“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt your?—”
“You’re not,” I stop her.“Sit down, let me grab an extra plate.Unless you’re in a rush…”
“No rush, I have a couple of hours,” she shares, shrugging out of her coat and hanging it over the end of the railing.
Then she follows me into the kitchen and sits down at the island.
“Where are the kids?”
“Linc has a football game, and Doc Sharma cleared Remi today, so he wanted to tag along to watch his brother.”
“Wow.Is that safe?”
The question escapes me, and I can see from the expression on Tessa’s face she’s not too appreciative of me calling her parental judgment in doubt.I can’t blame her.
“I overstepped,” I immediately correct myself.“Sorry about that.”
I load up the second plate with enchiladas and salad, grab some cutlery, and slide it all in front of Tessa, who has so far remained silent.
“No,” she finally says when I sit down beside her.“I’m being sensitive.Probably because I’ve questioned myself about the same thing several times on my drive here.They’ve got a security team watching them.”She places a hand on my arm.“And I do appreciate you looking out for my boys.”
“And what about you?Did you drive here alone?”
She barks out a laugh at my question.“I can take care of myself.Or did you forget I have a twenty-year law enforcement career to back me up?”
Well, shit.Maybe I should keep my trap shut and eat.
Two bites, that’s all I get down before my self-enforced restraint slips.I put my fork down and turn to her.
“No, I didn’t forget, Tessa, but I’ve been worried about you guys all week and I feel fucking useless.Shit, I don’t know how this is supposed to work, it’s not like I’ve had a ton of experience, but?—”
She suddenly leans over, cutting me off mid-sentence with a kiss that stumps the hell out of me.I’m even more at a loss than I was before.
“I don’t know either,” she confesses.“I’m used to looking after myself and my boys on my own.I have trust issues; the last man I allowed close was the boys’ father, and we all still bear the emotional scars.”She shakes her head.“I don’t mean to be a bitch.”
“Hey,” I stop her.“Don’t call yourself that.Surely, if we give ourselves and each other a little grace, we can figure this out.”
She glances at me sideways.“You still want to?”
I get to my feet and swivel her around on her stool so I can step between her legs.Cupping her face in my hands, I drop a thorough kiss on her mouth.Then I wrap my arms around her in a hug, and she drops her head on my shoulder.
“I was careful,” she mumbles.
I lean back to look down at her.
“On the drive here, I mean,” she clarifies.“I promise I’m careful.”
“Good.”I press a quick kiss to her forehead.“Now let’s eat before it gets cold, and maybe after we can move this to the couch.”
My eyes are fixed on her mouth as she returns a bit breathlessly, “Sounds good to me.”
It does me good to see Tessa has a healthy appetite.She keeps pace with me as I wolf down dinner, eager to move to the next portion of our evening.I’m trying to keep my expectations reasonable, but I hope to at least become a little better acquainted with Tessa’s lush body.
“I’ve got it,” I intervene when it looks like she wants to start clearing the dishes.“You go sit down; I’ll just be a minute.”
I quickly rinse the dishes and wrap up the leftovers—they’ll be good for another meal—before I join her in the living room.
I realize my mistake when I see her sitting on my couch, my half-finished baby blanket spread out over her lap.
