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She indulged a bit and let her fingers trace a fray in the knee of his jeans, feeling the heat of his skin peeking through. “Why is it so hard to say no to you?”
“Because you’re an incredibly smart woman. And an incredibly horny one. A fantastic combination, by the way.”
She shook her head, smiling, and leaned closer, holding his gaze and feeling the instant spark that simple connection could create between them. “Guess it’s a date, James.”
“Mom?”
Chairs rolled back instantly, the little wheels on the wood floor obnoxiously loud as Pike and Oakley shoved away from each other. They might as well have had a blinking sign over their heads declaring their guilt.
Crap on a stick. How had she forgotten that they weren’t alone? Oakley schooled her face into an all’s-good expression, knowing that her cheeks were probably flaming, and turned to her daughter. “Hey, honey, what’s up?”
Rae looked between Oakley and Pike, her dark eyebrows pinched together, and let the door shut behind her, blocking out the noise of the other kids. “I—well, we went through the whole song. We wanted to know if we can record now.”
“Oh, right, the song,” Oakley said, sending Pike a look.
Pike slapped his thighs. “Yep, I think we’re good. Let’s get set up for a run-through.”
But Rae didn’t move. She eyed the two of them like a judge evaluating guilty defendants. “Mom, were you about to kiss Mr. Pike?”
Pike waved a hand. “What? No. Don’t be silly. I had something in my eye, and she was trying to help me get it out.”
Reagan’s head tilt said she wasn’t buying it. “Y’all were looking at each other like people do in the movies right before … you know. And you didn’t hear any of us when we asked if you liked the song.”
Oakley let out a breath. Damn. She’d raised too smart of a daughter. Pike looked ready to come up with more of a story to protect Oakley’s secret, but Oakley didn’t want to lie straight-faced to Reagan. She got up and walked over to Rae. She put her hand on her head, giving that soft, short hair a stroke. “Yes. You’re right. I wasn’t going to kiss Mr. Pike, but we do like each other a lot, so that’s probably why we were looking at each other funny.”
“Like, like like?” Rae asked, poking a finger beneath her bright blue cast and scratching absently.
Oakley smiled. “Yes, that kind.”
Reagan seemed to contemplate this for a moment, her forehead wrinkling, then she nodded. “Okay.”
“Okay?” Oakley repeated.
Rae peered over at Pike. “If you marry my mom, would I get to live in your condo with Monty?”
Oakley choked on what she’d been about to say, and Pike froze in his chair, his stunned expression comical. “Uh …”
Oakley cleared her throat, trying to swallow past the constriction. “No, baby, it’s not … We’re just going to dinner and stuff. That’s it.”
Reagan’s shoulders dipped. “Oh. Okay.”
The disappointment in her voice was evident—surprising the hell out of Oakley. Rae, who didn’t like any change in her routine, was bummed her mother wasn’t getting married and moving her to a whole new place? Oakley couldn’t wrap her mind around that.
“Reagan, why don’t you
go tell the group to get into their positions? I’ll be in there in a second to make sure we’re set up. We’ll record vocals first, all right?” Pike said.
Rae tucked the hand without the cast in her jeans, a dejected expression hovering on her face, and turned toward the door. “Okay, I’ll tell them.”
She went back into the main room, and Oakley sagged against the wall. “Sorry about that. She doesn’t understand—”
Pike raised a hand, halting her. “No worries. Monty will be very flattered. She actually handled that pretty well, I think.”
“It helps that she thinks you’re cool.”
He stood and walked over to her, crowding her into a corner where the kids wouldn’t be able to see them. He leaned in and brushed his lips over hers. “No, it helps that she’s awesome. And her mom isn’t so bad either.”
Oakley gave herself the brief stolen moment, loving the feel of him pressed against her. She pushed up on her toes and kissed him long enough to make it count but not long enough that they could get caught again. “Guess this means you’re all mine tomorrow.”
