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Tracey:No worries. Love talking with you. We can always pick up where we left
off when we’re both free.
Me:Did I tell you how enticing you look in that pic?
Tracey:Oh really?
“Thanks for waiting.”
My head shoots up from my phone as I glare at my ex-fiancée. She has a white binder in hand that she places in the center of the table before taking the seat beside me. Chloe smiles brightly and takes my glass of water, sipping from it as if we were still a couple and she is still allowed to do shit like that.
“What the fuck is this?” I ask, looking between both women.
“We have to start planning our wedding.”
Hell, no. “We donot. We’re not engaged anymore, and we won’t ever be again. I’m seeing someone else, and I really don’t want anything to do with you.” I know I’m not technically seeing anyone else, but I’d sure like to get the chance with Tracey.
Before either of them can respond, I push back from the table and leave. I’m not going to sit there while they try to plan a future I want no part of.
When I get to the parking lot, I sit in my truck for a few minutes, gripping the wheel and trying to convince myself not to go back in there and start yelling. Mom is trying to make sure I’m settled down with a woman in case the cancer comes back. She had said as much one night a couple of months ago after a few too many glasses of wine. She’d been worried that I was lonely, or so she had said.
I’m lonely, but I’m not about to tell my mother that. I’m a grown man, and I can handle my relationships myself, despite what she seems to think.
Liam:I just got ambushed by my mother and ex-fiancée. Mind if I come over?
Tracey:We’ll be home for a couple more hours before we have to leave for Deja’s competition.
Liam:I’ll be there as soon as I can.
Tracey:74 Julien Terrace
The engine roars to life before I speed out of the parking lot. The closer I get to her house, the more relaxed I feel. We haven’t seen each other since that night in the bar, but merely talking to her has been enough to put my mind at ease on tough days.
When I park in her driveway, Tracey is already waiting on the porch. Her shapely legs look stunning in a pair of ripped denim shorts. My eyes drift higher, looking at the way her shirt hugs her breasts. My erection is back in full force, but that isn’t why I’m here.
“Ex-fiancée, huh?” Tracey walks down the porch steps before coming to a stop in front of me. Amusement dances in her oval-shaped eyes as she looks up at me. “Sounds like your family is a little overbearing.”
“That’s putting it lightly,” I say, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her close. She melts in my arms, her own looping around my neck. “They’ve never really stepped out of my life, no matter how old I get.”
“Well, it’s good to have family.”
“Not when that family is my mother.” Leaning in, I placed a soft kiss on her cheek. I couldn’t help it; her cheeks are high and delicately curved, altogether too tempting not to touch. “And certainly not Chloe,” I continue. “I don’t want to be with her.” I stave off the need to kiss her again, resolving to stay strong.
“What do you want?”
“I’ve been wanting to kiss you again since you walked out of my bar.” Okay, that resolution was short-lived. I definitely have to yield to the temptation that is Tracey.
I dip my head, kissing her like it has been years since we’ve seen each other. She presses closer to me, her mouth moving against mine as her fingers knot themselves in my hair.
“Get away from my mom!”
A teenager comes flying out of the house, braids streaming over her shoulders as she charges my way. I step back from Tracey and drop my arms, staring at Deja. She is a near replica of her mother, but if looks could kill, I would already be dead. She clearly has no interest in getting to know me. In fact, I’m sure if I say the wrong thing, she’ll come at me swinging.
“Deja, don’t be rude.” Tracey jams her hands against her hips. “This is Liam, and you are going to apologize to him right now.”
It’s fair to say that life has been tough for Deja. She’s just a teen, and although her mother isn’t pleased with her daughter’s attitude toward me, I can totally understand how upset Deja must feel knowing her parents have split and are now living their own lives. Tracey will get the brunt of Deja’s ire because she’s the parent who’s living with her. Any man—and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I’ll be the only man—who comes into her mother’s life will get the same reception, so I’ll not take Deja’s behavior personally. I was a grown man in my 20s when my parents’ marriage went to shit, and it still fucked me up… even to this day. Deja is due for a break. I hope Tracey won’t be too hard on her.
“It’s fine,” I say with a smile I hope will reassure Tracey that I’m not offended by Deja’s attitude toward me, and there’s no need for her to be too hard on her daughter.
