by Skye Jordan
Which was probably exactly why Zach had slept with her. He’d been a no-strings kind of guy his whole life.
“But Sophia changed everything,” Tessa said. “I can still remember the day she told me she was pregnant. Man, talk about a one-eighty,” she said with a smile and a shake of her head. “She stopped drinking, wouldn’t touch drugs or cigarettes. I swear she settled down overnight. Before I knew what happened, she was my popcorn-and-hot-chocolate, classic-movies buddy on weekends. She got organized, took on a second job, working when she used to party, started saving money.” Tessa’s eyes closed, and her forehead creased in pain. “She was so excited about having a baby. It was like an anchor for her. Like she’d been adrift, flitting all over the place because she didn’t have anything to ground her.”
Zach turned his head and put his cheek against her belly again. “Maybe I’m more like Corinne than I realized, because that’s exactly how I feel. Like Sophia’s my new paradigm.”
Her hands stilled in his hair. “Paradigm?” she half laughed the word with sarcasm. “That’s got to be the strangest thing I’ve heard come out of your mouth.”
He grinned and looked at her as he squeezed her waist, tickling her.
She laughed and squirmed, grabbing his hands. “No, no, Zach, stop.”
“I know what a paradigm is, Miss Smarty-pants. I did get into Pepperdine.”
She sighed. “You’d have made a great doctor.” Her gaze went distant as she shook her head. “But I don’t think being a doctor would have been great for you.”
“Why?”
She met his eyes. “It would have stifled your spirit. I watched you on the set for days. You belong in the ocean. I kept going back to the set to find a way to tell you apart and talk to you, but I stayed for hours to watch you surf.” Her fingers floated through his hair again, and warmth coiled deep in Zach’s chest. “The way you weave your way through those huge walls of water is…fascinating, mesmerizing. I couldn’t help but think of David and Goliath or Jack and the Beanstalk. Probably too many hours reading kids’ books, but still, I can’t imagine how you do it. Or how you do it with such…pure…” She searched for the right word. “Elegance.”
“Elegance,” he said with a grin. “I’ve had a lot of people say a lot of things about me, but I’m pretty sure no one’s ever called me elegant.”
She sighed and smile. “Well, I am quite the wordsmith, you know.”
“Evidently.” His mind turned, and he took a minute to figure out how to approach the subject they’d have to figure out very soon. “Tell me more about your job. What kind of vacation do you get?”
Her laugh jostled his head on her belly. “Vacation is a bad word. Unspoken but frowned upon.”
“At your firm?”
“In my field. For most attorneys in Washington, there’s too much work and not enough time. If you find yourself with time on your hands, you’re either missing something or haven’t done enough research. Every attorney I know is either working or sleeping.”
Zach had several regular jobs before his surfing took off. He’d even interned at a hospital, shadowing doctors specializing in different areas of medicine to see what he might want to practice. He’d also worked as a Renegades stuntman often enough to know all about long days and deadlines. But he’d also seen how much his family had given up over the years to climb to the level of achievement Tessa was on the verge of attaining.
But it wasn’t his life to judge.
“Sounds ambitious,” was all he could come up with in the moment.
“It is,” she sighed, as if the reality weighed on her shoulders.
“When will you know if you get the partnership?”
“Well, that depends.” She chuckled. “I feel like that phrase will be carved into my tombstone, I say it so often. There are a lot of variables involved. To save you a long-drawn-out, boring narrative on all the possibilities, I’d say…” Her gaze rolled toward the ceiling, and she hemmed and hawed a little. “Three months.”
He laughed. “Did you just pick that out of the air?”
“Sort of, not really. I’m basing it on the bill’s length, its complexity, the support on the Hill lobbyists have already generated, the track record of other bills I’ve had passed successfully through the house, and a handful of other factors. But I can tell you the next several weeks are critical, which is—one reason—this is a working vacation.”
“Wow, months?”
She grinned. “Washington curbs a lot like a loaded freighter.”
