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“Yeah, that would be great.”
“Beer? Soda? Water?”
“Beer would be great.”
She reached into the fridge and pulled out two long neck bottles, cracked the tops and slid one toward him.
“So how did it go today other than the whoopee cushion?” She leaned her butt against the counter and faced him.
“Good. It’s different hanging out with him alone without you.”
“How so?”
He scrubbed a hand through his hair. The movement drew her eye to the flex of his biceps, and she brought her bottle up to her mouth to distract herself. She shouldn’t be looking at him like that. Okay yes, he was obviously a gorgeous man, but come on, ogling her baby daddy was such a cliche. Besides, she was dating Austin. And yes, maybe looking at Austin’s arms didn’t zap her lady bits the same way Jeff’s did, but that was beside the point. The man was a professional athlete. Of course his body was fit. He was paid to look after it. That was all this was, just an appreciation of the human form. Nothing more.
“You make it look so easy to do the whole mom thing. You’re doing ten things at once and somehow you always are perfectly homed in on where Max is and what he’s doing at every moment.” He shook his head. “I was so conscious of what Max was doing I could barely function to drive my car. I don’t know how you do it.”
She slid a pepper out of the bag and set it on the chopping block. “Well, I’m glad I make it seem so effortless. I feel like I look like a hot mess most of the time.”
“You definitely don’t look like a mess,” he mumbled.
Something about the tone of his voice made her look up. A flash of awareness sizzled between them. Quickly followed by guilt. God, what was she doing? She had a boyfriend. Jeff wasn’t just some guy. He was Max’s dad. Even thinking lusty thoughts about him complicated things.
“So—” He cleared his throat. “My parents are coming into town next weekend to meet Max.”
Her head snapped up. “Excuse me?”
“Yeah. They’re pretty stoked to be grandparents, and I’ve held them off as long as I can. Obviously, I’d like you to be there when they meet him, but I’d understand if you think that’s weird or uncomfortable or whatever.”
“Do your parents actually want to meet me?”
“Of course they do. Why wouldn’t they?”
She picked up pieces of sliced pepper and dropped them into the bowl. “I don’t know. I mean…” Pain lanced through her chest. How could Jeff’s parents be so excited to be grandparents when hers had practically disowned her when she’d gotten pregnant?
Jeff stood up and walked closer to her. “You mean what? Why wouldn’t my parents want to meet you?”
She sniffed as tears welled up behind her eyes. Shit. Her throat clogged as she tried to swallow.
He stepped in closer and tilted her chin up, forcing her to look at him. “Talk to me, Kia. What’s going on in that head of yours?”
She sniffed. “Nothing. I just think it’s cool that your parents want to get to know Max.”
“Well yeah. First grandchild and all.” He laughed. “They really want to meet you, too. I’ve told them all about what a great job you’ve done with Max. My mom says if he was anything like I was at that age, you deserve an award for handling it by yourself. She needed my dad and grandma to wrangle me under control.”
“They don’t hate me for getting pregnant and keeping him from you?” Her chest tightened with emotion.
“First, you didn’t get pregnant alone, so they can’t exactly be mad at you for that one. And second, I explained you tried to find me, but I’d moved.”
She slapped her hand over her mouth. “Oh God, they know it was a one-night stand?”
“Well yeah, of course.”
“Oh my god, I can’t even imagine what they must be thinking of me.” She could hear her mother’s voice calling her shameful. Embarrassing. A slut. Tears welled in her eyes. God damn it, where had this come from? She’d gotten over all this shit with her family years ago. Or so she’d thought. Even the idea of meeting Jeff’s parents and suddenly she was back in her family living room being told how ashamed of her they were. And every day in Tucson they reminded her. All that pain and fear suddenly swamped back to her, making the room spin.
“Hey, Kia.” Jeff’s voice cut through the noise in her head, and she blinked to clear her brain. Her gaze landed on Jeff’s worried face.
She closed her eyes. Of course she had to have her little meltdown in front of him.
