Hell, it was the closest she’d come to intimacy in years.
“You put your kids first—that takes guts.”
“Or cowardice, since I broke up the family.”
He dipped his head to look at her. “Who called you a coward?”
“You did,” she whispered. When he looked as if he were ready to argue his innocence in front of a jury, she explained, “You implied it when you said, ‘Noted,’ like we were still eighteen and stupid.”
His lips twitched. “Are you admitting that yourDear Colindecision was stupid?”
“It was responsible,” she said primly. “Painful but responsible. There’s a difference.”
“Not to a stupid, head-over-heels-in-love eighteen-year-old.” His hands dropped indecently low on her back as he nudged her closer.
“I didn’t know how to say goodbye and actually leave for college after spending another summer with you. Maybe Iwasa coward, but you were the one who cut me out. I called, left messages with your mom, tried to explain.”
“I was so confused, I just went into protection mode,” he admitted.
“Confusion went both ways,” she whispered. “My letter was meant to be a ‘time to move on to the next chapter.’ You chose to take it as a goodbye.”
“I was wrecked.”
“So was I.” She was surprised how much emotion talking about those last few months brought up. “Maybe I did take the easy way out, but you ghosted me.”
She watched him consider her viewpoint and knew when he’d let the leftover resentment go. “I took the easy way out. You took the hard way,” he assured her. “And I’m glad you did because I’m not sure I wouldn’t have changed my life plan to follow you to Seattle.”
She knew how important his plans were to him. She’d known it then and she knew it now, which was why she had so much empathy for his need to keep everything nice and tidy.
Teagan’s childhood wasn’t all bad but a lot of the parts, the uncertain parts before her parents’ divorce, had left some lasting marks. One of the reasons she led with her head instead of her heart.
Society had rules for a reason. She followed those rules out of necessity. Which was why it was dangerous to be this close to him.
They were at different phases in their lives. He was about to be an empty nester and, including GD, her house was a dysfunctional Party of Five. Plus, she was still gun-shy when it came to relationships. She gave herself one last moment to absorb his strength and reassurance, then stepped back—out of his arms and away from temptation.
She grabbed a wad of paper towels from the counter and wiped at the stain on her shirt. It only smeared the mess around. She felt his gaze still on her, so she asked the question she’d been holding in her heart for twenty years. “Do you still hate me?”
“I never hated you.” His eyes dropped to her lips. “That was the problem.”
It was still a gigantic problem. He knew it, she knew it, and when their gazes locked, the air practically crackled. His hazel-green eyes flickered with surprise before carefully going blank.
“Let’s get inside and see what we’re dealing with. Plus, you must be cold.”
She knew her shirt showed him just how “cold” she’d become.
He took Garbage Disposal, who wore a suspiciousall’s goodsmile—as if this had been his plan all along—by the collar and led him into the house.
“Grab a towel from the cupboard above the washer and I’ll go get my medical bag.” He looked at Garbage Disposal. “You stay.”
She started to tell him that the dog wasn’t big on following commands when she noticed Garbage Disposal sitting, back straight as if holding the line until his commander in chief returned.
“You and I are going to have a talk,” she said.
Garbage Disposal farted, releasing a stink bomb powerful enough to fill the kitchen with the scent of death and decay.
She located the towels in the laundry room, which was neat and orderly. The counters were clean of clutter, the floor free of piles in different stages of dirty. It even appeared that he separated clothes by colors and care instructions.
What a turn-on.
