I looked at Shea again, who was stealing a sly glance our way, a grin forming at the corners of her mouth while a whole ton of worry creased the corners of her eyes.
Walking around the table, I pulled out the chair and slipped down onto it, knee bouncing a million miles a minute
“Hi,” I said, raking a flustered hand through my hair. “I’m Baz. Your mom’s…friend.”
So apparently now I thought formal introductions were in order.
Confusion pinched up her nose and she said my name as if I were crazy, her voice lifting my name like a song. “Baz?”
“Well, Sebastian is my real name. But my friends call me Baz.”
Her eyes narrowed in speculation. “Am I allowed to call you Baz?”
I drummed my fingers on the table, my nerves out of control. “Sure.”
“Okay, Baz.” She stuck out her little hand.
I looked at it as if it might burn me, before I hesitantly reached out and took it.
Her head nodded along as she shook my hand and spoke all prim and proper. “It’s very nice to meet you, Baz. I’m Kallie Marie Bentley.” Her tone turned excited. Words began to fly from her mouth at warp speed. “Did you know I’m four years old? Only for seven months and then I’m gonna be five and then I get to go to big girl school and I get to ride on the bus.”
Out of the blue, she flapped her arms. “I’m a butterfly.”
Um. Okay.
But my mind went fluttering right back to the kaleidoscope of butterflies gracing Shea’s slender hip.
A smile pulled at one side of my mouth.
“You’re a butterfly, huh?”
“Yep. Butterflies are so, so pretty and my favorite kind is the Monarch kind. Did you know they fly so, so far?” Her words quieted, like she was sharing a secret with me. “Two thousand whole miles so they can get warm in the winter.”
Soft laughter rolled around on my tongue. God, the kid was cute. “Two thousand whole miles? You sure about that?” I whispered back.
She nodded emphatically. “Uh-huh. I know for sure FOR SURE! It says so in my favorite book. You want me to read it to you? I got it right upstairs in my room.”
Shea cut in. “How about we read it another time, sweetheart? Breakfast is going to be ready in a couple minutes, and we need the table set if we’re going to eat.”
From where she stood at the stove, Shea pitched me an apologetic yet graceful smile, because I’d gotten sucked right into the whirlwind that was Kallie Bentley.
“Okay, Momma.” Kallie climbed down from the chair she was perched on. I tried to keep my attention trained on Shea wearing that robe and the insane body hidden under it, which wasn’t all that safe a subject to concentrate on. It was weird witnessing her here, taken out of the element of the bar, out of the atmosphere of her room last night.
There? Her skin simmered sex, that storm gathering from beneath the surface, like in the shadows it searched for way to be exposed.
But here?
Here she was whimsical and gentle and…and…a mom.
That fact fucked with my head.
My gaze slid right back to the little girl who pushed a step stool up against the counter and climbed to the top step. She carefully pulled down four plates from the cabinet above.
That wasn’t such a safe place for my attention, either, because I kept getting that agitated feeling wind up in my chest as I watched her make her way around the kitchen and back to the table. Her little tongue poked out to the side in concentration, her movements controlled as she focused on setting the obviously vintage purple plates safely at each spot.
She slid one in front of me and peeked up at me. “There you go, Baz.”
“Thank you,” I mumbled.
Shea and April set platters piled high with food on the center of the table. Tender fingers sent chills racing down my spine when Shea fluttered them along the base of my neck, leaning over my shoulder to place a cup filled with steaming coffee down in front of me.
We all sat down and shared a meal together. And it was relaxed and easy and terrifying.
I’d been a fool for wanting to lose control with Shea.
Because I didn’t know how I was going to get it back.