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“She’s got a right, Shayla.” Sean spoke in my ear.
“I’m gonna pull out all her stupid, ugly hair and make her eat it!” I kicked the air, reaching over his shoulder for the door, and then allowing his words to penetrate, I quit fighting him, turned my head, and met his eyes. “What do you mean, she’s got a right? No, she doesn’t.”
“She’s protectin’ my kids,” he said. “She’s just lookin’ out for them and Val. That is not a bad thing for her to be doin’, babe.”
I sucked in a breath.
Oh, my. Babe felt nice. I liked that.
But I had to keep focus. My argument was solid, and he needed to hear it.
I gripped Sean’s shoulders for support. Our fronts were mashed together, and my feet were still dangling in the air. “It is a bad thing if it involves you not seeing them, Sean,” I told him. “She can’t do that. She can’t keep you from your girls.”
He shook his head. “She isn’t.”
“She isn’t?”
“Saw the money, didn’t you?”
I opened my mouth, then closed it. “Oh. Right.” Yeah, I definitely got a good look at that money.
“Bridgett saw the house, saw all the shit I’ve done to it, and listened while I laid it out for her,” he said. “She needed to see this for herself and hear it from me. I’ve lied a lot in the past, Shayla. A lot. Hurt Val more than once. Bridgett has a right to be comin’ up in here and makin’ sure I’m not gonna fuck up my kids’ lives any more than I already have. She meant good by it.”
“I’m having a hard time agreeing with you on that,” I told him honestly.
“’Cause you thought I was fuckin’ her?”
I flinched and felt blood pooling in certain areas of my body at the same time. That was both a disgusting thought and seriously sexy the way he said the word fuckin’.
“Well, can you blame me for thinking that? She was dressed like a two-dollar H-O-R-E.”
Sean’s mouth twitched. “You are drunk. You can’t spell for shit.”
“Yes, I can. That’s just how Jenna’s grandmother spells it.” I wiggled until he set me on my feet. “And I’m not drunk. I’m half drunk. There’s a difference.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes. I have some sense about me still. I saw all the makeup that crusty bitch was wearing and knew it was way too much. If I was drunk, I might’ve thought differently. How come she was dressed like that anyway?”
“She works at the Dollhouse.”
My mouth dropped open. “She’s a stripper and she’s coming over here judging you? Is she insane? Like, I’m seriously asking, because if I do see her again, her mental state will determine whether I slap the shit out of her for this stunt tonight. I don’t need some psycho chick breaking into my apartment.”
Sean grinned. He actually grinned. And even though it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen in my entire life, it aggravated me slightly because he was doing it out of amusement.
“What?” I asked, hands on my hips and my head cocked to the side. “Don’t make fun of me. I’m serious. I don’t like how she came up in here looking to pay you off. That hurts me. It hurts me for you. You need those girls in your life, Sean, and they need you in theirs. They need their dad. The man you are…their lives would be severely lacking without you in it.”
Sean’s grin softened when I finished speaking. Then his eyes did this slow appraisal of my face, and just as my breath started picking up under his scrutiny, he reached out and grabbed my neck while stepping forward, pulled me firmly against his chest, circled my upper back with his other arm, and dropped his head so his mouth was in my hair.
We were sealed together. This was a legitimate embrace. Not like the neck squeezes he’d given me before. No, this was more.
I forced myself to breathe so I wouldn’t pass out and miss this beautiful moment. Then I hugged him back for nearly a full thirty seconds.
I knew this because I was counting.
Cheek pressed to his pec, I inhaled slowly and deeply.
His skin smelled so good. And his body felt amazing against mine. And his mouth in my hair, pushing warm breath across my head, holy crap, that was nice.
I wanted this to last forever. I wanted to go back in time and not drink those Creamsicle margaritas, eliminating the possibility of this moment getting lost in the haze. But more important than that, I really wanted to look at Sean while he embraced me.
Just as I felt his arm loosen its hold, I tipped my chin up, forcing his head back ever so slightly so we could see each other.
His hand was still on my neck, but his thumb had moved to my jaw. This new touch drove me crazy. And considering that, plus the embrace, and the current way Sean was gazing down at me—intensely, like he was feeling something major in this moment—I saw my window.
