by Marie Harte
The next morning passed into afternoon in blessed peace. Colin had swimming lessons and a birthday party to attend. Del planned on joining them Sunday evening for dinner, one she had to prepare since she’d lost their bet.
He smiled at Colin and nodded, wondering what she’d make for dinner.
At her place. With Rena and J.T. And maybe her father in attendance.
He sobered as he realized the full ramifications of their bet. The sex had been beyond explosive. Thinking about it wasn’t a good idea, because just the notion of Del and a bed got him hard with the memory of her taste. That lavender candle his mother insisted on burning was as bad, because the scent reminded him of Del.
Hell, everything reminded him of Del. Not good, especially since they were just friends. He still had a wife to mourn. Half of Lea’s birthday cake sat in the fridge at home. Yet he had a difficult time holding on to his grief lately, and he didn’t know how to feel about that. On the one hand, it had been six fucking years. Everyone wanted him to move on. But now…he thought he might be ready to.
What would that mean for him? For Colin?
Going to Del’s house, surrounded by her family and friends, taking his son…it would send the wrong message. It was too soon.
“Too soon for what?” he muttered, watching Colin weave in and out of his friends to score a goal at the indoor soccer party. He’d have to remember that for Colin’s birthday, because Colin showed no signs of being disinterested in anything to do with his favorite sport.
“Wow. He’s good.” Belinda Daniels, Brian’s mother, appeared beside him. “He still as fixated as he was last season?”
Mike groaned, and Belinda laughed. “Yeah, Brian too.” She jerked her head at her husband. “Ryan’s planning to coach this year. Do you want to get Colin on his team?”
“Are you kidding? Why would I even think of separating Colin from his best friend? That would be like putting salt on the table without pepper. Crazy talk.”
She laughed again, and he thanked his stars that he actually liked Belinda. She and Ryan made a solid, dependable couple, and they had accepted Colin like he was one of their own. The way Mike treated Brian. A good kid. Not like the smarmy boy he saw entering the sports complex with Grace behind him.
He groaned again, this time meaning it.
“Oh. Sorry.” Belinda grinned. “I mean, I’m not. I think Grace likes you.”
“How would you know?”
“It’s all over the neighborhood. Sexy single mom. Sexy single dad.”
He wondered if somehow his mother had gotten to Belinda. It was like Invasion of the Body Snatchers, starring Beth McCauley. “Et tu, Belinda?”
“Come on, Mike. You need to get out and live a little. All the women in the neighborhood are mooning over you.”
He hated that he liked that fact. Del would have a field day taking him down to size over his ego. “Nah. They just see a guy who likes kids, has a job, and isn’t living with his mother.”
“There is that.”
“So of course I’m a catch.” He winked. “Then there’s the McCauley charm.”
Ryan joined them. “Oh God. Not the charm again.”
Mike grinned and forced himself to keep his smile in place when Grace approached. As he watched her, he wondered if maybe he was looking at her all wrong. If things with Del might be progressing too fast, perhaps Grace was the hand brake he needed to slow things down.
He nodded to himself as she made small talk with Ryan and Belinda. Noah joined Brian and Colin, and unlike the last time they’d all been together, this time Colin seemed to take to the boy.
Again, memories of Beth McCauley’s nagging to be nice to new neighbors intruded on his thoughts. Being the new kid seriously sucked. He knew he’d had things easy growing up, because after finally settling in their neighborhood, they’d only moved that one time, from the house next to his current one into the one his parents now lived in. And the move hadn’t necessitated a school transition. He still saw guys he’d once gone to elementary school with. No having to make new friends and adapt to a new place.
Grace turned to him with a smile. “Hey, Mike. You look happy.”
Sexually satisfied down to the bone. His heart went trippy at thoughts of the woman who’d inspired such pleasure, and he didn’t like the fact that he’d started missing her the moment he left her townhome last night. For a friend, she felt awfully more than that. If that made sense.
Fuck. Now I’m talking about feelings to myself.
