But he realized that seducing Sierra wouldn’t be the best idea as soon as she opened the door too. He knew that she was vulnerable and hurting and that if he tried to push her too far too quickly he’d only end up pissing her off. The last thing he wanted to do was piss off the beautiful woman that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with when she was in a bad mood as it was.
So he tried to tease her into a better mood, while letting her know at the same time that he was here to be there for her, that there was nothing more in the world that he wanted than to be there for her, to be with her. It felt so right to be with Sierra. It was so much like coming home that he couldn’t imagine ever entertaining the thought of spending his life with another woman.
When he was able to convince Sierra to smoke with him, he knew that he could get her to open up to him, and that it might be easier for her to accept everything that he had to tell her. If it had been hard for him to confess his sins to Kimber, he knew that it would be even harder to confess them to Sierra. But he did confess it all to his attentive love.
He told her that he had secretly wished when Kimber was pregnant with Halden that the child was Paul’s even though it had made him feel terrible. He told her about Jess, and how the thought of having a child with a woman other than her made him feel. He told her about the hard decision he had made to move to be near her when it took him further away from his children.
She told him about her decision not to move with Paul. She told him that she sometimes felt guilty because she wanted to be more than just a mother to her child. She told him that she had heard about his divorce through a gossip website and that she had secretly wished he would come for her as soon as she found out, that his upcoming divorce had made it easier for her to make the decision to cement the end of her marriage.
They made passionate love on the couch, in the shower, in the guest bedroom, then fell asleep stoned again and exhausted from their multiple couplings.
Kimber
The fact that her mood was so cheerful as she moved into her new house without Luke told Kimber again that she had made the right decision in choosing to divorce him. Not that his betrayal didn’t still sting, not that she didn’t sometimes let the fact that she knew he was probably already back with Sierra bother her. But the kids loved the house. Their seal of approval was one of the most important things to her, and she knew that making the decision to sell the store had been the right one as well.
It wasn’t easy to set up an online bookstore, but Kimber was confident that once it was up and running, she was going to be able to make enough money to be comfortable. Luke was going to be paying child support, but she planned to put that away for Alexis and Halden’s college funds. She wasn’t nervous about being on her own since she had spent most of her adult life before she’d met Luke alone, but she did find herself lonely now and then, though that was just another thing she didn’t like to admit.
She liked the new city they lived in. It was bigger than what she was used to, but the schools were excellent, their neighborhood was safe and she was able to navigate without as much assistance from GPS after a while.
All in all, Kimber thought that they were all adjusting well to the move, and found herself hopeful for the future.
Paul
Paul loved his new job, though it was so demanding that he worried he wouldn’t have the time with his son that they both needed. It stung that Luke was more a part of his son’s life than he was. His first instinct when Sierra told him that she had gotten back together with Luke after he had showed up on their doorstep having heard about their divorce through the private investigator he had hired to spy on Sierra for him, had been to drive back to his old house and kidnap his son so that Luke couldn’t be a part of his life.
But he’d realized that such a plan was completely ridiculous on more levels than one. And he knew that it was going to be hard for Sierra to accept a new woman in his life, or at least he hoped that she still felt enough for him to feel something when a woman entered his life. He knew at least that she would have a hard time dealing with having another woman in Nathan’s life. Sierra was such a beautiful mix of contrasts that it still blew his mind sometimes. He was not glad by any means that his marriage had not worked out, but he knew that he had chosen a damned fine woman to have a child with.
It seemed to Paul as if he never did anything besides drive or work these days. If he wasn’t driving somewhere like to work or to pick up Nathan, he was working. But the time alone with his thoughts didn’t seem to be constructive. He hadn’t really thought that the lack of sex that resulted from the end of his marriage would bother him. He figured that he had always had an at least somewhat normal sex drive, but it seemed to him as if his sex drive had kicked into high gear lately. It was driving him crazy.
What was driving him even crazier was the fact that he was thinking about Kimber. He had been thinking about her so much that he had hallucinated and thought he’d seen her the other day. That bothered him more than he wanted to admit, for more than one reason. He didn’t like to think about the fact that it somehow seemed natural for him to pursue Kimber. The fact that her husband had gone back to his wife bothered him greatly, but if he was completely honest with himself he and Kimber as a couple seemed to make a lot more sense than he and Sierra ever had.
Kimber was smart, and ambitious, not to mention beautiful. He was sure that she was a wonderful mother too, and the thought in the back of his mind that he needed someone by his side to help him care for Nathan made his crush seem even more reasonable. Paul could justify his attraction to Kimber in his mind, but the way she seemed to occupy his thoughts lately was definitely a bother.
Sierra
Sierra was more than a little apprehensive when Luke invited her to go with him to pick up his kids from Kimber’s new house. She wasn’t sure that Kimber would want to see her, though she knew that a meeting with her as Luke’s woman instead of Kimber would have to take place eventually. She loved Luke’s children and got along well with both of them especially since she had taught Alexis in school and Halden was close in age to Nathan. But getting along well with your man’s children did not mean that you would get along well with his ex-wife.
