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But that didn’t stop me from tilting my head and kissing her back without the slightest thought for my ex-wife or the rest of the patrons who had to be eating this up. I was too absorbed in Macy. Drowning in her and loving every second. A quick nibble on her bottom lip had her moaning into my mouth, and fuck, I went as hard as a pike.
A bang on the table had us jerking apart. Macy blinked at me like a startled cat, her blue eyes hazier then I’d ever seen them. Surprisingly soft and unguarded. Was that how she would look at me if I was inside her?
When. It was becoming an imperative at this point.
“Damn, you join the party fast,” she said under her breath before shifting toward Jessica. She lifted her ass deliberately off my lap and slid more fully onto my thighs.
It took me a second, but when I got there, I had to grin.
“Sorry about that. So rude of me. What was I thinking? It’s just my thing, you know, to greet my man when I see him for our first date. Surely you’ve seen the news?”
Jessica’s barely there brows knitted together. “He’s your man yet it’s your first date? You run fast in this town.” She flashed Macy a Cheshire smile. “Then again, I didn’t date John until after he was ‘my man’ either. So, I totally understand, girlfriend.”
Behind Macy, I tipped back my head. I’d thought the hell Dani had unleashed was bad? This was running a close second.
“I’m not your girlfriend, and I doubt you understand much if you think Gideon,” Macy stressed the word as if Jessica was unfamiliar with it, “had to go on Facebook trolling for dates. He just has a very concerned child. Wonder why that is?”
“My child, you mean. The one we share. You sitting on his lap doesn’t change that fact. It also doesn’t alter the fact that if my daughter was concerned, she probably had reason to be—whether or not some thirsty small town Betty thinks she’s got him wrapped.”
“Hey,” I said to Macy, gripping her hip as she started to rise. And it wasn’t to walk away, I was certain. She would lay Jessica flat out without breaking a damn nail.
“I got this.” Macy waved me off.
“I know you do, Killer, but this is my mess.” I stood and planted my hands on the table to lean toward my ex. “You’re going to want to apologize to Macy. Right now. You might also want to get your story straight. Am I a sloppy hermit or horny and desperate? Seems like you keep switching stories.”
Jessica slid her gaze past me to where Macy stood beside the table with her hands on her hips. “Judging from your choice of companion, I’ll go with the latter.”
Macy cracked her knuckles. “I have a rule about not allowing fisticuffs in my place of business. But I don’t think it counts if I start them—or finish them.” She took a step forward.
My arm shot out to block Macy just as Jessica unwisely chose to speak again.
“This is your café? Nice Jason mask outside. And all of these cute little Halloween decorations a season too early.” She made a show of looking around before tapping her nail on the handle of her still mostly full latte cup. “Might want to spend more time on your coffee though. Your beans taste burnt.”
Macy lurched forward. “Why, you bleached—”
“Enough,” I snapped, earning a look of pure malice from Macy. “You don’t want to do this,” I told her in a low voice, well aware her body was humming beside mine as if she was a stun gun set on decimate.
“Oh, you’re wrong. I very much want to do this.”
I didn’t doubt it, but I was beginning to grasp Jessica’s intentions—at least in the pit of my stomach if nowhere else—and I couldn’t let it happen. Not if it meant we were playing right into Jessica’s twisted hands.
“Why are you here?” I asked quietly, refusing to give my ex the satisfaction of knowing how rattled I was.
Jessica didn’t make cross-country trips for no reason. She also normally wasn’t obsessed with my dating life—or lack thereof. If she was circling around that pond, trying any number of lures until she found one that worked, there was a purpose. She wanted something, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out what.
The real question was why.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Jessica got to her feet and gestured wildly. “You’re out of control. Spreading untruths to the media, casting around for dates and hanging out with women with anger management issues, not to speak of a basic lack of class and taste.”
Macy cocked her head and crossed her arms. “Looking at you, I’d say that’s a compliment.”
Jessica arched an eyebrow. “What movies have you been in, honey?”
“None. I also haven’t seen you starring as a good parent either, honey, since I’ve been in Crescent Cove for years and I’ve never seen your face before.”
Even as Macy said the words with a perfectly charming smile, my fists locked into fists at my side. The gauntlet had been thrown, and Jessica wasn’t one to let it lie.
“I’m glad you mentioned that actually.” Jessica tucked her clutch under her arm and stared at me until my throat constricted. I knew what was coming, felt it in my bones. “I don’t see my daughter enough, and it’s time I fix that. I want to alter our custody agreement, John. Equal split. Fifty/fifty.”
