“I don’t want people to get the wrong impression of me. If I had known you were Lyla’s brother-in-law, I would never…”
“Never have what? Slept with me?” His eyebrow raises at the question. He’s still wearing his dark grey swim shorts, and his hair is damp from the pool. A wavy curl has fallen across his eye, and I know by memory how soft it is. My eyes drift to his bare chest before finally meeting his fiery stare. The air is so thick between us that it’s like drowning in quicksand.
“Lyla’s my friend…my only friend here…not to mention the fact that Bee and Charlie are best friends. I can’t get them involved with what happened between us.”
“Which leads me back to my first question…why didn’t you tell me you had a child?”
“Would it have made a difference?”
“No…maybe…I don’t know.” He rubs his hand over his light scruff and sighs.
“I don’t involve my daughter with guys I just meet. In fact, I’ve never brought a guy around her period. She’s my whole world, and I won’t let anything or anyone get the chance to hurt her in any way.”
“And you think I would hurt her?” He frowns as hurt flashes across his features.
“Not intentionally, but things happen. People change, or worse, they weren’t who you thought they were in the first place.”
“Where’s the father?” I knew this would come up when he found out I had a child, but I can’t get into it here.
“He’s not in the picture,” I say, giving him all that I can today. “We should get back out there. Bee is probably wondering where I am.” I start to move toward the door, and his hand grabs my waist to stop me.
“Wait,” he says softly. His hand tightens its grip on my hip, and heat spreads throughout my body. “You’ve been avoiding me again…why?”
“I’ve…I’ve just been busy with work and Bee,” I say, giving him an excuse instead of the real reason. He’s so close that I can smell a hint of coconut from his sunscreen mixed with his natural woodsy scent that I’ve come to crave.
“You’re lying,” he says quietly. “You do this cute little thing with your lip and avoid my eyes whenever you lie.”
Do I?
I realize I’m fidgeting with my lip and stop before bringing my gaze back to his. A smug look appears on his face, and I narrow my eyes, causing him to grin. He brushes my hair back over my shoulder, and his gaze softens when he sees my tattoo.
“A bee forBee,” he whispers before bending down and placing a soft kiss on the black ink. “Honey and her little bee.” He steps closer, and his hand grabs the back of my neck, keeping me in place. I feel his breath against my neck as he buries his face against my skin and breathes deeply. “I’m having a very hard time getting you out of my head,” he admits softly. “Those two nights…it’s all I can think about…youare all I can think about.”
I close my eyes at his words and wish I could just blindly trust what he’s saying. I want so badly to believe that it’s that easy. But it’s not. Nothing is ever as easy as it looks or sounds.
“I can’t just do what I want, Miles. I have to put Bee before my needs. I won’t let her get hurt by my own selfish actions.”
“I already know I’m nothing like her father, so if you’re worried about that, you can put your mind at ease about that one.” I can hear the distaste in his voice when he speaks about him, and it takes me by surprise.
“You don’t know anything about him, so how can you be so sure?” They are more alike than he knows, and that’s what worries me the most. I definitely have a type, and up until now, it’s never ended well.
He pulls back, his greys burning with an intensity that has me gripping his arms for support.
“I know if you were mine, I wouldn’t have let you go, and I damn sure would be in my daughter’s life even if I couldn’t have you. So, no, we are nothing alike. Any similarities you think we may have can end right here. I won’t be compared to a piece of shit like him.”
I can see the anger in his eyes, but also the hurt. My mind istorn between wanting to trust what I feel we have and fear that I got it all wrong again.
“I just need time, Miles. I have to make sure that I’m making the right decisions in my heart for Bee and myself before this can get any more serious and involve her.”
I feel some of the tension leave his body, and he nods his head briefly.
“I respect that. If anything, it just makes me like you more.” His lip quirks up at the edges. “You’re very sexy when the mama bear comes out.”
I can’t help the laugh that escapes. He always knows just what to say to ease the tension and make everything feel better.
“I’m glad you think that because being a single mom is a lot harder than I thought it would be, and the bear tends to come out a lot.”
“In case no one has told you, you are doing an incredible job. Bee is pretty amazing. We got into a really deep conversation about how dogs are a big responsibility, and she wanted to make sure Gizmo is getting walked twice a day because she informed me that dogs need exercise.”
