by Katee Robert
Or facing each other over dodgeball and jump rope at the Dads and Daughters event.
Sighing, she placed a hand over her shaky stomach and pressed the second speed dial on her phone. Lan answered on the third ring, his sexy voice hesitant. “Steff.”
“Hi.” She shut her eyes tight and forced out the words over the lump in her throat. “You don’t have to come today. I just wanted to call and offer you an out.”
“You don’t want me there?”
Hope flared in her belly at the hurt note she’d heard in the question. Did he actually care if she didn’t want him around? “No, that’s not it. Of course not. How can you think that?”
“You asked Craig and not me in the first place, and we both did it last year. So either he’s developed some advanced paternal genes I don’t know about or you chose not to involve me.” He waited a beat. “If you’d rather I not go, I won’t. But don’t say it’s because you’re giving me an out. I told Craig I would go, and I will. I like the kids.”
God, she hated this…gulf between them. In the light of day, she couldn’t see how telling Landon that she’d screwed him while in disguise would heal their rift. She’d had her chance to reveal all, and she’d blown it.
Now she couldn’t even talk to him without remembering the feeling of his tongue sliding against hers in tandem with the slow, insistent thrusts of his cock. She imagined him plunging inside her and the knot of pressure in her belly started to unravel, turning to liquid molten heat.
“Steff?”
Dropping her head against the back of the couch, she took shallow breaths until her heartbeat leveled. “Yes, sorry. I’m here. I would like to see you.”
“Are you sure about that?” Something about the softness of his voice set off a shiver inside her, one she couldn’t alleviate by clutching her throw closer.
“Yes, I am.” She had to own up to what she’d done. Hiding wasn’t the answer. “If you’re able to make it, it would be really…nice.”
“Okay.” He blew out an uneven breath that made her shut her eyes. “Eleven thirty at the school, right?”
“Right,” she murmured. “See you then.” She hung up before he had a chance to say anything else.
She pushed herself up off the couch to get ready. Whether or not she’d made the right move last night, at least she’d done something. Being passive wasn’t her nature, and she refused to give in to her fear.
By tonight, she and Landon would either be closer…or further apart.
…
Landon bent over at the waist and stretched his achy back muscles. Those kindergartners of Steff’s were no freaking joke. They had energy to spare, and after three hours of playing soccer and dodgeball and every other kind of activity, they were only mildly subdued.
Unlike him. He’d be cuddling up with a hot pack later, and upping his cardio at the gym tomorrow. Even so, he felt good that he’d come today—and that he’d switched from divorce to family law. Being around happy kids and devoted parents through his work was so much more uplifting than dividing assets and searching for the vilest grounds for divorce. Craig had balls of steel when it came to that sort of thing, though Landon knew he had his own reasons for choosing that particular specialty. And Landon had his own for making a different choice.
Smiling faintly, he shook his head as a group of giggling five-year-olds filed out of the gym with their dads. His own favorite charge, Andrea, was on her way over to say good-bye to him, her hand securely clasped in her mom’s.
“Hey you.” He ruffled her strawberry curls and offered her equally pretty mom a wide smile. “Did you have fun? I think I might be limping after chasing you around third base.”
While Andrea’s mom laughed, Andrea stared up at him for a long moment, her lower lip extended in a serious pout. He wondered if he’d teased her too much, but she’d seemed to enjoy it. As much as he liked kids, he was the youngest of three boys, and his niece and nephew were both still babies. He wasn’t exactly an expert when it came to dealing with children.
Just as he was about to try again, Andrea let go of her mom’s hand and rushed toward him, wrapping her tiny arms around his legs and standing on his feet. He laughed and tugged on her long ponytail, glancing at her mom who chuckled and shook her head. “Guess you have a new friend.”
“Guess I do. Hey, slugger, we had a good time today, didn’t we?” He crouched down to give her a hug, closing his eyes at her peanut butter and soap scent. Man, they needed to bottle that baby smell. “Maybe I’ll see you again next year? You’ll be a big first grader, but I bet Miss Stephanie will let you come visit. The kindergartners will need your help, too.”
