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The idea of actually being a family in every sense shouldn’t even pass his mind. He had no business in wanting Tara. Not after what she’d done.
Showing Frankie and Tara the house probably messed with his head. That’s all.
He straightened his shoulders and walked back into Frankie’s room. “Okay, let’s order some take-out.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Tara stared up at the ceiling from Frankie’s princess bed. It was the middle of the night and she hadn’t slept at all. It had nothing to do with sharing a bed with her daughter; they did so all the time.
It had everything to do with the whirlwind of emotions raging through Tara ever since Owen had kicked in her front door in Vegas. She tried to make some sense of it all but she couldn’t seem to catch some sleep.
The day started with relief and happiness that Frankie and Owen hit it off from the get-go and talked throughout the drive from the motel to Winter Peaks. What a contrast to the afternoon when she’d d felt ashamed and sad during her visit at the B&B, and even mad when Owen dropped the bomb that he’d bought Mrs. Bear’s house of all people.
The reveal of Frankie’s room had been amazing and Tara had been in awe of Owen’s kindness that he would even renovate a room especially for her to stay—at least for the time being.
With all these emotions running through her, there also had been this weird feeling of belonging. She’d hugged Owen and for that brief moment she felt safe and exactly where she belonged—even though it was a one-sided hug from the back that he didn’t even reciprocated.
Ugh. She shouldn’t let her feelings for Owen cloud her judgment. He only cared about her because she was Frankie’s mother. Tara left her side of Frankie’s bed and crept out of her daughter’s bedroom. She closed the door and crept over the hall in search for the bathroom.
She opened a door on the opposite side of the hallway and froze when she came face to face with the king-sized black metal four-poster bed in the middle of the room with Owen lying still on top of his covers. The small light on his bedside table was still on, but she wouldn’t dare to enter his room to shut it off.
She couldn’t help but stare at his sculpted body. She took in his strong shoulders, broad chest and narrow waist. Her mouth fell slack at the imprint of his cock in his gray boxer briefs. Memories of Owen and her teasing each other in the ski lift popped up. He’d unzipped his ski pants and she had felt him grow in her trembling hand. It had been her first time jerking a guy off and what better way than to do it in the privacy of that gondola lift, thirty-five feet above the ground surrounded by snowy mountains.
Her cheeks warmed at the idea of pumping his hard shaft in her hand again. She took a step back and closed his door with a soft click. She hoped she didn’t wake him. What would he think of her if he’d caught her lurking in his bedroom at night?
Tara tried to pace herself without waking up the whole house as she slipped into another door. Luckily, she’d found the bathroom and she was able to pee. Tara stared at herself in the bathroom mirror while washing her hands.
She couldn’t believe she was actually okay with staying in the former house of Mrs. Bear. After stepping one foot inside this house, she had come to the conclusion that Owen had literally stripped it out of everything that could even remotely remind her of the old hag.
Walking in on Frankie and Owen together on the stairs talking about building their home had opened up her eyes. She had never been able to give Frankie a two-story house—or any place they actually had settled down in and called home.
And after the big reveal of Frankie’s room, Tara knew she had to set aside her inner turmoil about sleeping in the house of the woman that had her mother arrested, which gave away their location to her father.
Tara needed to let go of the past even though her past wasn’t done with her. She had to find a way to move on and give Frankie the life she deserved. What better way to do so with the help of Owen?
The amount of love Owen already showed their daughter even before knowing her was staggering. He bought Frankie a home and made sure she had everything her heart could possibly desire.
Tara splashed some water on her face and sighed. Living under the same roof as Owen and growing close as a family would in the end rip out her heart since this was only temporary.
Owen had made it perfectly clear that she was supposed to find a place of her own in a few months’ time. They would co-parent Frankie and have her go back and forth between homes after Owen and Frankie had enough time to get to know each other with Tara standing by.
She had always known that she never stopped loving Owen. Staying in this house like they were a real family was another painful reminder of how perfect things could have been if she hadn’t fucked things up six years ago.
Owen hated her and he had every right to do so. She should have trusted the Mills’es to help her after her father had found them. But she was eighteen, all alone in the world and literally scared to death.
After seeing the hurt in Owen’s eyes and his family’s eyes, she realized today that she hadn’t been alone in the world. Maybe they could have helped her. Maybe she should have tried and let the grown ups deal with Eric Houston.
Tara rubbed her eyes. No. She still would have run away exactly because of what he was capable of.
She was so stuck in her head that she’d missed the opening of the bathroom door.
She shrieked when Owen suddenly appeared behind her in the reflection of the mirror.
“Oh, my God! You scared me!”
“Bad conscience?” he sneered.
She narrowed her eyes at him through the mirror. “If you want this to work, you’d better stop with the nasty remarks. I’ll not stay here and let you—“
