And that hesitation alone put him on edge.
* * * * *
Summerknewthis thing with Vander couldn’t go on. What they shared was temporary at best. There was no future in it and no version where it ended in a relationship.
And if there was anything a single mom couldn’t ignore, it was the future. Her own wants didn’t come into play when she had her son to look out for.
But as she stood there drinking in Vander’s rugged features and his muscled arms that feltso goodaround her, three words filled her brain.
One more time.
It was a bad decision. She knew it even as she made it, even as her pulse kicked up for a reason that had everything to do with temptation.
He stared down at her, eyes half-lidded and his chest the perfect spot for her hands to slide up.
Movement to the side caught her eye, and she glanced toward the duplex’s neighboring screen door. It inched open soundlessly and the barrel of a gun appeared.
Most people would panic at the sight of a gun popping through a neighbor’s screen door, but in this neighborhood—and this duplex too—it meant Granny Helen was on watch. Even if she wasn’t a blood relative, the woman had Summer’s back more than anyone else in this town.
Vander went dead still, but Summer threw a small wave to Granny Helen. “It’s me. I’m good.”
Granny didn’t lower the weapon right away. The crack in the door parted a bit wider as she leaned forward to get a better look, her sharp gaze moving from Summer to Vander.
“It’s okay,” Summer assured her again.
A beat passed before Granny gave a short nod. “You holler if you need anything.”
“I will.”
The barrel retreated along with Granny’s face, and the door closed.
After the exchange, she wondered if this was an omen for her to just thank Vander for making sure she made it home safe and send him away.
But the dark glimmer in his eyes made her hold the door open before she could change her mind.
She glanced back over her shoulder. “Come in.”
As the door shut, the light from a small lamp she always left burning for when she came home from work washed over them, a warm glow that highlighted small things she’d left lying around.
Her son’s jacket. A couple comic books on the table. The house felt too quiet without him these past two days since her parents picked him up for winter break.
It also meant no getting up early for the school run. No responsibilities.
Her skin was already tingling at the way Vander was looking at her.
He reached back and locked the door.
Then he was on her.
His mouth crashed down on hers hard, and she met him on tiptoe, fisting his shirt to pull him closer.
He let out a low groan that tightened the knot low in her stomach and angled his head to deepen the kiss.
She slipped her hands up his thick, muscled shoulders and tore off his cowboy hat. It tumbled to the floor, and she sank her fingers in his hair.
He moved his hands over her body, dragging her coat off her shoulders and letting it drop. As he tugged up the hem of her top, he let one callused fingertip glide over her ribs.
Her skin pebbled. Her nipples pinched into tight buds.