He turned to Grace and, before he could talk himself out of it, asked her if she wanted to go on a tour of Seattle the following night—the same night he was supposed to go to Del’s. He could get his mother to watch Colin, and Nadine could take care of Noah. While Grace nodded with a smiling yes and his friends looked on with amused support, another part of him wanted to smack himself for complicating things.
No, not complicating, making sense. Taking a step back. No more Del with every thought and breath. Time to concentrate on being a single, unattached father doing a favor for his mother, to help out a friend. He’d go on a non-date with Grace. And he’d make sure she knew it was nothing but neighborly support. Somehow.
Not like he owed Del any explanations. They weren’t dating.
He continued to talk himself out of his weird attachment to Del as the day wore on. Grace, fortunately, took his proposed meeting as he’d meant it. She seemed to have no problem with his carefully worded invitation to tour the city. With a neighbor. A friend. Period.
Once he and Colin left the party, he wondered if he should text Del or call her, then decided he’d man up and call her. No wimping out and texting because it would be easier to bail on her without hearing her sexy voice. He was no Nancy.
After he and Colin entered the truck, he dialed her, a part of him hoping to get her voice mail.
“Yo.”
Figured she’d answer. “Hey, sweet cheeks. It’s me,” he said gruffly, remembering how he’d handled her “sweet cheeks” just last night.
“Oh, hi, Mike.” Her voice softened, the way it did lately when she talked to him.
Some weird part of him felt guilty for dodging tomorrow, but hell, it wasn’t anything, really. Just a stupid bet for dinner.
He wasn’t a dick and wanted to be up front with her. No sense in hiding anything, especially since he wasn’t planning to date Grace and Del at the same time. Not a date with Grace. And not like I’m dating Del either.
“Mike?”
“Oh. Sorry.” A glance in the rearview showed Colin waving, no doubt wondering why the hell they weren’t driving. “Just wanted to let you know we can’t do tomorrow.”
A pause. “Oh?”
“Yeah.” He had a hard time getting the words out and felt like an ass. Man up, dickless. “I promised Grace I’d show her the city for my mom.” Not a complete truth, but the gist was there. Mostly. “And with her schedule, tomorrow—”
“Okay.”
He frowned, having expected more of a problem on her part. “I mean, we can do the dinner another time, right?”
“Oh sure. No biggie.”
She sounded way too chipper on the phone. Maybe she hadn’t wanted him to come over, and that bet had forced it on her. Stupid for him to have been thinking about her all damn day when she apparently didn’t want him there. Now he felt glad he’d made up that part about needing to schedule the thing with Grace for tomorrow.
“Yeah. Just wanted to let you know. Delilah.”
“Thanks for calling. McCauley.”
Frustrated and annoyed, because his irritation with the woman made no fucking sense, he mumbled a hasty good-bye and disconnected before Colin begged to talk to his favorite person—who wasn’t his father.
“Dad? What about tomorrow night?”
Realizing he’d now have to break it to Colin that they wouldn’t be seeing Del or J.T., Mike did himself a favor and ran through Colin’s favorite drive-through for an ice cream sundae before breaking t
he news.
The kid took it like a champ, especially since Mike made it clear Colin would be staying with Grandma and Grandpa while he showed Grace around.
As he drove them home and tucked Colin into bed later, he wondered what the hell he’d been thinking to turn down a fun dinner with Del in favor of a night with Grace.
A vision of Del’s smile, her laughing gray eyes, danced in front of him. The thought of her kiss still made him weak in the knees. With resolution, he opened the fridge, pulled out the remainder of Lea’s cake, and took a huge piece.
Despite it tasting way too sweet, the way she’d always liked it, he forced himself to eat every bite of the orange frosted chocolate cake before moving into the garage to work himself into a good lather.
His hands ached by the time he’d finished hitting the bag, and he could feel a film of tooth decay and sugar working its way into his enamel, but he no longer let himself feel disappointed Del hadn’t insisted he come over tomorrow, or that she didn’t seem to care about him hanging out with Grace.