He rested his cheek against her warm belly again. His mind traveled over his calendar for the upcoming months, and the joy she’d infused him with faded.
As if she read his thoughts, she said, “I’m going to be tied to DC until this is done.” Her fingers stroked the nape of his neck. “What’s your schedule like? You could come back east, see where we live, visit Sophia’s preschool, meet her teachers and friends…” Before he could respond, he felt her tense. “And I totally get that this thing between us isn’t, you know, a thing, so I wouldn’t expect…I mean, no strings on the invitation.”
There was something in her voice that made him look at her again, and he found uncertainty in her expression. Planting his hands in the cushions, he hoisted himself up her body until they were face-to-face again. That also brought his hardening cock dangerously close to her heat. Propped on his elbows, he rested his head against a sofa pillow and stroked the backs of his fingers over her jaw.
“What if…” I was interested in strings? The words wouldn’t come out of his mouth. They just stuck there.
“What if…what?” she asked.
“I was thinking if you brought Sophia to the shoot tomorrow, I could take her in the water when filming was over. Does she like the water?”
A shadow of disappointment flickered through her eyes. “I have to take Abby to the airport, but after. Sophia loves the water. She’s been swimming since she was a baby. Guess she got the water bug from you. What would be a good time?”
His brain had taken an abrupt turn after the word “airport,” and his sex radar went full tilt. “Abby’s leaving?”
In the next instant, he remembered Sophia. And in the next, decided they’d have to figure out how to work sex around Sophia, because he wasn’t going to let two good hotel rooms go to waste. In fact, he was going to do everything he could to get as much of this woman as possible before she left him for DC.
“Yeah,” Tessa said. “She has a visit planned to see her family. That’s why I sat in the restaurant waiting for…well, you…for hours. I had a limited window to talk to you.”
He couldn’t keep the smile from filling his face. “Huh.” He rocked his hips deeper between her legs and lowered his mouth to hers for a slow, sexy kiss. “I sure hope we can use that time wisely.”
A little smile turned her lips. “Wisely…” She opened the V of her thighs and shifted her hips until his shaft slid across her wet heat. Sensation blasted through his cock, and he groaned. “Sounds like there might be some learning involved.”
“Maybe we can exchange tips in our areas of expertise,” he murmured, thinking of how much he had to learn about kids after his iced tea blunder earlier.
“Oh, you mean mine in three-year-old-girls and yours in surfing?”
He laughed and rocked against her again. “I’m more interested in my other area of expertise.”
She hummed and lifted to meet his hips. Her lids grew heavy as she threaded both hands through his hair, linking her arms behind his neck. “I’m very interested.”
14
Tessa was sunburned. She could feel the telltale sting of too much sun on her exposed skin.
At almost 5:00 p.m., the sun might have been less intense than when they’d arrived at one, but it was still strong. Despite her seventy SPF waterproof sunscreen applied every two hours, Tessa knew her fair skin would be toasted tonight. She dragged the sunscreen from her bag again, sprayed a thick layer of the clear mist into her hand,
and applied it to her face and neck. Then her shoulders. And wondered if she should pull Sophia from the surf again to dry her off and lather her up with more as well.
Her daughter’s hearty laughter reached Tessa’s ears, and melancholy twisted her heart. She couldn’t remember the last time Sophia had so much fun. She’d been in the water with Zach for hours. He’d done an early shoot and been finished by two. Tessa and Sophia had been at the beach since one, watched Zach for an hour before he’d introduced Sophia to the ocean and then taken her into the water. It was almost five now. The crowd was thinning out. Die-hard surfers still dotted the horizon and littered the beach, but the production crew was all but gone.
Movement on her right drew her gaze. A young woman stopped and smiled down at her. “Tessa?”
She squinted up at the woman but didn’t recognize her. “Yes?”
The other woman pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head and offered her hand, smiling. “Hi, I’m Grace, a friend of Zach’s.”
