But meaning something, and following through on it, were two very different things.
“So what do you say?” he asked roughly.
“I…don’t know what to say.”
“Let me prove that I’m serious, Miranda.” Determination streaked across his face. “I can come over tomorrow when you’re done at the studio. We’ll have dinner with the kids, hang out at your place, maybe play a board game or something?”
“That sounds…” Nice, she almost said, until she remembered that it wasn’t possible. “Wait, I can’t tomorrow. Kim’s coming over to babysit while I have dinner with the father of Elsa’s student.”
“Since when do you have dinner with a student’s parents?”
“I don’t usually, but he insisted.”
Seth narrowed his eyes. “This dude…he’s the one who suggested dinner?”
“Yeah.” She shot him a questioning look. “Is there something wrong with that?”
“Nope.” His lips tightened. “But you are aware that this is a date, right?”
Surprise jolted through her. “No, it’s not. We’re simply meeting to discuss his daughter’s progress.”
Seth looked unconvinced. “Didn’t you say she’s Elsa’s student?”
“Yes, but—”
“Then shouldn’t he be meeting with Elsa?”
“Yes, but—”
Seth smirked. “But what? Let me guess, he refuses to discuss this with anyone but you. You, the smoking-hot, highly desirable former showgirl who runs the school.”
She couldn’t help but gape at him. “Are you suggesting he wants in my pants?”
“It isn’t a suggestion, babe. It’s a stone-cold fact.”
“Oh come on, Seth. That’s just silly. I’m not going on a date with this man.”
“Does he know that?”
There was no mistaking the hard note in his voice, or the cloud of jealousy that turned his eyes from gray to turbulent silver. Was that it? Was he jealous? The notion was pretty damn gratifying—it was so rare to see Seth get rattled about anything. But it was also annoying as hell, because tomorrow’s dinner with Eric Porter was not a date.
“Yes, he knows it,” she replied firmly. “We’re seeing each other in a professional capacity.”
Seth’s jaw was tense and inflexible. “It’s a date, Miranda.”
“Jeez! Stop saying that.” Yet even in her annoyance, she found herself laughing.
“Fine, I’ll stop—if you say yes to that other thing we were talking about.”
Her laughter faded. “Say yes to dating you, you mean.”
“Yup.”
“Seth…I don’t know.” When she glimpsed the disappointment in his eyes, she released a sigh. “This isn’t the kind of decision I can make without giving it some serious thought. I have to consider how dating you will affect my children, how it will affect the life I’m trying to build for them. I know you say you’ll make an effort, but what if you do and you discover that you actually just hate children? I don’t want Sophie and Jason getting attached to you, only for you to disappear from their lives.”
“I understand. I really do.” He hesitated. “What if we start with something small? A way for me to dip my toes in the water, for lack of a better way to phrase it.”
“Meaning what?”
“Instead of Kim babysitting tomorrow, why don’t I do it?”
Miranda’s brows lifted in surprise. “Are you serious?”
“Yes. How long do you think the date will last? An hour, two?”
“Probably, and it’s not a date.”
“So let me watch the kids. And I promise, I won’t hold back this time. I won’t keep my distance or try to pretend they’re not there.”
“And if you do all that and decide you really don’t want to be around them?”
“I don’t think that will happen.”
“But if it does?”
“If it does, then we end this.” Unhappiness underlined each word. “I can’t do a fling anymore, Miranda. For some inexplicable reason, I actually want more than sex from you. Trust me, that’s never fucking happened before.”
She offered a faint smile. “I imagine.”
“But you can’t have a relationship with a man who doesn’t love your kids as much as he loves you.” A resigned light entered his eyes. “I know myself. If by the time you get home I’m not convinced I can be what you want me to be for those kids, then we say good-bye. And you don’t have to worry about the twins getting hurt. I’ll just be babysitting them for a couple of hours, and they’re not overly attached to me at the moment, anyway. Besides, if we do end this, Sophie will probably organize a parade. She hates me.”
Miranda’s lips twitched. “She doesn’t hate you.”
“Liar. You know she does.” He searched her face. “Well?”
Indecision skipped through her, but the genuine hope softening Seth’s rugged features made the decision for her. “All right. You can watch the twins tomorrow.”
“Are you sure?”