He brushed his teeth and got ready for bed. Before he moved under the covers, he took Lea’s picture out of his dresser drawer and lingered over her features—her bright brown eyes, her dark hair that feathered over her face, caught in the soft wind that had blown over them that day. He stood behind her in the picture, holding her, laughing and happy and whole. A lifetime ago.
Yet the pain he normally felt when he looked at the photograph seemed muted, not as sharp, and he slowly tucked the picture away, not sure what the hell was happening to him. He crossed back to his bed, feeling lost.
“I love you, Lea,” he said as he slid under the covers, wishing the words didn’t sound so empty. Who did he want to hear them? Her, or himself? So that he’d remember what should have been his first and last thought of each day?
As he tried to settle into sleep, he had to work to flush Del’s image from his mind, determined not to dream about her for once. He was stronger than that.
He woke the next morning with Del’s name on his breath and her taste on his lips.
So not how he’d planned to start the day.
Chapter 12
Del smiled through her teeth at J.T. while he made yet another remark about her dry chicken. Yeah, she’d overcooked it. But the ass didn’t have to call her out in front of her cousin and father, did he? She was coming to hate hosting family dinners. Ever since Liam had found out how Beth spent her Sundays with her family, her father insisted they had to get together once a week to grow tighter as a clan. Friggin’ McCauleys…
“I mean, I can’t even cut it with my knife.” Her brother sawed away at the yard bird while she did her best to ignore him.
Next to her, Rena piped in with a cheery voice, “I’m just glad I didn’t have to cook tonight. Thanks, Del.” She chased down a bite of chicken with her iced tea.
For not jumping on the hater wagon, Del wanted to give her a big hug. But then Rambling Rena, the queen of talking too much, said, “I don’t understand why Mike didn’t come to dinner tonight. Why did he bail again? Something about helping out his mom?”
Her father and brother looked at her.
“What?” She wished Rena would stop reading into everything. Tonight wasn’t even a date, just a bet gone sideways. “I’m not his keeper.” Or someone who can hold his interest, apparently. To her horror, a rush of inadequacy struck her mute, the pain of his dismissal burning a hole into her heart. His girlfriend? Ha. She’d been right. He hadn’t socked her Friday night. Instead, he’d waited a day to rip her world apart. Treating their sex—what he’d called making love—like it meant nothing.
Rejection. Such a familiar friend. She dug into her meal, pretending she hadn’t completely lost her appetite, and wanted to pound something. Shit. Even the asparagus had turned soggy.
Rena continued, “So he’s out with Grace, right? A favor for his mom, you said?”
J.T. frowned. “Hold on. You guys are hooking up, then he ditches you for that loser chick?”
Before Del could ask, Rena explained, “I told them about book club.”
By them, she obviously meant both her brother and father, because Liam looked none too pleased either.
“Del? Is this true? You’re seeing Mike McCauley?”
“Fuck, Dad. I’m twenty-eight years old. My love life is none of your business.”
“Watch your tone, Delilah.” Liam frowned.
“Yeah,” J.T. repeated.
To her brother, she flipped the bird and retorted, “Sure thing, Jethro.”
J.T. flushed, hating when she called him by his first name, a name which normally never failed to amuse her.
Rena broke into Del’s secret pity party. “Um, I think maybe you guys are jumping to conclusions. Mike is a nice guy. Right, Del?”
Eager to put the topic of Mike behind her, Del nodded. “Yeah. Tonight was a casual dinner at best. End of story.”
“Casual…with his kid in tow?” J.T. asked.
She ignored him. “Mike said he had to take Grace around for his mom.” Which she just knew wasn’t the whole truth.
Liam’s frown eased. “Oh, well.”
“‘Oh, well’?” J.T. wore a scowl like a thundercloud. “The dick stood up your daughter, and you don’t care?”
“J.T., it’s not like that. I lost a bet and agreed to make him dinner. It’s no biggie.” She told herself to listen and take heart. She’d had amazing sex. Period. Why make more of it than there was? Hell, they’d never committed to anything more than orgasms anyway. Fun friends.
Yeah? Then why did he refer to me as his girlfriend? Because he did.
