roiling. “Do you think it was a twenty-four-hour bug?”

  The sound of Rori’s snort made April laugh again. “Twenty-four-hour bug, my ass. I probably got food poisoning last night from the fool my mother set me up with. She thinks just because he’s cute, he’ll be a class act. She thinks if she gives me something nice, I’ll forget about all she took from me when she uprooted me from my family in Los Angeles and brought me here.”

  The torment in her friend’s voice was hard to miss, and it made April sad that in the years she and Rori were friends, Rori still hadn’t let go of the resentment she held toward her mom.

  “Umm, so why do you think”—April bit back a giggle—“the fool gave you food poisoning?”

  Rori heaved a loud sigh. “Because God spent too much time on the guy’s looks and forgot to fill his head with anything but air. Seriously, don’t laugh, April.”

  The minute April heard the grin in her friend’s voice, she started shaking her head. If there was anything she knew for a fact, it was that Aurora Velez could tell an entertaining story. Rori explained how in trying to impress her, Larry, the cute guy her mother had met while he was scooping dog poop at the park (which just so happened to be his full-time job), decided to impress her by taking her to a restaurant where she’d feel at home. While the small Cuban place only had a one-star rating, he claimed it would be perfect for her.

 

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