He cleared his throat. “Listen, the past few months I might have been kinda…grumpy.”
She laughed and pulled back to look at him. Only inches separated them and it took all his willpower not to drop his gaze to her mouth and the very kissable, full lips he’d fantasized about far too often. “That’s a bit of an understatement. Why are you like that with me? And don’t say it’s with everyone because you’re nice to Kimmy. But you always seemed annoyed with me—until today.”
“I’m nice to Kimmy because Callan would kill me if I looked at her the wrong way.”
Her lips curved up. “True enough. So what’s the deal?”
He wanted to slide her back to her seat because having this conversation with her on his lap was making it hard to think, knowing exactly how close she was to his cock, how easy it would be to shift positions and…nope. He shut that thought right down. Not that it did much since he was still getting hard. How could he not be with her sitting on his lap like this? “You might know that I was married before?”
Tegan nodded, her blue eyes unreadable.
“After Dillon was born, she split. Signed over all parental rights to me and left town. Said she wanted nothing to do with either of us, that she hated my family and hated Miami.” He’d had a lot of bitterness about it for a long time. But he’d let it go because he couldn’t be a good parent and be angry all the time. Dillon deserved better than that. His son was going to get the best of everything he had to offer, nothing less.
Tegan’s eyes widened. “Seriously?”
He nodded.
She blinked once. “I can understand divorce, but leaving your kid like that?”
His jaw tightened. “She was…she had issues.” He’d been young and in lust with her when they’d met. He’d been in the Corps and she’d been sexy and all about him. Or so he’d thought. He’d just been young and stupid, seeing what he wanted to see instead of what was really there: a selfish woman who’d only cared about herself. And Dillon had paid the price for it. “She died of a drug overdose about a year after she left. Somewhere out west.”
“Wow. I’m sorry.”
He was just sorry that he’d one day have to explain to his son what had happened to his mother. He cleared his throat, finally getting to his point. “You’re her opposite and…the first woman I’ve been interested in in about five years.” He couldn’t believe he was even admitting this to her, but he felt compelled to. Felt as if he needed to explain to her why he’d been so distant because he wanted to start fresh, maybe start something with her.
“I didn’t handle being around you well.” Mainly because he hadn’t trusted his instincts around women. But after seeing Tegan in action with customers, seeing the way she was with his son, and now after hearing all that she’d been through, he knew she was nothing like his ex. And he wasn’t the same boy who’d fallen for the wrong kind of woman.
Tegan’s eyes widened and her lips parted ever so slightly.
Against his will, his gaze dipped to those lips and all he wanted to do was kiss her, taste what he’d been fantasizing about for so damn long.
She hadn’t responded to his admission but when her tongue flicked out against her bottom lip, he groaned, unable to stop the reaction.
The air was suddenly too heavy and she felt way too good in his arms. He started to lean closer when the buzz of his cell phone in his pocket made them both jump.
She blinked as if coming out of a daze then slid off his lap as though she couldn’t move fast enough. He wanted to ignore the call, but it could be Duarte or an emergency with Dillon. As a father, he never ignored his phone.
When he saw it was just one of his friends from work, he ignored it. Not that it mattered. Whatever might have happened between him and Tegan clearly wasn’t going to now. She’d moved around the island and was looking at the food he’d laid out, clearly avoiding his gaze and putting solid distance between them.
Part of him was relieved nothing had happened. Getting involved with her was a risk he wasn’t sure he was willing to take.
Chapter 5
Tegan stared at the ceiling of the guest room, replaying Aaron’s words over in her head. She couldn’t believe he was interested in her. Considering his behavior today she actually could, but it was hard to reconcile this change with the man who’d seemed perpetually annoyed with her over the last eight months.
After everything he’d admitted about his ex, she hadn’t been sure how to respond. Heck, she still wasn’t sure. She wanted Aaron, no doubt about that, but talk about some serious baggage. And she had her own issues as well. She’d been a military brat, and then after her dad died, her mom had dragged her and her brother to a place they hated and had barely been present in their lives. Tegan knew absolutely nothing about kids. She wasn’t the right type of woman for Aaron. He should want someone sweeter, more nurturing. Someone…not her.