Good Lord, another woman? Zach had been getting attention from various bikini-clad women all day—on set, off set, in the water, out of the water. This woman was at least wearing more than a few threads of clothing with a Hawaiian-patterned sarong knotted at her waist, but her body wasn’t any less beautiful than the other women. And she was striking, with strawberry blonde hair and light eyes.
Tessa reached for the other woman’s hand. “Yes, he seems to have a lot of friends here. Especially of the female variety.”
She returned her gaze to the water, where Sophia knelt on a boogie board, her hands gripping the sides while Zach dragged her beyond the surf where they would wait for the perfect wave before Zach pushed her toward the shore again.
Grace laughed and lowered to the sand. “I guess he does, but I’m sure some of those are because Sophia’s so adorable. Kids and dogs—they’re babe magnets for a single man.”
Tessa refocused on the woman, partly nervous about the fact that this stranger knew Sophia’s name and partly annoyed she’d nailed the whole chick-magnet thing. “I’m sorry. Do I know you?”
“I’m Josh’s wife.” When Tessa didn’t show recognition, Grace added, “Josh? The Renegades risk assessment manager?”
Renegades. “Oh, right. Nice to meet you.”
“You too. Does Sophia like the Pegasus?”
Tessa glanced at the stuffed animal partially hidden beneath a towel Sophia was using as a blanket to put Pegasus “to bed.”
“Oh yes,” Tessa said. “She had to put Pegasus down for a nap so she wouldn’t miss her while she was surfing.”
Grace laughed. “I’m glad. I thought Zach was going to pop a blood vessel trying to decide over a bin of stuffed animals.”
Tessa remembered Zach’s comment about having a friend’s wife help him choose gifts and smiled. “Thanks for helping out. Pegasus was a good pick.”
“Zach did the picking, I just got him to the store. He has wonderful things to say about you and Sophia.”
Tessa offered a tired smile. She wasn’t feeling particularly friendly today. She’d gotten up early to fight traffic to and from the airport, and spent all afternoon watching Zach get hit on by gorgeous women while he stole her daughter’s heart with excitement and fun. Tessa knew it was irrational, but that didn’t keep the anxiety at bay.
She offered what she hoped sounded like a teasing, sarcastic “Probably just that honeymoon period. We haven’t known each other very long.”
“Zach is very much what-you-see-is-what-you-get. And he and Sophia seem to be having a ball.”
“That they are.” She certainly didn’t begrudge her daughter the fun and comfort she’d found with Zach so quickly. It was just that the happier Sophia was with Zach, the more inescapable the sensation of Sophia slipping away was. “Either he’s a fantastic teacher or Sophia has a natural skill, because he’s sent her to the surf standing a couple of times already, and she’s never been in the ocean.”
“Maybe it’s hereditary,” Grace said.
“Maybe.”
“Why aren’t you in there with them?”
“I was, for about thirty minutes. Then I was getting in the way more than I was helping.” Her stomach tightened. “And I figured it would be good for them to have some one-on-one time. I’m enjoying watching them.”
“Are you?” Grace asked. “Because it looks like you’re going to dig your nails into your flesh.”
Tessa glanced down at her arms where they were wrapped around her knees and noticed for the first time, her fingers were so tightly clasped on her arms, they were bloodless, as were the areas under her fingers where they indented her biceps. Tessa sighed, released her legs, and planted her hands behind her in the warm sand. “It’s just…”
When she didn’t go on, Grace said, “It’s just that your baby is in the water with a man you don’t really know.”
Tessa forced her gaze away from Zach and Sophia and smiled at Grace. “Mama bear syndrome. I often wonder if it ever fades. Do you have kids?”
“No. Josh and I got married a few months ago. We’re waiting a little bit.”
“Do you two live here?”
She shook her head. “San Diego. Josh had to come for work. I took time off to come so we could have some sort of belated honeymoon.”
“Sweet.” Tessa wished she could do this more often. “What do you do?”
