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She released his shirt and stepped back. She immediately missed the warmth of his arms, but the warmth of his words kept her burning inside. He actually wanted to spend time with her kids. Get to know them. Her brain screamed at her. Keep him away from her kids. Keep him away from her, until she could actually be certain of what they could be.
But her heart already hoped for what they would be and it spoke too loudly for her to ignore.
“All right,” she said. “We can try that. Friday night at my place? Be prepared for a second helping of bare butt cheeks.”
“Oh?”
“Oh, God. That came out wrong.” She buried her face in her hands. “I didn’t— I mean, not my— I meant his. Wait, that’s worse.” She groaned. “I’m going to shut up now.”
His deep, husky laughter wrapped around her. “Yours or his. I can handle the challenge.”
She had no doubt of that.
Chapter Nine
Thomas stood at the end of the pathway to Brianna’s house. Déjà vu all over again, only this time he wasn’t waiting for Jerry Springer.
He was waiting for the earth to swallow him whole.
Kids. And he was about to spend the entire evening with them.
What the hell did he think he was doing?
He’d never wanted kids. He didn’t know how to talk to children. How to make them like him. He closed his eyes. He couldn’t let himself be intimidated by children. He’d have to get past this hurdle if he wanted to date Brianna. Date the mother, date her kids. That was the rule. He wasn’t the type to get cold feet, so it was time to get those feet moving.
He’d almost shown up with gifts but they’d only think he was trying to buy their approval. Anyone would think that, and they’d be right. It was a cheap ploy, one that wouldn’t win him any points in the long run.
This isn’t a game. Get out of the marketing mindset.
And get moving.
He cursed to himself. He could do this. He headed up the walk and hit the doorbell. The door swung open almost immediately—and the entire reason he was here stood in front of him, smiling up at him with a dazzling warmth, her hair loose around her shoulders and making her look more carefree than he’d ever seen her, in a pale yellow sundress. She’d left the businesswoman
at the office.
So he could leave his issues at the door.
He leaned in and kissed her cheek, breathing in her scent. “Hello, sweetheart.”
“Hello.” She flushed. “You smell good.”
“I was just thinking the same thing.”
She laughed. “You think you smell good, too?”
“Fabulous.”
From over her shoulder, Zach sneered, “Why is he here? I told you I didn’t want to meet him.”
“And I told you to act your age and accept that he was coming whether you liked it or not,” Brianna said, hands on her hips. “Mind your manners or you can forget about going to the movies with your cousin tomorrow.”
Thomas hovered in the doorway. He was more out of place than a gazelle among lions—and just as vulnerable to attack. He tried a smile. It felt like his marketing smile, frozen and oily. “Hi. I’m Thomas. I’m one of your mom’s work friends.”
Zach rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Sure you are.”
Brianna stiffened. “Zach, I swear to God, you will be—”
“—staying home if I keep it up. Yeah. I know.” Zach looked Thomas up and down, then left the room, calling over his shoulder, “But it might be worth the punishment. I can catch the movie when it comes out on Netflix.”
