“That had to be hard.”
She stared down at her glass. “At one time, I thought we would get married someday, but at the first challenge to the norm, he was gone. He gave me an ultimatum, but I didn’t budge.” She polished off her glass and pushed it toward me. “Barkeep, my glass is empty.”
“I’ll make another if it will keep you talking.”
“Dam is open now.”
“He wasn’t the one, you know.”
She raised a brow at me. “The one? A little romantic sounding for you.”
“You think I don’t know what romance is?”
“No, not really.”
Ouch. Have I really given her that bad of an impression of me? No wonder she didn’t want to go out with me.
“I may have never been in a long-term relationship like yours, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want it.”
“You don’t like kids, so I figured you weren’t a love kind of guy,” she said with a shrug.
I froze. “When did I say I don’t like kids?” And how in the hell did she get that idea?
“You were bitching about Crystal being gone so long so she could take care of her baby. You were pissed she chose the baby over work.”
Fuck. Once again, my own issues were messing things up. That wasn’t it at all.
“Is that why you wouldn’t go out with me? Because of Kinsey?”
She nodded. “I’m surprised you’re still here.”
My heart sank. She had no faith that I would be able to handle her having a baby.
We’d gotten closer, learned more about each other, but she didn’t know my past, just my assholish behavior in the beginning, which drew a very unlikeable portrait of me. One, it seemed, I was never able to fully erase in her mind.
“You’re not the only one who’s had to deal with a drug-addict relative,” I admitted, hoping that opening up to her might help her see me as someone other than the man she’d known those first few days.
The bristles from her emotional explosion settled and softened. “You, too?”
I nodded. “But I’m not you in this situation. I’m Kinsey.” Her eyes widened as she stared at me. “I’m going to ask you a question, but it’s a little different than before—will you and Kinsey go out with me tomorrow?”
She blinked at me, her brow furrowed. It had been a long, hard night and I knew her emotions were everywhere, but I needed her to know that having a baby didn’t scare me away.
“I… Why?” she asked.
“Why what?”
“Why would you want that?”
“I thought that was obvious—because I want you.”
She blinked at me. “But I have a baby.”
Had she not been listening to me? Or had it just not sunk in? “And?”
“And…” she trailed off, her arguments losing the ground that held them up.
I took her hands in mine. “If you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m kind of enamored with you. I’m sorry for the way I’ve acted. Honestly, I was just so happy to have a sparring partner that I kept egging you on to keep it up.”
“You like fighting with me?”
I nodded and smiled. “You have a wicked wit, and I’m always on the edge of my seat for your reactions.”
“It has been fun,” she admitted with a smile. “And sexy.”
“So hot,” I agreed. “You are also dense sometimes, you know.”
“What?”
“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried to buy you lunch and you haven’t gotten the hint.”
She shrugged. “I didn’t want to have to owe you anything.”
A groan left me. “I wasn’t doing it so that you’d owe me. I was doing it so that you’d see that I liked you.”
“And after all this, you still like me?” she asked, and I could hear the waver of uncertainty in her voice.
I moved closer to her and cupped her face. “Even more now.”
Leaning down, I pressed my lips to hers. At first, she didn’t respond, but her arms quickly wrapped around my waist, pulling me closer and spreading warmth through me. Her lips parted, and my tongue lapped against hers.
My grip around her waist was loose. The last thing I wanted to do was take advantage of her, despite how much I wanted her.
“I should get to bed.”
I nodded. “I’ll sleep on the couch.”
“Really?”
“You already said no to my place or a hotel before the police left. I’m not leaving you here alone.” She was insane if she thought I was leaving.
She disappeared and returned with a pillow, sheet, and blanket.
“Goodnight, Thane,” she whispered as she stood on the tips of her toes, her neck straining to reach my lips. Soft and sensual and completely too short. “Thank you again.”
“Always.”
She headed to the bedroom and turned to look at me before she closed the door. I blew out a breath and stripped out of my clothes, then set up my makeshift bed for the night before turning off the light and crawling in.
I stared up at the ceiling, lost in thought. The infatuation I held had morphed in one evening to complete and total desire for her. It scared me that she had a child, but not in the way one would think. It scared me because I could see how much she loved Kinsey, and losing her due to one of her parents taking custody would devastate Roe.
I didn’t want to see her heart break like that. Her smile was too beautiful.
I’d been so frustrated with her earlier in the day because I couldn’t understand her logic, but now I knew. All I’d ever seen was the surface. That was all she ever showed, and I never dug deeper.
So much rested on her shoulders. Responsibility she wasn’t anticipating that she took in stride. She found a way to become the mother Kinsey deserved.
At some time in the night, I was startled awake by the blanket moving. Roe crawled under, her legs twining with mine as she laid her head on my chest. I was confused, but when she let out a sigh and relaxed against me, I understood. There wasn’t a lot of extra room, so I wrapped my arms around her and held her close.
The normally feisty and strong woman had let her guard down and shown me a fragility she kept hidden.
Hours later, Roe stretched against me, rousing me. She hadn’t even opened her eyes, just snuggled into my chest. The last year couldn’t have been easy on her, and I was curious if she was desperate for comfort or if she genuinely wanted comfort from me.
I’d given her little reason to trust me, and I could tell it I would have a hard road ahead of me.
“Good morning,” I whispered, kissing the top of her head. It was a mistake and she froze, her body no longer pliant against mine.
“I’m sorry,” she said as she pushed against my chest to sit up.
“Don’t be.” I pulled her back down to me despite her reluctance and wrapped my arms around her. “I’m here for whatever you need.”
We lay there for a few minutes until a cry and “Mamamamama” came from the bedroom.
“Be right back,” she said as she left my arms.
I couldn’t help but smile at her disheveled appearance. Her hair was everywhere and the neck of her T-shirt was stretched, revealing her collarbone and the top of her shoulder.