“I guess.” Andrea rubbed her knuckles over her big brown eyes and glanced up at her mom. “Will you marry me? My mom can cook. Potpie is her best.”
For a second, he had absolutely no idea what to say. “Um…”
Ms. North laughed and rescued him by taking her daughter’s hand. “Honey, Landon probably has a girlfriend or a wife already, sweetheart. Don’t you?” she asked him hopefully, her expression telling him to just go along.
A flash of yellow caught his attention. Steff had her arms around a pair of twins, and she was pointing to the big rubber puzzle on the floor. She was dressed in fall tones: dark brown pants, yellow cardigan, orange turtleneck. He’d teased her about her tendency to wear bright clashing colors many times, but she said her students responded more positively to them than neutrals. Since her kids adored her, he couldn’t fault her methods. Besides, with her fair, freckled skin and her bright blue eyes, she lit up the gym.
Last night’s mystery woman probably wouldn’t have ever worn an ensemble like Steff’s. She was too sleek, too chic, to wear corduroy trousers because they were more child-friendly. His fox probably dressed like most of the female lawyers in his firm, choosing trim suits in muted colors paired with expensive heels rather than rainbow-colored sneakers.
Steff’s sneakers were actually kind of cute. She had a goofy habit dating back to college of drawing on her tennis shoes, and she obviously hadn’t given it up. While he watched, she grinned and handed over a marker to one of the twins.
“Oh, is it Miss Stephanie?” Andrea asked, bouncing up on her toes. She looked distressed for a minute, then she grinned. “She let me draw a heart on her shoe.”
“Is what Miss Stephanie?” He frowned, belatedly realizing what she meant. He’d momentarily lost track of the conversation. “Oh, no, we’re not—she’s just my friend—or we were, before.” At Ms. North’s raised brow, he fell silent and offered a halfhearted, “No. I’m not married. Or dating.” Ever again, since even basic English is beyond me.
“You should marry her,” Andrea announced as Stephanie joined them. She’d ushered out the twins with their dad, and her cheerful smile faded the moment she stepped into their circle.
“Who’s getting married?” Stephanie asked Andrea, not sparing Landon a glance. She’d talked and laughed and teased him for the purpose of entertaining the kids all morning, without so much as ever meeting his gaze.
Yes, he’d been the one to originally pull away, but he always looked at her. Hell, he had trouble keeping his eyes off her today, which he ascribed to her cheery outfit. And maybe he missed her, and wished he could just wrap his arms around her and breathe in her comforting watermelon scent. “Me and you, apparently,” he said quietly.
“Excuse me?” Steff flipped her hair back and laughed so phonily that his molars ground together. “Is it April Fool’s and no one told me?”
“So you’re not marrying him?” Andrea glanced between Landon and Steff.
“No, of course not.” Steff laughed that fake laugh again that made Landon want to tickle her until she laughed for real. He’d always been able to count on her authenticity. She never pulled her punches. Now he felt like he was with a stranger. “Landon is my friend,” she added, her mouth so pinched he doubted her expression could actually be called a smile.
Andrea darted to his side
and hugged his hips. “So I can marry him then?”
He had to grin, and eventually so did Steff. Andrea and her mom’s presence seemed to chip the ice between them, and soon they were all chatting easily. Not counting the occasional appearance of the stilted laugh he’d be happy not to ever hear again.
By the time the gym emptied out, Steff had relaxed. It wasn’t like it used to be between them, but that was his fault. If he wanted to change that, it was up to him to man up and make things right.
If he could figure out how.
“I really appreciate your filling in for Craig,” she said once they’d finished cleaning up and said good-bye to the other teachers running the event. “The kids love you.”
“I love them, too. Though I’m never having girls. No way will I stand for my five-year-old daughter proposing to older men.” He grinned and pulled a fresh T-shirt out of the gym bag he’d brought with him. Without thinking, he swapped his sweaty shirt for the new one, only realizing after he yanked it into place that Steff was staring.
