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There is a beat of silence, and then I bark out a laugh.
“Today is my bad day. I get to eat bad things on Fridays.”
She glances at the bacon, then back to me again. “There’s eating bad things, and then there’s risking your life.”
Jesus, this kid. “Yeah, I wasn’t going to eat all of it.”
She slants me a look that tells me she doesn’t believe me, and I know there is no lying to this kid. She has my number and she barely knows me.
Before I can respond, there’s a knock at the door. Until Houdini showed up, I thought I might be able to avoid Liv today. I needed to get my equilibrium back, but fate is being a total bitch today.
Houdini doesn’t even bark, and neither of the kids seems ready to go get their mother. I turn down the heat under the bacon and step away to answer the door.
I get to the door and have my hand on the knob. I take a massive breath and let it release slowly. My heart is racing. My entire body is revving up at the thought of seeing Liv again. Jeez, this is worse than when I was a teenager.
When I open the door, I realize there is nothing that would prepare me for Liv. Not in Vegas, and definitely not after dreaming about her last night. And well, most of my sex dreams have been about her since we spent the night together.
“I understand my children are here.”
For a second, I can’t speak. She’s so damned pretty. From her ebony hair, her brown eyes, and that pretty mouth with the little overbite—I want it all.
“Mason? Have they done something horrible?”
I shake myself out of my stupor. “No. Houdini’s here, and they were looking for him.”
She sighs. “I’m truly sorry about that dog. He did the same thing when we lived in our old house.”
“So, he jumped the fence and knocked on the door of your other lovers?”
Her eyes widen. “I don’t have…” She shakes her head. “I’ll take them off your hands now and talk to them about bothering you.”
“They’re no bother, and this is Juniper. My door is always open to them.”
Her eyes soften, her mouth curves a little, and that’s when I feel it. That little ping like the one that hit me the first time I saw her.
“Mom, he has bacon!” Sammy yells.
She rolls her eyes. “You’ll never get rid of him if you have bacon.”
“Come in. I’m happy to cook for all of you.”
“I don’t want to be a bother.”
I shake my head, holding out my hand. “I love to cook for my friends and family.”
I don’t say that she is somewhere in between those two groups. She’s a friend, but I want more. Not sure how to deal with that at the moment, so I shove it aside.
She looks down at my hand with an expression of need that I feel all the way down to the soles of my feet. It grounds me in a weird kind of way, but she finally puts her hand in mine and steps over the threshold.
I lead her into the kitchen. Callie is at the stove flipping over the bacon. Sammy and Houdini have moved to the refrigerator and have it wide open as they search the contents.
Liv sighs. “I’mso sorry.”
I chuckle. “Stop apologizing. They’re great kids.”
She shakes her head. “Sammy, you shouldn’t just make yourself at home.”
“I was getting the eggs,” he says, pulling out a carton. I know I only have about four eggs.
