“I guess that’s it, then,” I conceded. “They’ll devour your pizza.”
“What about you?” she asked.
I dropped my gaze down her body, brushing over the swell of her breasts, along the curve of her hips, and then along those long legs. She wore thick socks that covered the bottom of her pants. I’d devour whatever she wanted me to.
My lungs froze. I was checking her out. I spun toward my kids. “Whatever. I’m not picky.” I winced. Would she take that the wrong way? She’d made the pizza comment almost sheepishly.
“Sometimes, that’s a good thing,” she said, walking past me. “But I’ve learned the hard way that having high standards isn’t always bad.” Just when I was about to chafe over her censure, she shot me a smile over her shoulder. “Unless it comes to pizza.”
“Can we go look for the nests?” Bethany asked.
“Yes! Please?” Hannah clasped her hands together to beg.
If they went outside, I’d be alone with June. Everything but the logical part of my brain liked the idea, yet I couldn’t come up with a valid reason why they couldn’t without insulting June again. “Go ahead.”
“They’re on the big pine at the farthest edge of the backyard,” June called after them as they ran out the door.
She pushed the pizza tray into the oven. I ripped mygaze off her backside and wandered to the mantel over the fireplace. A couple of the awards June had won over the years lined the top. Did she keep a few in each house she owned? Was her New Female Artist of the Year in the Nashville home? The Single of the Year in her Florida condo? What about her Country Kids’ Choice Award, was it in her LA apartment?
The girl needed a lot of homes. I would’ve only been able to give her one.
Laughter from outside preceded the shadows of the girls running by the kitchen windows. June leaned against the island with her arms folded, her eyes downcast.
My presence used to comfort her. Now it was the opposite. I had myself to blame. “I’m sorry. About this morning.”
She pushed her hair behind her ear. “I understand. I was overstepping my bounds.” Her pink lips curved up. “As celebrities do.”
Couldn’t she hold my behavior against me so I could stay hardened against her? “I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did.”
She fiddled with the mixed brown and blue ends of her hair. “I imagine being a single parent is a challenge.”
“Being a parent is a challenge, period.” I shrugged. “I don’t feel like some struggling single dad. I have Wren, and the girls have friends’ parents who help me run them around if I get tied up.”
“And Kirstin?”
Hearing my wife’s name out of June’s mouth sent my world sideways. Which reality was I living in? I had fought harder to keep June off my mind when I’d beenwith my wife. “She calls. Between assignments, she’ll come back and stay with me or Wren.”
June kicked up a brow. A lot of people did, but usually I didn’t care, and I didn’t feel the urge to explain myself. Yet today, an explanation tumbled onto my tongue. “There’s nothing between us. She just needs a place to stay, and she gets more time with the girls.”
“I’m glad it’s amicable.”
It was that. “It’s good for the kids to see their mom living her dream.”
The way June peered at me sent my defenses crashing into place.
“Anyway, I’m sorry.”
There was a beat of silence. Was she going to continue pushing? Not many people agreed with Kirstin’s decision to take her wildlife photography overseas, but she was good at her job. I’d held her back long enough.
“Well, if you think a sandwich is going to make up for it, you’re wrong,” June said, thankfully moving on from the subject. “Now that I’ve tasted your muffins, I might need an apology dozen.”
June
The girls were playing outside. I’d eaten the sandwich they revealed their dad had made. He still ate simple white bread, my favorite, and he’d used the perfect amount of mayo.
He finished washing the dishes. I was drying andputting them away while trying not to lust after his veiny, muscled forearms. When he’d unbuttoned his cuffs and rolled the sleeves up, I’d about melted in a pile of arousal.
When was the last time that lust had been slaked hard and dirty?
