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“Looks like you’ve taken good care of her.” Whether she’d thrown the fragile, expensive-looking doll or it fell off the bed, it was no worse for wear. Darcy on the other hand…
“Now you know why I didn’t say much when we talked about family. My family isn’t like yours.”
Darcy’s lashes were spiky, her nose red, but she was beautiful, her eyes liquid pools of glazed brown. Her full mouth turned down at the corners, trembling. He wanted to press a kiss there to still them, wanted to make her smile. Do something to ease the pain she was feeling.
“She gave me the doll for my birthday.” A rough laugh escaped her chest, thick and throaty. “We didn’t have a lot of money and I’d begged for Miss Potts forever. Mom always said no.”
He didn’t like the tone she used. “What happened?”
“I came home from school and let myself into the house. But hours passed and she didn’t come home. Not until my birthday the next day. Then there she was, all smiles and apologies. She admitted she’d forgotten to call someone to come watch me because she was…having too much fun partying with a guy. I wouldn’t have wanted her to stop having a good time, would I?”
Dear God. How could someone be so reckless? So uncaring about their own flesh and blood? “How old were you?”
“Eight.” A bitter smile flashed. “A self-sufficient eight. There was food in the house. Cereal and juice. I didn’t starve and I was okay, but—I was alone. My mom…she had a lot of boyfriends. She made it easy for them. Anyway, I was afraid if they knew I was there alone, if I left the lights on…I kept a flashlight on under the blankets. Then there she was, carrying the stupid doll like it made up for what she’d done. She said it was to keep me company next time because obviously I was a big girl and didn’t need to be watched.”
He rested his chin on her head, holding her close because he couldn’t make himself let go. “She didn’t know what a treasure she had.”
Darcy inhaled raggedly. “I’mthe gatekeeper in my family, Garret. The one who always took care of her when the guys dumped her and moved on. She said it was my fault because they didn’t want another man’s kid.”
“Not all men are like that.” He wasn’t.
“I knew I had to get out of there. If I didn’t get away from her I’d never be my own person. I couldn’t deal with her life and have the one I wanted for myself. It was hard to break ties, but I did it. I went to school, moved wherever the job paid best. Then I found out I was pregnant and I didn’t want my baby to be completely alone. I thought my mom had changed. She said she had. It just makes me so angry.” Her hand fisted in his shirt. “Ibelievedher.”
“You wanted your baby to know its grandmother. You left the father because he didn’t deserve you or Spike. Those are good traits, Darcy, not bad. You’re fighting to do what’s right, and no one can fault that.”
She sniffled, a husky chuckle emerging from her throat. “Another pep talk. You need to charge for those. Oh, look at you.” She plucked at his tear-soaked shirt. “I’m sorry for crying all over you. You poor guy, it’s hard being my friend, isn’t it?”
Chapter 17
“NOT AT ALL.” Garret tucked a curl behind her ear. “I like being your friend.”
“Thank you. Me, too.” She blinked rapidly. “You’re a good man, Garret.”
“Sweetheart, I don’t want to put more pressure on you, but what are you going to do now?”
She inhaled a shuddering breath. “I’m not sure, but I’ll be fine. It’s good that I have to do this on my own. I have to get used to being a single mom, and there’s nothing like jumping in with both feet, right? As soon as my car is fixed I’ll figure something out. We’ll be fine, just the two of us.”
He smoothed his hand over her hair. “I don’t doubt you will, but it’s okay to admit you need help sometimes, that you need someone to lean on. You’ve got that in me, okay?”
“Do you ever feel that way?”
Maybe it was the moment, maybe it was the way she looked at him. Whatever it was, he had to answer honestly. “Yeah, I do.” He smoothed his thumb over her cheek, his gaze dropping to follow the movement. Her lips were parted, moist, and he found himself unable to look away, unable to stop the tide.
Garret lowered his head, hesitating a scant millimeter from her lips. Warnings clanged in his head, but he breathed her in, so close but not touching, not kissing. So close that with every breath, every tremble of her lips, he wanted more.
A small, muffled moan escaped her throat when he finally closed the distance and brushed her mouth with his, softly, barely a kiss at all. But his every muscle tensed at the touch, molten lava firing his veins until his whole body burned.
He sealed his lips over hers and suppressed a groan. Darcy tasted hot and sweet, like Gram’s chocolate chip cookies and tears and woman. He filled his hands with her soft curly hair, tilted her head and deepened the caress, unable to stop, each nudge of their tongues a delicious slip and glide.
“I have to say goodbye to Darcy first!” Matt’s running footsteps thundered down the hall.
Garret practically launched himself from the bed. Darcy gasped and covered her mouth with her fingertips and a scant second passed before Matt barreled into the bedroom.
“Darcy, we’re leaving.”
Darcy remained on the bed, her face blazing with color, but thankfully Matt didn’t seem to notice—or comment on Garret standing in the corner with a death grip on the dresser’s rounded edge.
“Will I see you at the gym Saturday?”