He couldn’t read her expression. Shock? Disgust? Curiosity? She’d seen him half-naked before. For pity’s sake, he’d practically seen her half-naked, too, and he couldn’t deny that he’d enjoyed the view. Somehow her modest curves fit her. Unassuming. Down to earth. Natural.
Sexy.
If he acknowledged that he saw her that way, which he absolutely would not.
“You okay?” He pushed a hand through his hair and bent to grab his bag. Maybe if he kept talking as if everything was normal between them, eventually it would be. He’d made some mistakes, but he still cared about her. He couldn’t not. She was too ingrained in his DNA.
“Sure. I’m fine.” She turned to head out of the gym, leaving him in her wake. “How have you been?”
He hastened to catch up, fearing she’d bolt if he didn’t keep her in his sights. “Good. You?”
“Fine.” She gained additional speed, rounding the hallway toward the exit. Before she could disappear, he leaned forward and snatched her arm. She stopped dead, her eyes so huge that he had to swallow several times to get his breath flowing again. “Everything’s good,” she continued, her voice sounding thin and high. “Been really busy. School, parent-teacher conferences. Plus my social life, you know. Very busy.”
She was repeating herself an awful lot, and he was too consumed with trying to count her inky eyelashes to much care. When had they gotten so long and thick? Maybe they were fake. “Seeing anyone?” He tacked on what he hoped was a nonchalant smile. “Craig told me you’ve been attracting some attention at the bar.”
She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. “What did he say?”
“Just that you got a little tipsy and were dancing with a ton of men.” That was a slight exaggeration, but it was worth it to see her pupils flare. “Specifically, he mentioned your ass swinging, if I recall correctly.”
“It wasn’t like that at all. Since when do I do anything lewd?” She flushed and whirled away, escaping so fast he took a moment to wonder if maybe she had done something lewd, and if so, with whom.
He needed the guy’s name so he could show him what it felt like to have a boot inserted up his ass.
“I never said it was lewd.” He quickened his step. “Nothing wrong with dancing. I’ve just never seen you move like that.”
She pushed open the glass door, her bulky tote bag sliding into the crook of her elbow. “You put enough whiskey shooters in me and stuff happens.”
“Whiskey shooters? I’ve never seen you spring for anything wilder than a Sex on the Beach.”
“Not true. I used to get Buttery Nipples all the time, too. And I tried that Muff Diver that one time—” Breaking off, she rooted through her bag, searching for her keys no doubt. The wind lifted her hair and he saw the redness of her cheeks. God, she was adorable when she blushed. Unthinkingly, he pushed her hair behind her ear, and she lost her grip on her bag. It spilled over the concrete, stuff flying everywhere.
He knelt to gather her things. “Let me.”
Ignoring his directive, she knelt to help and their hands brushed as they swept her belongings into her tote. “I got this,” she said, face still flaming.
He bet his mystery woman from last night never blushed like this. She’d seemed uncertain at times, but he’d never been able to tell for sure if that came from embarrassment or aloofness. Steff didn’t have an aloof molecule in her body—or she hadn’t before she’d tried so ineffectually to pull off that attitude today.
Your fault. Yet again.
While he studied her, she licked the lower lip she’d been biting all afternoon, and God, she almost knocked him back on his ass. What was that all about?
“Can we have lunch?” he asked before he could talk himself out of it.
“It’s past three, and we already ate.”
“Oh. Huh. Yeah. Okay, can we have dinner?” When she looked down at the papers she was shoehorning into her tote, he laid his hand on top of hers. Touching her made his mouth go dry. “For old times’ sake?”
She sucked in a breath and tilted her head, eyeing him with a level of mistrust he wasn’t used to seeing from her. Ever. “What about current times’ sake, Lan?”
“That’s up to you.” He pulled his hand back. “I’m making time for you—”
From the way she set her jaw, he knew it had been the wrong choice of phrase. All the way wrong. Dammit, when had he become so awkward around her?
“Oh, don’t strain yourself. I know you’re so super busy that it must be impossible to clear an hour in your schedule for little people like me.” She jerked to her feet and tossed her bag over her shoulder. “Thanks again for coming today,” she said, already walking away.
