Mick returned to his chair now that he was fairly sure Tara wasn’t going to bolt. “Tell me about him.”
“He’s fourteen—almost fifteen, really. His birthday is next month. He just finished up his freshman year in high school, and he’s cocky as hell. He—you really don’t want to hear about my kid, do you?”
“Why wouldn’t I? I told you, I like kids.”
“You have any of your own?”
“No. I’d like to someday. And in case you’re wondering, no, I haven’t fathered any that I’m paying child support for. I’m very careful with women.”
“I didn’t ask.”
“But you thought it.”
“Okay, I did think that, you being a superstud with women and all.”
He snorted. “Yeah, right. I don’t believe in getting a woman pregnant and leaving her. Not my style and not the way I was brought up.”
“Well, aren’t you just a saint.”
He leveled his gaze at her, wanting her to know just what he was. And what he wasn’t. “I never said I was a saint, Tara. Just that I’m responsible.”
She looked down at her lap. “Sorry. I’m being a bitch.”
“No, you’re not. I handled this badly. I’m pushy, I know. I backed you into a corner.”
She lifted her gaze to his. “No, you didn’t. If you want to date me, or whatever it is you want to do with me, then you needed to know about Nathan. I’m not trying to hide him. I’m not ashamed of him. It’s just that most men don’t want the baggage. And we haven’t really even dated, so I understand if you want to head out.”
What kind of assholes did she go out with? “You must pick some real losers if they bail as soon as they find out you have a kid.”
Her lips curled. “You haven’t met Nathan. He’s ... challenging.”
Mick laughed. “He’s a boy. And a teenager. We’re all challenging at that age. I was.”
She studied him. “I can only imagine.”
“I need to keep you away from my mother. She has stories about me and my brother that will send you running away screaming. We kept her busy when we were kids.”
There was a look on her face that Mick didn’t understand. Kind of a sadness that didn’t make sense when he mentioned his mother and his brother. “Hey, we were good kids. Honest.”
“I’m sure you were. Anyway, thank you for dinner. I really need to get home.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She plastered on a smile, but there was no light in her eyes. “I had a great time tonight, but I have some paperwork to do.”
He knew an end around when he saw one. Mick signaled for the waiter. “Put it on my account, Tim.”
The waiter nodded, and Mick led Tara outside, but not to her car, to his instead.
“Where are we going?”
“For a ride. I’ll bring you back to your car. I’d like to spend a little more time with you.”
He opened the door on the passenger side and held her hand while she climbed in, admiring the way she hiked up her skirt to climb in. She turned to him. “Somehow you struck me as a sports car kind of guy, not an SUV.”
“I’m too big for sports cars, and the SUV has enough room for all my gear.”
He went around and got in, started the car up, and drove away from the restaurant, taking a drive up into the hills. Typical for summer, the fog had rolled in, so there wasn’t going to be much to see while they drove. He let her settle and drove to the top of one of his favorite hills, where it was clear and on top of the fog.
“It’s like a sea of white,” Tara said as he put the car in park. The lights from his car cast out over the fog.
“It’s better in the daytime when the fog first starts rolling in. But I still like it up here. It’s quiet. Good place for thinking and for being alone.”
“And for parking?” She slanted him a quizzical look.
“Well, we are parked, but I didn’t bring you up here for that.”
She unbuckled her seat belt and turned to face him. “I kind of like the idea.”
“Of what? Making out in my car?”
“We could start with that, and see where it goes.”
“I think you’re using sex to avoid having an honest conversation.”
She paused. “Isn’t that a woman’s line?”
They looked at each other, and both of them laughed. Tara kicked her heels off and crawled over the console. Mick had to admit he liked watching her maneuver in that tight skirt as she straddled him. He pushed the button and slid the seat back as far as it would go, giving her room. She settled over his lap and laid her hands on his chest. “So we’re having a role reversal. Does this mean I get to seduce you?”
He’d lost all train of thought since all the blood in his head had rushed to his dick. “Honey, you’re sitting on my cock. I’m pretty sure you can do whatever you want with me.”