Suddenly, I wasn’t so exhausted.
I sent her a text and let her know I’d be ready for her in an hour, then rushed home to shower and get dinner ready. I’d already razzled and dazzled her with my cooking skills, with Ruby’s help, so I was going to rely on my grilling abilities. No one ever ate a good steak and regretted it. A perfectly cooked steak could be just as impressive as some other culinary masterpieces. That was what I was banking on, anyway.
When she knocked on my door, right on time, I opened it, grabbed her hand, pulled her in, and kissed her long and hard. She was giggling at first, laughing as though I was being playful. But after a few moments she realized I was not playing, and she melted against me.
She’d left her hair down and I wound my hands through it, pulling gently so her face angled up toward me. I walked her backward, using her body to close the front door, and pressed against her. Her hands were running up and down my back, pulling me closer, and I could feel every breath she took as her breasts pressed against my chest.
I could not get enough of her.
I’d been on board with taking our physical relationship slowly. There was a time and place for everything, and the time and place was not on my couch as my children slept down the hall. And as patient as I thought I was being, Grace had been even more so. Most of the time it had been her to stop us, to make us come up for air, before anything completely inappropriate took place. But in that moment, with her breathy whimpers and roaming hands, I wasn’t sure we’d make it to the steaks.
“My mom is keeping the kids overnight,” I said as I pressed kisses along the column of her neck, loving the way her body writhed against mine.
“Mmmm hmmm,” she said, clearly unable to put words together, making me smile against her skin.
“Say you’ll stay the night with me.” She stilled at my words, and I was sort of expecting that. We’d had an emotional afternoon and she probably hadn’t expected to be ambushed with sex when she agreed to dinner, but her hesitation was short-lived, and a moment later she was right back on track with me.
“Okay,” she breathed.
“Here’s what’s going to happen,” I said just before I took her earlobe between my teeth, tugging gently, then letting go. “I’m going to make us dinner, we’re going to talk—about everything—and then we’re going to bed.” I pulled back and met her eyes. “Sound good?”
She nodded, her bottom lip trapped between her teeth.
“Good,” I said, reaching up and gently tugging her lip free. “You’re beautiful when you’re frazzled.” I tucked the hair I’d messed up behind her ear, smiling as I watched her senses come back.
“Frazzled,” she said with a laugh. “That’s a new word for it.”
I kissed her then, because there was no way I couldn’t. Then I took her hand and pulled her away from the door, leading her to the kitchen.
“Take these glasses of wine and go sit outside,” I said, handing her the two glasses I’d poured just before she arrived. “I’ll grab the food and meet you out there.”
She complied, taking the wine outside, and my eyes stayed trained on her the whole time. I gathered everything I needed to cook our meal. We talked while I grilled, no residual awkwardness from that afternoon, our conversation flowing like it always had. When I watched her take the first bite of her steak, when her eyes rolled back in her head just like they had at lunch, I realized how much I loved that Grace enjoyed food. She wasn’t shy about eating and something about that was sexy.
We talked about Jaxy and Ruby, about their upcoming trip to California, but neither of us admitted that we didn’t miss them. Sure, a tiny part of me—the dad part—felt a little bit guilty that I was at home enjoying a real, adult meal, but the biggest part of me was glad my mom had offered to keep them. And I knew Grace was too.
When we were both done eating, I pushed my chair back and turned it, then crooked a finger at her.
“Come here, Grace.”
She gave me a shy smile, but followed my instructions, walking around the table and stopping in front of me. I wrapped my arm around her waist and eased her down on my lap, pulling her close. She laughed and looped one arm around the back of my neck, giving me her signature bright smile.
“So,” she said, laughing and swinging her legs. “Now’s the part of the evening where we talk, huh?”
“Right,” I said, settling my hand on her knee, making her legs still. “I want you to talk to me, but I want you to turn off your filter for a few minutes, and talk to me like you’re not afraid of what the consequences might be.”
“All right,” she said, her voice unsure, her body tensing up.