She so wished she could forget about that, but whenever she remembered their time together, she found herself thinking about his tenderness as much as his freakishly hot body. That soft smile full of gentle affection, the laughter they’d shared…
“So you’re telling me it doesn’t bother you that you went out and bought all this food and McCauley isn’t even here to enjoy it? Well, the not-so-rubbery parts of this chicken?”
She lost it without meaning to. Del tossed her plate of chicken, soggy asparagus, and limp salad at her brother’s face. “Fuck off. I’m going to Ray’s. Don’t follow me.”
Del didn’t wait to see if he obeyed. She left the kitchen, grabbed her keys, and darted to her favorite bar. A terrific place for losers to congregate on a Sunday evening.
As usual, the place had its share of patrons who never seemed to go home. She nodded to Earl as she entered.
“Where’s your friend?”
She stopped and swung around to gape at him. Earl never asked after more than her family or the shop. He’d never once been interested in any guy she’d brought by, though admittedly there had been fewer to comment on the past years.
“Are you talking about Mike?”
“Big muscles, dark hair, put Jim on his ass. Him, yeah.”
She swore under her breath. “He’s fine. I guess.”
Earl shrugged. “Good.”
She left him staring after her and headed to the bar, where Lara sat laughing with one of the bartenders.
Del crooked her finger at him. “Yo, Scotty. Give me whatever’s cheapest on tap.”
“You got it, sexy.” Scotty winked and fetched her a beer.
Unfortunately, another patron called him over, so Scotty handed her drink to Lara, who delivered it with a question Del hadn’t wanted to hear again so soon. “Where’s your big, hunky friend?”
Del took a healthy drink before answering with patience, “He’s busy.”
Lara raised a brow. “Oh?”
“We’re not attached at the hip.” Del wanted to guzzle her beer and down three more before she could take a breath. But she’d never been one to drown her sorrows in alcohol, so she paced herself.
“Maybe not,” Lara said. “But he sure looked like he wanted to be attached to some part of you.” Her eyes widened at something over Del’s shoulder, then they crinkled when she smiled. �
��Hey there, sexy, what can I get for you?”
Del’s palms sweated and her heart raced. Had Mike sought her out here? She refused to turn around and find out, so her stomach dropped as she had her second huge disappointment for the weekend when J.T. answered, “I’ll have a Coke. I’m driving.”
She dropped her head on the bar and groaned. “Leave me alone.”
“Come on, Del. What’s up?” He thanked Lara for the drink then pulled Del with him to a side table. She’d barely managed to grab her beer before she was sitting across from him.
“J.T., go away.”
“No.”
She raised her head. “What is your problem?”
“You. Rena agrees. You’re acting weird lately.”
“Bullshit.”
“Yeah, you’re full of it. Since when do you storm out of the house from a little teasing?”
“I worked hard on dinner. You might actually try appreciating it instead of jerking me around.” Mike, you asshole. I prepared that dinner for you.
“You can tell me, sis. Is McCauley fucking with you?”
If only. “Nope.” Not anymore. He blew his chance when he took out Wimpy Woman. “Look, I appreciate you looking out for me. I do. But I don’t need your help. There’s no problem, nothing to worry about. Mike and I are just fine. We’re not tight, but we’re not enemies. Tonight was no big deal.”
He frowned but nodded. “Okay. You want a ride home?”
She huffed. “It’s one beer, and you’ll notice I’m drinking slow. Go on home, Nancy.” Damn. She thought about Mike again. “I’m going to hang here. We’re going to have a full week, because I’ve got a meeting with our wiring guy and two high-end clients Wednesday, and I have a lot of prep work to do. So let me enjoy the end of my weekend, okay?”
“Fine, fine.” He sipped his soda, making no move to leave her alone.
“You’re still here.”
“I know. Thought I’d hang out for a while. That cool with you?”
In his own way, her bozo of a big brother was trying to help. Lord love him, but he really was a great guy when he wasn’t acting like an ass. “Fine.” Then she frowned. “Say, this isn’t because you’re trying to avoid Gina, is it?”