She had a lot of respect for Kimber, and knew that Kimber was a wonderful mother. Alexis was closer to Luke, but Halden was a Mama’s boy like Nathan. She still felt a little strange when Luke’s son snuggled up on her lap and fell asleep. What bothered her most was the fact that though Halden was only about a year younger than Nathan, when she played with him and held him, she felt the longing for another child. She felt a longing to have Luke’s child.
Her head was swimming in the days that led up to her road trip with Luke. They had a very interesting conversation one night when they were stoned. When Luke told Sierra their destination to pick up Alexis and Halden, she had burst into laughter. The town Kimber had decided to move to was the exact same place Paul had moved for his new job. She decided that it would be hilarious if Paul and Kimber ended up together, though in her analytical mood, she made a good argument to Luke that Paul and Kimber made a lot more sense together than she and Paul ever had. Luke wasn’t as amused as she was, though he did admit that if Kimber and Paul were anyone other than their respective exes, they would seem like a logical match.
Since the weekend of their trip was a weekend that Paul was supposed to spend with Nathan anyway, she decided to do him a favor and offer to drop their son off. Paul’s reaction was a little off when she mentioned that she was going to be in town with Luke since Kimber happened to live in the same town as he did, but she tried not to think about it too much, especially since Luke didn’t find it anymore near as humorous as she did.
Paul
Paul wasn’t sure how to feel when Sierra told him that Kimber was now living in the same town that he lived in. It made sense now that he had thought he had seen her since chances were he might have seen her. But while it seemed like a good thing to him for the two of them t
o be living near each other, and both newly divorced, he wondered how Kimber would feel about it. He was pretty sure that she had been as blown away by their night together as he had, but then again he had never seemed to know what Sierra was really feeling as far as sex or anything else was concerned.
He also wasn’t sure that jumping right into a relationship was a good idea. He had never been so lonely in his life and he didn’t want to think that that fact played a part in his yearning for a woman. He believed that romantic relationships should be played for keeps and he’d always taken his relationships seriously. He had a feeling that Kimber felt the same way. He knew that they had some things in common on the surface at least, and with the night they had shared, he had a feeling that he and Kimber could have a deeper connection.
All around though, Paul was cautious when it came to approaching women, so he didn’t think about calling Kimber or trying to run into her even after Sierra, who seemed to think it was hilarious that he and Kimber were residing in the same town, happened to make sure she left him with Kimber’s phone number and address. He briefly wondered how she had talked Luke out of the information, but then thought that with Sierra it was probably better not to wonder.
Sierra even had the gall to call the fact that he and Kimber were living in the same town a twist of fate, though Luke gave her a look so dark that Paul realized that Luke was less than thrilled over the fact. He hid a smile when he thought that it would bother the other man greatly for Kimber to move on with her life with Paul, but he didn’t want to start a relationship on false pretenses, and the thought ended up making him even more cautious about approaching the beautiful woman he had shared a very memorable night with.
Kimber
Kimber wasn’t thrilled when Luke asked her if it was okay that he brought Sierra with him when he picked up the kids. She knew that Sierra was in her children’s lives, especially since the kids had mentioned Miss Sierra on more than a few occasions. It hurt to think that her children so readily adored another woman, especially one who was such a mother figure, and who would logically eventually become their stepmother. But Kimber knew that with as much as she could probably find not to like about Sierra that her skills in dealing with children would not make the list.
She found herself with even more mixed feelings than she thought she’d have on the night when Luke arrived with Sierra to pick up the children for the weekend. Sierra looked uncomfortable at first, but when both Alexis and Halden had offered enthusiastic hugs to her before their father, she had visibly melted. The smile that lit up her face had told Kimber all she needed to know about how Sierra acted with children. With as much as it stung, she grudgingly admitted to herself that if she could trust her children with anyone besides Luke it would be Sierra.
She had tried not to like the other woman, but that night was not a night when she succeeded. Her children obviously adored Sierra, and her children’s instincts about people did matter to her.
Sierra did come close to spoiling her newfound respect from Kimber right before she and Luke left though, when she casually remarked that she had dropped her son off with his father five miles or so away, and that Paul had blushed to the roots of his hair when she had mentioned to him that they were living in the same town.
Kimber was lonely at times, especially on weekends like this when the kids were gone and the house seemed too empty. Paul was definitely an attractive man, and thinking about their night together had sometimes made her blush to the roots of her hair. But she wasn’t sure that a relationship with Paul would solve any of her problems. She’d be less lonely and she might be able to stop resenting the fact so much that the father of her children was a bigger part of another child’s life than he was of his own children’s if a man were around to be there for her kids. But all in all the risks seemed to outweigh the benefits, and she let her attraction to Paul go for the most part, except on her loneliest nights, when they sadly seemed to serve as her best source of comfort.
