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My blood heated, and my length stirred in my pants. Damn it. I couldn’t be having these thoughts about her. Did I have some sort of death wish?
As we continued to stare at each other in heated silence, something crossed her features that surprised me. If I hadn’t known any better, I’d have thought it was desire. Was she having similar thoughts to mine?
That only intensified the temptation to claim her lips with my own.
I flexed my fingers open and closed at my sides, but before I could make any sort of move toward her, she suddenly seemed to snap from a daze. Her eyes widened, and she gasped before taking a hurried step away from me.
“I need to go,” she said, hurrying around me to make her way to the door.
“Sam…”
She yanked open the door and paused to look back at me over her shoulder.
“Goodbye, Ryan,” she murmured, meeting my gaze.
Rattled and confused by my contradictory feelings, I didn’t say anything, just watched as she slipped out the door and let it click shut behind her.
Chapter eight
Samantha
Mymindwasstillreeling later that night as I drove over to Jason’s house. Henry was sitting in the backseat, distracted by his stuffed dinosaur I’d let him bring along, and so there was nothing to occupy my thoughts except for Ryan.
I needed to get him out of my head. It was a dangerous place for him to be.
“Mama? When we get to Uncle Jason’s, can I play with Rolo?”
I looked up into the review mirror so I could see Henry. He was gazing at me with his big, blue eyes, which were so identical to Ryan’s that it made my chest ache.
“If Uncle Jason says it’s okay,” I told him, my words squeaking a bit.
Henry’s face lit up with an excited grin.
Rolo was Jason’s bulldog, and Henry considered him his very best friend. The two were very cute together, but even the prospect of an adorable boy and puppy dog playdate couldn’t ease my anxiety.
By the time we reached Jason’s house, I was trembling.
I managed to get out of the car and unhook Henry from his booster seat. He ran ahead of me to the front door and pushed onto his tiptoes so he could ring it.
It opened a few moments later, and Mandy poked her head out and smiled at us.
“Hey, guys!” she greeted. “Right on time! Come on in.”
“Hi Mandy!” Henry exclaimed. “Can I play with Rolo?”
Mandy chuckled. “Of course you can.”
She stood aside, and Henry zoomed into the house. She watched him go with a laugh and turned to me. She gave me a grateful smile.
“Thank you so much for coming to help,” she said. “I’m not going to lie, I’m freaking out a bit.”
“Don’t worry,” I assured with a grin. “We’ve got this. Everything’s going to work out.”
“You’re right, you’re right.” She nodded, though she was clearly trying to convince herself and not me. “Come on in! Everything’s in the dining room.”
She turned and led me inside. We weaved our way through the house to the dining room.
I made sure to check on Henry, who had found Rolo and was playing with the slobbering dog in the living room. I grinned as we passed them, not even bothered by the fact that my son was going to get covered in dog drool and would need a bath later.
