“You know those rules you have?” he growled. “I’m about to break every single one of them.”
My breath hitched, and the most embarrassing squeak left my lips.
Therational part of my brain warned me, no, yelled at me, to tell him no. But when I opened my mouth, that wasn’t the word that came out. “Okay.”
In one quick move, he wound my ponytail around his fist and yanked my head back. I almost moaned again.
He licked his lips, his face inching closer to mine. My heart picked up, the heat in my veins burned hotter. I could almost taste his lips.
“Kaaaate.” Millie’s voice followed by her pattering feet had Tristan and I jumping apart like two kids caught doing something they weren’t supposed to. When she finally appeared in the entryway, we were at opposite ends of the kitchen.
“What’s up, Bug?” The question came out high-pitched and breathy. I cursed under my breath. Freaking Tristan and his…
“I’m hungry,” she complained. “Can we eat pizza now?”
“Of course we can.”
I waited until she left the room before I blew out a long breath. What I really should’ve done was thank her for stopping me from making a huge mistake. Because kissing Tristan would’ve undoubtedly been the worst mistake of my life.
Right?
Then why was I filled with disappointment rather than relief. And why the hell was he still looking at me like that? Like he was three seconds away from losing control.
Swiping a thumb over his lip, he headed toward me.
I shook my head. “We can’t.”
And not only because Millie could come barging in any second. Crossing that line would confuse matters even more. We had a script and needed to stick to it.
That was why I grabbed the pizza box and plates and marched my ass to the dining table without another word. He followed. I didn’t see him as much as feel his intense stare boring into me from behind.
It’d take a while and a few rounds with my trusty battery-operated friend to get rid of the throbbing ache this man and those dark eyes had caused.
“Did you have fun at school today, princess?” He thankfully turned his attention to Millie.
She was all too happy to tell him about her day and everything she’d done. The guilt from before came back tenfold. And I had to wonder if I was doing the right thing.
The thought barely formed when another knock sounded. This time I was certain it was Izzy. Excusing myself from the table, I hurried to open the door for her.
For the second time that night, it wasn’t my sister.
“Mrs. Humphreys. Wh-what are you doing here?”
She gave me a sheepish smile. “Checking in on Millie. Can I come in?”
“Yeah. Sure.” Nerves had me nodding and shaking my head at the same time. We’d never had this many visits from her. Not even when Millie had just been placed in my care.
“We were just having dinner.” Moving aside, I motioned for her to come in. That sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach grew bigger and bigger as we moved through the apartment toward the dining room.
My heart never stopped hammering. Not when she greeted Millie or gave Tristan a wide smile. Especially not when she asked to speak to Millie alone.
It was silly. I’d been through this process before.
“Shit,” I cursed, pacing the kitchen.
Mrs. Humphreys was with Millie in her bedroom, probably asking her about school and home life and Tristan.
“Shit,” I muttered again.
