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“Did he take advantage of you?” The thought made his jaw tighten.
“No. I wasn’tthatdrunk. I’d just been dumped by the guy I’d been dating for years and assumed I was going to marry. I was depressed and desperate, sitting alone in a bar. A friendly guy smiled at me, and that was pretty much all it took. Not my finest moment, but because of Hudson, I can’t regret it.”
Zayne thought back to the years when he’d had lots of one-night stands. Some he could barely remember. He supposed it was possible there was a kid out there somewhere with a Rutledge family connection. “Does the father know about Hudson?”
“Ofcoursehe knows.” Her voice sharpened. “He just doesn’t care. Turns out he already had a wife and kids he forgot to mention. He offered me money totake care of things. When I told him I was having the baby, he thought it was some kind of shakedown and suggested he wasn’t the father. I told him he was welcome to sign away his parental rights, and he did it without a second thought.” She paused. “This is sonotthe after-sex conversation I was expecting.”
“Sorry. I’m not very good at the after-sex stuff.” He tended to just...go. They were rarely inhishome. Or in his arms.
“Well, you are verygood at theduring-sex stuff.” She patted his forearm lying across her stomach.
“Thank you, ma’am. You’re not so bad yourself.” He buried his face in her hair again, inhaling the scent of her. A scent that would be forever tied to this night in his memories. Her fingers traced slowly back and forth on his arm. He closed his eyes, knowing these memories would visit him every night for a very long time.
When he opened his eyes again, Andrea was gone. He sat up, trying not to panic. Had sheleft? Before he had a chance to make love to her again? To explore every inch of her...to make her cry his name? He glanced at his phone on the nightstand and blinked. Holy hell, it was six thirty. He swung his legs out of the bed, and he heard something. Was that...singing?
He stepped into his shorts and followed the sound to the bathroom. Duke was lying on the floor right outside the door, which was cracked open a few inches. He could see Andrea’s reflection as she brushed her hair. She was singing something to herself—slightly off-key, but with great enthusiasm. She was wearing the T-shirthe’dbeen wearing earlier, and it hung down to her thighs.
Duke let out a loud groan, sounding irritated that Zayne was disturbing his watch. The dog had definitely embraced having a woman around the place. Zayne realized he could get used to the idea, too. At least withthiswoman.
She glanced at the doorway at the sound and dropped her hairbrush when she saw Zayne.
“Oh! How long have you been standing there, you creeper?”
He pushed the door open. It was warm in there, and her hair was still damp. She’d taken a shower. He stared at the tub, knowing he’d never take a shower without imagining her standing in there, naked and wet.
“How can I be a creeper in my own house?”
“Easy—spy on your female guests while they’re in the bathroom.” She turned back to the mirror with a smile.
“You showered.” He glanced at his watch. “It’s early.”
She ran the brush through her gleaming hair again. “Not for me. I fell asleep twelve hours ago, remember?” She turned to face him. “I thought I’d make us a second breakfast. Interested?”
“Second breakfast? Like the hobbits did inThe Lord of the Rings? Yes, please.”
Her eyes widened. “You know those books? I can’t wait to read them to Hudson when he’s a little older.”
“I started reading a lot once I stopped drinking. I had to do something while I was sitting around by myself.” He stepped back to let her walk by. Duke leaped to his feet, following Andrea down the hall toward the kitchen. If she was going to walk around all morning in just his shirt, Zayne was going to want more than food.
ANDREASTRETCHEDHERarms over her head in the Adirondack chair, letting out a long, contented sigh. The view from Zayne’s porch was impressive. The valley. The lake. The old red barn. The fine view of his ass as he bent over and pulled at some weeds at the base of the steps. He had shorts on, but still—it was a damn fine view. She gave herself a mental shake. She couldn’t be ogling the man when he was teaching her son how to know weeds from flowers.
“Some people say weeds are just flowers that someone hasn’t loved yet,” Zayne was saying. “But they can also be kinda pushy, so we have to make sure they don’t choke out the real flowers.”
Hudson looked up from where he was kneeling, his little eyebrows crunched together. “But why arethoseflowers more real than the unloved flowers, Mr. Zayne?”
His mouth opened, but he didn’t have an answer. Andrea finally came to his rescue.
“They’re not more real, honey. But weeds grow anywhere and everywhere. The flowers that Mr. Zayne is trying to save were planted there on purpose.”
Hudson’s face brightened. “They’re special!” It was one of his favorite words.
“Yes, sweetie. They’re special.” Zayne looked at her over Hudson’s head and mouthedthank you. She winked in return, taking a sip of her iced tea.
It had been two weeks since she’d spent her first night with Zayne. For all of her protests that the night was a onetime thing andnota relationship, things were definitely feeling like a relationship now. She’d only had two other all-night sleepovers, including last night, when Hudson had spent the night with her mother. Andrea had picked him up that morning and brought him to his new favorite place—Mr. Zayne’s farm.
Even without many sleepovers, she and Zayne captured every stolen kiss they could whenever they were together, nearly feverish with their need to touch each other. They both agreed that it couldn’t possibly last. That the level of intense desire had to be some sort of fluke. They’d have fun with it, but it was just sex. Sex was fun.
Except...she was pretty sure it wasn’t just sex. She watched as Zayne shook a soil-filled root in her son’s direction, sprinkling him with dirt. Hudson laughed and tried to do the same, but he got more dirt on himself than Zayne, which only made him laugh harder. He’d need a bath before dinner. Zayne was going to grill burgers and veggies for them.
