Father In Training

“Thomas was a very good professor.”

“I bet he was. Is there a more boring subject?”

“Some people like intellectual pursuits.”

Kyle didn’t look convinced. “Did you guys, you know, talk about philosophy a lot? Is it something you discussed over pizza?”

“We didn’t have pizza very much.” Ever, she reminded herself. Maybe that’s what had gone wrong in her marriage. There hadn’t been enough pizza. Sandy shook her head. That was crazy. What had gone wrong in her marriage was that Thomas had refused to grow up. He’d left her in charge of everything while he’d run off to play. She’d spent most of her marriage being a single mother.

“I didn’t mean to bring up unhappy memories,” he said.

Sandy took the seat opposite him and rested her forearms on the table. “They’re not unhappy in the way you think. It’s been two years. I’ve gotten used to the fact that he’s never coming back. The children and I have started a new life together. In many ways, it’s better.”

He shifted on his chair and leaned forward. Before she knew what he was going to do, he reached out his hand and touched her fingers. Sandy told herself to pull back. Except she couldn’t. Sparks leapt between them. She was surprised when she didn’t actually see them arcing across the table. A warm feeling of lethargy moved up her arm, heating her blood and making her yearn for something more. Something...dangerous.

The cartoon video played on in the background. She could hear her children talking. Beyond the house were the sounds of the night. A car driving by, crickets chirping. She felt caught in some powerful force. Slowly, she raised her gaze from the table to Kyle’s chest, then higher to his face.

Stubble shaded his jaw. There was a dab of paint on one cheek. His eyes darkened to the color of a midnight sky. Her gaze dropped to his mouth and the shape of his lips. She wondered what it would be like to be kissed by that mouth. Kyle had probably kissed hundreds of women. She’d kissed about five men. No doubt she would be completely out of her league. Still, the thought had merit.

Tension crackled around them. She wanted to lean closer, but the table was too long. She thought about getting up and walking over to him. Would he pull her close and kiss her? Would he hold her in his arms and—

He yawned.

Sandy straightened, blinking frantically as if she’d just been doused with a bucket of cold water. “I hope I’m not keeping you up,” she snapped.

“No.” He covered his mouth with his hand and yawned again. “It’s not you. I pulled a double shift last night. Normally it doesn’t bother me, but I didn’t get any sleep today. Sorry.”

“You haven’t had any sleep since the night before last?”

He shook his head. “It’s catching up with me.”

Now that she looked closer, she could see faint shadows under his eyes. There were lines of weariness around the mouth she’d been admiring.

“I should have realized,” she said, rising to her feet. “I’ll get the kids and we’ll go.”

“They can finish their movie.”

“Nonsense. They’ve seen it before. You need to be in bed.”

She hoped he couldn’t tell what image had sprung to her head at the word bed. It was too embarrassing. She’d been sitting there having incredibly erotic thoughts, and he’d been struggling to stay awake. Figures.

“Okay,” he said, standing. “I’m pretty tired. But I’ll be back tomorrow to finish the painting.”

“You don’t have to.”

“I want to.”

“But, I—”

He grabbed her hand and pulled her close. Kyle did a whole lot of touching, she thought, wondering if she should step back or just plain give in. Her body was already humming. Jeez, she’d spent the last two years without a single sexual thought, but since arriving in Glenwood, she couldn’t get sex off her brain.

“You talk too much,” he said lazily. “In my experience, women who talk too much are generally hiding something.”

“I’m not one of your women.” She jerked her hand free, but didn’t step back. “I don’t have anything to hide and I don’t want anything, so don’t waste any of your smooth, practiced lines on me.”

“I promise.” He made an X over his chest, then stared down at her. “You have the most beautiful eyes.”

“I thought you just promised you weren’t going to try any of your lines on me.”

“It’s not a line, it’s the truth. Green is one of my favorite colors.”

She stared up at him, immobilized. She told herself to run. This wasn’t happening, and if it was, it was happening too fast. She couldn’t get involved with Kyle Haynes. He would use her and dump her. He was irresponsible, immature. She didn’t need any more children in her life.

But the feelings he aroused in her were far from maternal. She felt trapped by the heat of his gaze. Or maybe it was her own stupidity that kept her standing so close to him, staring into his dark eyes and praying he would just kiss her and get it over with.

“Kyle, this is a mistake,” she said desperately as his head lowered toward hers.

“Tell me about it. But I’ve been waiting sixteen damn years for this, so either run or pucker up.”

Chapter Four (#ulink_307c81fa-67fa-5e98-ab7f-2e46f4345714)

“Sixteen years?” Sandy asked, staring at him. He couldn’t have meant what he’d said. Kyle had been waiting to kiss her? “What are you talking about?”

“It’s not important.”

Nothing in his expression gave away what he was thinking. His mouth was still impossibly tempting, his gaze steady. She must have misunderstood him. But for a brief moment, she desperately wished it had been true. That Kyle had thought of her and longed for her all this time.

Get a grip on reality, she told herself. Kyle had no more spent the last sixteen years missing her than pigs had suddenly sprouted wings and taken flight.

So why was he staring at her so intently? And why were they still standing close enough for their bodies to generate the heat required to start a bonfire?

She told herself she was a fool, but that wasn’t new information. She’d suspected it for a long time. She continued to stare at his face, then lowered her gaze to his mouth. With every bit of energy she could summon, she willed him to kiss her.

He bent forward, lowering his head until their lips nearly brushed. She could inhale the masculine scent of him, feel his sweet breath on her cheek. She could almost—

“Mommy, can we go get some ice cream?”

Nichole’s voice cut through the silence in the kitchen. Sandy stepped back at the exact moment Kyle shook his head and straightened. She glanced over her shoulder, but the doorway to the living room was empty. Nichole hadn’t seen anything.

“Ah, sure, honey,” Sandy called.

She walked around Kyle and stepped into the other room. All three children were sitting on the floor facing the television. They didn’t know what had almost happened. Relief swept through her, leaving her a little shaky. At least she told herself it was relief. The tremors in her legs couldn’t possibly be the result of her having just been so close to Kyle.

“Let’s go now,” she said.

Lindsay glanced up at her. “The movie isn’t over yet.”

“I know, but you can finish it another time. It’s getting late, and Kyle needs his rest. He was up working all last night.”