An unexpected jolt went through him as his eyes locked on the sway of her hips. She was already halfway to her car. If he let her leave, who knew when he’d get to see her again?
Maybe Craig’s needing to bail today had been fate. He’d missed her, and she was right in front of him. He couldn’t let her go. Not again. Whatever his reasons for stepping back, they paled in comparison to being close to her again. Somehow he could keep things platonic. He would.
“Steff, wait.” He jogged up to her and touched her shoulder, shocked and hurt when she jerked away from him as if he’d burned her. “What’s the matter?”
Her smile looked brittle enough to crack her face in two. “Did you really just ask me that? After all these months that I’ve tried to call you and arrange get-togethers only to be blown off, you actually think you have the right to act injured?”
Landon set his gym bag between his feet and turned her to face him fully, leaving his hands on her shoulders when she would’ve shifted out of range. “I miss you,” he murmured, his focus dropping to the glossed pink lips that trembled at his words. “Let’s have dinner.”
“And then what?” For an instant her question vibrated in his skull, bringing forth all sorts of images he had no right to think. Of his best friend reaching down to tug her turtleneck over her head, revealing her likely chaste bra. She wouldn’t be one for sexy lingerie. Something practical and sweet, with enough support to push her breasts up nice and high—
Jesus, what the hell was wrong with him? Why was he thinking like this about Steff? He’d already veered down this road once and pulled back. His head knew better, even if the rest of him didn’t. No matter how long it took, he’d keep forcing away those kinds of thoughts until they disappeared.
Besides, shouldn’t he be focusing on last night’s mystery woman? He relaxed his spine and let himself drown in the memory of her soft fingers brushing his cock. When he breathed in, he smelled the ocean, not the scents of a day spent with kids—finger paints and sidewalk chalk and glue. Not Steff’s watermelon bodywash.
Too bad that memory already couldn’t compare with the woman right in front of him.
He swallowed hard and blinked at Steff’s flattened mouth and narrow eyes. “Then we can, I don’t know, hang out?”
> “Is this guilt talking or do you really want to spend time with me?”
“What should I feel guilty about?” He definitely sounded that way. Unintentionally, his gaze shifted to her turtleneck, and a smudge of red high on her neck snagged his attention. He tugged down her collar, his jaw tightening at the hickeys clear as day on her pale skin.
She smacked him away. “What are you doing?”
“You are seeing someone.” The words scalded his tongue. Seeing them naked at least, probably. “Why did you blow me off when I asked?”
“Is it any of your business?” She clutched her throat to block his view. Too late—he’d already seen plenty. “Besides, how many women have you been with recently?”
Almost unconsciously, he slipped his hand into his pocket to stroke the pink crystal earring he’d tucked away. A little bit of magic.
The woman from the Halloween party swam into his mind and was just as quickly vanquished again. He’d already tried that trick once. As much as his mystery woman had rocked his world, in the harsh light of day, the whole encounter seemed like one big cluster fuck. She’d run from him like he was a damn serial killer. Unless she was way better at faking than he gave her credit for, she’d enjoyed herself, too, so he didn’t get what that was all about.
Maybe she had a significant other? If so, she could tell him to his face. He’d talked to half the people at the party last night, and absolutely no one seemed to have even seen her, never mind known her identity. It didn’t matter. On Monday he’d be back at work playing detective, and he wouldn’t back off until he found a lead. He had to know who she was.
In the meantime, there was Steff. Beautiful, brainy, funny Steff. He nearly growled as she tugged up her collar. Steff and her hickeys. Dammit.
“We’ll talk about it at dinner. If you’re busy tonight, what about tomorrow—” He broke off. No, he had weekly Sunday dinner at his parents tomorrow night. Steff had come with him a bunch of times, but it didn’t seem right to invite her before they’d talked. And Monday he’d likely be at the office late after back-to-back meetings. “What about Wednesday night? Can we have dinner then?” When she stepped back from him, he held out a hand. She didn’t take it, which was probably for the best. “C’mon, Steff. We’ll talk about everything, I promise,” he added, his tone indicating he intended to get the scoop on whose lips she was letting roam her body.