Once the woman headed down the sidewalk, Skylar shifted into Mama Bear mode. Luckily for Jinx, she’d calmed down some. Because, while he might’ve used her son to get to her, he’d still done a great job with him.
As she headed towards them, her anger deflated even more. It was such a perfect scene. Strings of white lights lit up her salon, making the ornaments on her Christmas tree glitter. Paper snowflakes dangled from the ceiling, twirling from the heat coming out of the vent.
Sitting cross-legged on the floor, Jinx talked quietly to her son. Rocco didn’t have a huge attention span, but whatever Jinx was saying had him engrossed.
“Okay, I’m all done,” she said. “Let’s thank Jinx for stopping by.”
Jinx handed her son a block and got up. “I thought you needed me for a few hours?”
“I’ve taken enough of your time. Now that my client’s gone, I can manage.”
“I cleared my afternoon, so I don’t mind staying.”
God, he was so big and…he had all this dark, intensity about him. She set her hand on her hip, so he couldn’t see it was shaking. It was all such a crazy mix of emotions. He was handsome and very muscular, and he had a way of looking at her that made her feel like he’d protect and cherish her.
“I’m sure you don’t.” But he was too quiet, too fierce, and she didn’t know what to make of him.
And now he’d used her son to get to her.
“What’s that mean?”
“We talked about this.” She said it quietly, so Rocco wouldn’t hear. “The first time you asked me out, I told you I wasn’t dating. Nothing’s changed. I’m a single mother, and I work a lot of hours—not just to pay today’s bills but future ones. I try to spend as much time with him while he’s awake as I can, and it’s incredibly hard to juggle it all.”
“You don’t have to do it alone.”
“I don’t do it alone. I have a great family, and they help me a lot, but I’m saying that I want to be with him as much as I can. Which puts dating on the bottom of my list of priorities. So, I’d really appreciate it if you’d respect my wishes and never use my son to get to me again.”
The respect and…interest she was used to seeing in his eyes flamed out. Abruptly, he turned and went back to the play area, dropping to a crouch. “Hey, little man, I’ve got to go. You be good to your mama, okay?” He held up a palm, and her serious little boy slapped it.
Rocco stood there staring, as Jinx strode right past her and walked out the door.
The confusion in her little boy’s eyes just about killed her. This is why I don’t date. She couldn’t bear to see him attach to men, only to have them leave. At some point, he’d just stop getting close to anyone. His heart would shut down.
The bell on the door clanged as it shut, and a blast of cold air enveloped her, as she watched Jinx head for his SUV parked at the curb. She didn’t like hurting his feelings. The quiet, mysterious ones tended to be the most sensitive. Besides, even if he had used her son, he hadn’t done it in a bad way. He’d made Rocco smile.
She’d been too hard on him.
Still, she’d needed to get it out there once and for all. She wasn’t dating him, no matter how sweet he was to her boy. With Rocco busy stacking blocks, she pulled out her phone and called her brother.
“Hey.” Griff sounded exhausted.
“Everything okay?”
“Jinx didn’t tell you?” her brother asked.
Uh, no. She hadn’t let him say anything. She’d just kicked him out. “Tell me what? What’s going on?”
“You know that shipment of bikes that got delayed with the storm? Well, it showed up with no warning literally five minutes before I was supposed to head over to your place. That’s why I asked Jinx to watch Rocco for me. He get there all right?”
A hot mix of shame and dread washed through her. “You sent Jinx?”
“Yeah. He pretty much raised his younger brother, so I knew he’d be good with Rocco. Plus, he’s been around him plenty of times, so it wasn’t like a stranger showing up. Everything’s okay, right?”
“Well, considering I just told him not to use Rocco to get to me, no, not really.”
I’m such a bitch.
“Use—what? Where’d you get that idea?”
“He’s always trying to be around me. And, when he showed up instead of you, I thought he’d convinced you to let him come over.”
“Jesus, Sky, you think I’d let some guy who only wants to get in your pants watch my nephew? I love that kid like my own.”
“I know. I feel terrible.”
“Look, I know your ex did a number on you, but not all guys are assholes. Jinx is a good guy. Don’t put him in the same trash bag as your ex.”
She had done that, and she felt terrible. “I know. I’m going to call Mom and see if she can watch Rocco. I need to go apologize.”
Chapter 2
After spraying a second coat of the color blender, Jinx set the tank aside. He’d scuff it up tomorrow, so the pearl mix stuck nicely to it.
“Jinx?” someone called.
He’d know that voice anywhere. He glanced over to find Skylar striding toward him.
Fuck me. With her platinum hair, a mouth made for pin-up posters, and the sexy swing of her hips, she knocked him off balance.
But then he remembered that he was over her.
Not to mention she’d accused him of using her son. “Yeah?”
As soon as she reached him, she lifted both hands in a gesture of surrender. “I’m sorry.”
She’d talked to Griff. “Okay.” He pulled the long, skinny back fender off the hanging rack and set it on the table. Running a hand over the smooth surface, he checked to make sure he didn’t need to spot prime it. Nope. Looked ready for the gold flames.
“Jinx.”
“What?”
“Can you look at me, please?”
He straightened and faced her.
“Thank you for watching my son while I was with my client. I jumped to a really ugly conclusion, and I want you to know that it has nothing to do with you. You’ve never given me a single reason to doubt you or not trust you, so what I said back there? That comes from me. I’m…messed up.”
He got that. He didn’t know the whole story, but everyone in town knew her ex had gone off to Los Angeles to become a rock star, leaving her and his son behind. That would fuck anyone up, but especially a twenty-year-old who’d just found out she was pregnant. “We’re cool.”
“Are we? Because I feel terrible. You’re really good with Rocco. He’s been grumpy all day, and you actually made him smile.” She stood there, watching him.
He knew his silence made people uncomfortable, but he wasn’t one for small talk. “He okay?”
“Oh, you know. It’s…” She blew out a frustrated breath. “Every year, he goes to Aspen over the break between Christmas and New Year’s to spend time with his father’s family. He leaves tomorrow morning.”
“You’re not going with them?”
“Oh, God, no. And that’s why he’s so grumpy.”