“I’m a dance instructor.”
“Really, what kind? Sophia takes ballet. She loves it.”
“Actually”—she grinned—“I teach strippers.”
Tessa’s mouth dropped open.
Grace laughed. “I get that a lot.”
“It’s certainly different. Were you a stripper before you started teaching?”
“No. Cheerleader and on-again, off-again musical performer. I took the den mother job out of necessity.”
“Den mother?” Tessa asked.
“That’s someone who manages the strippers backstage. Helps them with hair, makeup, costumes. Delivers encouragement, tough love, and therapy when necessary.”
“I never knew such a thing existed.”
Grace grinned. “That tells me a lot about you.”
She’d bet—as if Tessa wasn’t one of the sexually liberated bombshells currently flirting with Zach and Sophia. “Does that ever bother Josh?”
“Not at all. Josh helped me start my own studio. I still teach mostly strippers, but I love the women. Really hardworking women, many raising children on their own. A lot like you, actually, only they don’t have the education or skills to work a job that pays a living wage. Now I have better hours and take on other clients as well. Josh’s connection with the Renegades has, unexpectedly, brought me a few actors and actresses who need coaching through a movie role.”
Tessa formed a picture of what Grace’s life looked like. “That sounds really…fun.”
“It is.” Grace’s smile was warm. “I love it. And Josh loves me, so he’s okay with it. What about you? I hear you’re a big-shot attorney in Washington.”
Tessa’s laugh was edged with sarcasm. “I’m just an attorney struggling to find a foothold in a sea of attorneys.”
“I hear you’re close to that foothold.”
“You hear a lot. I’m surprised Zach has talked about me that much.”
“That’s why I came over. After hearing more about your situation, I could identify with you being on your own, taking care of a sick friend, and raising a daughter. I took on the second job because my mom has Alzheimer’s and the residences that care for Alzheimer’s patients are extremely expensive.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
Grace nodded and offered a sincere, serious “And I’m sorry about Corinne.”
“Thanks.”
“I’m not sure how much Zach has explained about Renegades…”
“Just that he does occasional stunts for them.”
“He does. But the group is really more of a family. We look out for each other, you know? No matter where o
ne of us is in the world, we have our thumbs on the pulse of our people. And there’s no problem too big or too small for the family to get involved. The guys are like brothers. And the women are like sisters. It can take some getting used to, and I say that coming from a very independent background. But they’re good people. Caring people. Generous people. And they have good intentions.” She tipped her head and met Tessa’s eyes directly. “I just wanted to warn you, because now, you’re part of that family.”
Tessa experienced a flash of confusion. “I don’t know what Zach said, but he and I aren’t, you know, permanent or anything. I’m only related to him through Sophia, who isn’t even mine by blood—”
“This isn’t about blood. It’s about relationships. You’re Sophia’s mother. Zach is Sophia’s father. That makes all three of you Renegade family.”
“Well, I don’t know how much longer Zach will be working stunts through Renegades. I think he’s going to take that part—”
“Doesn’t matter. Once a Renegade, always a Renegade.” Grace laid a hand over her forearm and gave it a gentle squeeze. “So if you or Sophia ever need anything, even just someone to talk to, anytime, day or night, I hope you’ll lean on us.”
Tessa’s insides swirled with warmth and, yes, unease. She’d learned the hard way that forming relationships also left you open to pain. But the offer was genuine and selfless, and Tessa smiled, covering Grace’s hand. “That’s an amazing offer. Thank you.”
Grace nodded, and they fell silent again, watching the ocean where Zach steadied the board while Sophia got to her feet and put her arms out for balance.
“Gah.” Tessa sat forward and clenched her hands. “I know that water is over her head, and it doesn’t matter that she’s already a great little swimmer, it makes me crazy when—”
A wave rolled toward them, Zach kicked into action, swimming along with the board as he brought Sophia in sync with the crest, then let go with a push.