Luke
Luke thought it went pretty smoothly when he took Sierra with him when he went to pick up his children from Kimber. He wasn’t sure whether the fact that his children adored Sierra was in their favor or not, because he knew it was even harder for Kimber to accept her children’s easy adoration of Sierra when she had been so busy with the book store when both kids were young that she’d often confessed she felt she wasn’t giving them enough of her time. He figured that Halden’s obvious affection for Sierra was even harder on his ex-wife, not only because Halden was the baby, but because Halden was Mama’s baby.
He’d wished that Sierra hadn’t felt the need to point out that Paul had blushed when she’d told him again that Kimber was living in town, though. It had pissed him off that Paul had gotten red when his beautiful ex-wife had mentioned Luke’s beautiful ex-wife. He didn’t think it was funny at all that Sierra seemed to want to play matchmaker with Kimber and Paul. Though he knew that Kimber deserved a steady, reliable man, he still thought that Paul was too much of a stick-in-the mud to accept Kimber’s need for independence when he’d been so obviously unaccepting of Sierra’s needs.
So while Luke believed that his ex and his future wife would come to at least an uneasy acceptance of each other, he didn’t believe that he could be accepting of Paul being a part of Kimber’s life. He tried to convince Sierra to lay off, but she had gone from pouty to fiery. The only thing that played in his favor when his lover was mad was the fact that she was a very sexual woman, and even easier to arouse when she was angry. So he stunned her once again with his lovemaking skills and then was finally able to talk her out of her quest to join Paul and Kimber.
He was planning on proposing to Sierra, and he didn’t think that they needed any more complications thrown into the equation.
Kimber
When Luke took her aside when he dropped off the kids and told her that he was planning on proposing to Sierra, she found that it didn’t hurt nearly as much as she’d thought that it would. Her life was going so well that she wasn’t going to let anything bring her down.
Her online bookstore was now up and running. Sales had started off slow, but she was planning several promotions that she was sure would draw in customers. She was happier than she had been in a long time, and the kids were happy, so that made her even happier.
She had had several offers from men in the neighborhood or men she ran into here and there when she was running the kids around for dates, but she wasn’t interested in any of them. She was still thinking about Paul. But she didn’t want to think about Paul. She didn’t appreciate the way thinking about Paul made her feel. So the night that she ran into him, she almost turned around and walked the other way.
Paul
When he saw Kimber, Paul knew that he had to approach her. She had been on his mind so much lately that he had found himself avoiding areas where he thought there was a greater chance of them running into each other. So when he saw her walking into the out of the way sandwich shop when he was on his way out, he felt as if someone was trying to tell him something.
He cleared his throat as he held the door open for her, thinking that he had never seen a more beautiful woman in his life. He felt silly having such a thought, but it felt true in the moment. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her face.
He realized he had been staring when she cleared her throat and said “Hello Paul.”
Though she had been the one who had spoken first, it looked to him as if Kimber wanted to run away. He felt a little stab and felt color rise to his cheeks. He felt as ridiculous as he had back in college when he had been afraid to ask Sierra out, unsure of whether she liked him or not.
“Hi Kimber.”
He realized he had no idea what to say to her. Divorce certainly didn’t seem like a good conversation starter, nor did the reunion of Sierra and Luke. He figured that it might be safest to ask about her kids, and had opened his mouth to speak when she said “It’s good to see you Paul.”
She was smilin
g at him. Paul wondered if he was being a complete idiot, or if Kimber was flirting with him. She looked sincere, but then again he thought that right now he might as well have been wearing rose colored glasses where she was concerned. She looked so damned beautiful that it almost hurt. He could remember the feel of her body wrapped around his. They had fit perfectly together, and as that thought rose to Paul’s mind his cheeks colored even further.
“It’s good to see you Kimber. You’re beautiful.”
His cheeks felt as if they would never return to their normal color.
Kimber laughed. “Thank you Paul. You’re not bad yourself. Luke mentioned that you had a new job here. How has it been going?”
Paul hid a sigh of relief. “It’s been going well. I feel like I’m always working though. I’ve never felt like I had enough time to spend with my son. And now with the divorce, it’s even harder of course. Not that I wouldn’t drive any distance to see Nathan.”
“I know what you mean in both cases. Luke makes the trips here but I know those car trips aren’t easy on anyone. I felt like I was always working before too. That’s another reason I made the decision to sell my old bookstore. I need to be there for my kids.”
“What are you working on now?”
“I opened a bookstore online. It’s different and it’s going to take some getting used to, but I think I’ll have the hang of it pretty quickly.”
“I’m sure you will.” Dirty thoughts were trying to enter his mind again. He wanted to ask her out for coffee or something, but he found that his courage had failed him once again. “How are your kids?”
Misty Reigenborn Romance Boxed Set Page 31