“So when are you going to admit you’re in a relationship with the guy?” Shannon teased.
Alarm skittered up her spine. “I’m not. I mean, we’re not. We’re still just—”
A loud honk interrupted her incoherent stammering.
Darcy turned her head in time to see an unfamiliar white sedan speed into the lot. She peered at the windshield, then relaxed when she recognized the driver.
“That’s Devon’s mom. I should go over and say hello.”
“Uh-huh. Wonderful diversion tactic,” Shannon said with a smirk. “But don’t think you’re off the hook, hon. I plan on going over this topic in depth next Wednesday at girls’ night.”
Laughing, Darcy’s co-worker hopped into the SUV, and then Shannon and Tom were gone, leaving her to stride over to Monique Pearson’s car alone.
“Ms. Grant, it’s so good to see you.” The pretty African-American woman greeted her with a smile as she got out of the car. “I’ve been meaning to call you for weeks now, but work and Devon keep me so busy I keep forgetting.”
She offered a warm smile in return. “I understand. Devon’s waiting for you inside.” She paused. “By the way, I wanted to ask you—do you have another son? I heard Devon talking with some of the other kids the other day about his older brother, and I was surprised because I didn’t think he had one.”
Monique chuckled. “Oh, he was referring to Reed.”
Confusion washed over her. “Reed?”
“Yes. That’s actually what I wanted to speak to you about. I wanted to thank you for setting up that self-defense workshop. Devon learned a lot, and he got a big brother out of it, too. I got in touch with Reed after Devon wouldn’t stop gushing about how ‘awesomesauce’ he was.” The woman used air quotes, her mouth twitching with humor. “When I mentioned to Reed that Devon was in the Big Brother program, he agreed to join up.”
Darcy’s bewilderment only grew. “He did?”
Monique nodded. “He takes Devon out every Sunday.”
“He does?”
“The arrangement seems to be working well so far, and I really wanted to thank you for introducing them. My son absolutely adores Reed.” The woman glanced at her watch. “Anyway, I need to grab Devon. Thanks again, Ms. Grant.”
Darcy watched the other woman walk away, stunned by what she’d heard. Four Sundays had passed since the workshop, but Reed hadn’t said a word to her about signing up to be Devon’s big brother.
Why the omission, though? She’d quickly discovered this past month that Reed didn’t shy away from any topic, and the two of them had had plenty of conversations about her students, so why hadn’t he mentioned his arrangement with Devon?
The fact that he’d kept it from her was totally mystifying.
Frowning, Darcy headed to her car and unlocked the doors. She would definitely have to ask Reed about it tonight. He was coming over after he finished work, which meant she’d have to take a very long nap when she got home so she wouldn’t be a zombie when he showed up at three in the morning. But she honestly wasn’t complaining, since Reed always made sure to reward her for her staying-awake efforts.
It was actually kind of scary how the sex only seemed to get better, and she knew that had contributed to her complete lack of motivation to end the fling. She’d gone into it craving passion—well, the passion kept coming. And coming. And coming.
Maybe if the sex was bad, she could find the willpower to call things off, but each time Reed kissed her, or touched her, or fucked her to yet another mind-blowing orgasm, she seemed to forget that their arrangement was supposed to be temporary.
Sighing, Darcy drove out of the lot, her mind drifting back to the revelation that Reed was spending his Sundays with his “little brother.” At least now it made sense why he always seemed to be busy when she suggested they do something on Sunday afternoons.
God, she had no idea how she felt about him anymore. Every time she tried to slap that bad boy label on him, he turned around and proved that he was anything but. Comforting her the day she’d been crushed by her father’s disgusting display of selfishness. Pulling out her chair when they went out for dinner. Letting her squeeze his hand to the point of bone-breaking when they’d gone to see a horror movie last week.
Spending his free time with a little boy who needed a father figure.
Darcy bit down hard on her bottom lip as she stopped at a red light.
Crap. It was becoming glaringly obvious that she needed to reevaluate this fling of theirs. She was really starting to care about Reed, her initial doubts floating away like dandelions in the wind.
But at the same time, a part of her still feared this was just a lark on Reed’s part. He’d said so himself—he’d never lasted more than a month when it came to relationships. Darcy was afraid his impulsive nature would suddenly rear its head, he’d get bored with her, and then he’d move on to the next exciting affair and leave her heartbroken.
And was that a risk she really wanted to take?