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“Yes,” she assured him, knowing he knew she lied. Wrapping her arms around him, she drew him to her. “That’s exactly what I meant.”
Settling on top of her, he spoke against her lips again. “Let’s not waste it, then.”
* * *
Tate did not want to leave. He felt as though heavy weights were attached to his ankles, making his feet drag when he moved toward the door of Kim’s house. There was nothing he’d have liked more than to climb back into bed with her, to make love with her at least once more before the sun rose, and then to wake in her arms to start all over again at dawn.
But that couldn’t happen even if Kim wasn’t pretty much rushing him out the door, he reminded himself. When morning came, Daryn would expect her mother’s undivided attention, and she would have it. Single moms didn’t have a lot of free time for flirting and playing.
Looking at Kim, he sighed rather wistfully. She appeared so young and carefree with her hair tousled around her relaxed face, her slender body wrapped in a thin red robe, her bare feet revealing whimsically pink toenails. He couldn’t help having a few fleeting fantasies about how it might have been between them had circumstances been different. But they weren’t, and Kim’s priorities understandably did not include him.
“So,” he said, “I guess I’ll see you at lunch Wednesday?”
She nodded. “As far as I know.”
He hesitated before reaching for the doorknob. “About those silly bets…”
Her mouth quirked into a half smile, half grimace. “I owe you fifty dollars. I’m the one who spilled the beans to Grandma, after all.”
“Actually, the bet was that you would unintentionally give us away,” he reminded her. “Had you not chosen to be honest, no one would have suspected a thing. So I think I’m the one who lost the bet.”
“I’m not taking your money.”
“And I’m not taking yours. It was pretty much a joke, anyway. So let’s just call it a draw, shall we?”
She shrugged. “If that’s what you want to do.”
“I do. As for the bet with Evan—I’m going to pay him the hundred.”
Kim’s eyes widened in surprise. “Why would you do that? You won the bet, no question. As you said, no one expressed doubts about us. Grandma even gave me her ring, which Lynette said was the ultimate test.”
“Right.” He ran a hand through his still-mussed hair. “The thing is, it just doesn’t feel right turning that sweet gesture into a funny story, you know? I mean, there are plenty of other things to joke about with your family, but your grandmother giving you her ring isn’t one of them.”
She bit her lower lip, considering his words.
Because he didn’t like thinking of tooth marks marring that soft, perfect lip, he reached out to smooth her mouth with one fingertip. “Don’t worry about it, Evan won’t take the money, anyway. Like I said, the bets were just jokes.”
She nodded.
Standing so close to her just made him want to kiss her again. Because he knew where that would lead, he forced himself to take a step back. “You’d better get some rest. Daryn will be up at six.”
The words were aimed as much to himself as to her, a reminder of the reason he was leaving when he wanted so badly to stay.
“Yes. Good night, Tate.”
Keeping his hands to himself, he brushed a quick kiss over her lips. Just one last taste, he promised himself. “Good night, Kim.”
He reached for the doorknob, then paused to look over his shoulder. “You know, maybe we could…I don’t know, have pizza or see a movie or something sometime. I mean, you can get a babysitter for a few hours, can’t you? Even moms get to have a little time to themselves sometimes, right?”
She was shaking her head before he even finished speaking. “I don’t like leaving Daryn with a sitter when I already have to leave her at day care while I work. Any free time I have now belongs to her.”
It wasn’t his place to argue, of course, but that didn’t sound entirely healthy to him. Then again, maybe he was letting himself be influenced by his own selfish interests. “Maybe we could have pizza and a movie here sometime. You know, after she goes to bed.”
What was he doing? Hadn’t they agreed this was a one-time thing? Not quite as casual as “scratching an itch,” as Kim had described it, but not the start of anything more, either. Still, what would it hurt to get together occasionally for a pizza or something? He had a sneaking suspicion of what that “something” entailed, at least in his vague imaginings.
Kim turned him down yet again. “That’s not a good idea. I wouldn’t be opposed to having the lunch gang over for pizza or something some evening, but as far as you and I are concerned, it’s better for everyone involved if we just end it now.”
Better for herself and for Daryn, she might as well have said. And okay, maybe better for him, too, but he would have liked to make that decision for himself.
