Andi blinked, unmistakable relief in her pretty brown eyes. “Really?”
“Did it bother you when you thought I was into her?” he heard himself asking, knowing he hadn’t planned to go down this road, but the attraction between them was a real, tangible thing.
His fingers itched to run through her thick, wavy hair, and he couldn’t tear his gaze from her glossed lips as she ran her tongue nervously over them. Not to mention the energy it took not to look down at her full breasts beneath the jersey.
“Would it upset you if I said it did? That watching you with her stirred up feelings that took me by surprise?”
“I shouldn’t want you, Andi. You hurt me. Took a fucking knife to my heart. But that was in the past. And what’s going on now between us is the present.”
Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears, the past alive despite them both wanting to put it behind them. But everything inside him was pulled toward her now, drawn to her fragile strength and beauty.
He dipped his head and pressed his mouth to hers. Warm and giving, her soft lips moved beneath his. His hand slid around her jaw, tilting her head, giving him better access as his tongue delved into her mouth and tangled with hers. Finally, finally, finally, finally. His heart beat out the word in rapid rhythm, a long-held desire coming true as her kiss turned him inside out.
He explored the deep recesses of her mouth, tasting her essence, aware of his body’s reaction, the swell of his cock behind his jeans, the spike in adrenaline, the racing of his pulse.
Despite the pain, the anger, the hurt, this was the girl of his dreams and she was in his arms, eagerly accepting his kiss. He slid his hand into her hair, grasping the thick strands between his fingers and tugging as the kiss turned hotter and he backed her against the vanity, his waist flush against hers, his hard erection cradled between her thighs. His cock throbbed with unappeased need, desire flowing between them.
Until a hard knock sounded on the door, startling them into breaking apart. She looked at him, wide-eyed, the surprise etched in her face as strong as the shock rippling through him.
“Be right out,” he called to the person on the other side of the door.
He glanced at Andi, her face now flushed a bright red. “There’s no way to avoid walking out together, is there?” she asked.
“Whether you go first or last, whoever it is heard my voice.”
Her blush deepened. “Well, then here’s to giving them something more to talk about,” she said, straightening her shoulders.
Admiring her grit, he not-so-discreetly adjusted his junk in his pants. “No time like the present,” he said and reached for the door handle.
With his hand on her back so as not to leave her dealing with embarrassment alone, he led her out of the restroom to find Kimberly waiting outside in the hall.
“Kyle!” she said, her gaze darting over his shoulder to Andi. “Oh.” Her smile disappeared as she took in the obvious situation.
Knowing there were no words that were going to make this less awkward, he pulled Andi with him down the hall as Kimberly slammed the bathroom door behind her.
He didn’t spend time with Andi the rest of the night, she mingling with the women, he hanging with the guys and watching the game. But he couldn’t deny he was aware of her the entire time, knew where in the room she stood, with whom she was speaking. The kiss between them had changed their dynamic. No longer did he consider her someone for whom he held on to long-suppressed anger. She was a woman he desired. And he had to figure out what to do with that.
* * *
The next week passed in a blur, Kyle’s kiss never far from Andi’s mind. She woke up early each day, showered and dressed, made her son breakfast, and helped him get ready for school. She dropped him off and spent the day at In Bloom. Whether she was cutting or arranging flowers, making a sale, or planning the décor for a party, the feel of his lips on hers was a constant distraction.
Their chemistry was such a new thing, something she’d never thought about before when it came to Kyle, but now she felt as if it was consuming her. The idea of wanting Kyle threw her because it had been so long since she’d desired any man. She’d thought she’d shut off those feelings, well aware that insulating herself and keeping her distance was safer both physically and emotionally.
Yet she couldn’t stop thinking of him. Of the way he’d grown into himself, his shoulders broad, his muscles well defined, telling her he obviously went to the gym in his free time. He was handsome, with his strong jaw and sculpted cheekbones, and one adorable dimple in his cheek.
He was putting the past behind them, albeit slowly, and for that she was grateful. But the yearning she felt for him wasn’t welcome. She didn’t have room for any man in her life, not when she had a son to raise and a past to outrun. She didn’t want another man potentially telling her what to do, who she could see, what she could do. She had spent the last two years rebuilding her independence and she intended to keep it.
No matter how tempting Kyle Davenport happened to be.
As the week wound to a close, her monthly dreaded dinner with her ex-mother-in-law was coming up quickly. She took Nicky to see Billy’s mom once a month, and though she knew he was at an age where he could go alone, it made her feel better to be there and monitor what her ex-mother-in-law said about Nicky’s father. The truth was, Francine Gray was a lovely woman who, despite having raised her child right, had ended up with an egotistical, abusive bastard for a son. Billy’s father had died a few years ago, and he, too, had been a decent man. Andi had no problem allowing her son to know his grandparents, but under no circumstances did she want Francine talking up her son as a good man.
He’d never wanted a child, had resented Andi for getting pregnant and refusing to get rid of her baby. After he was born, he’d wanted nothing to do with his son. To Billy, Nicky just tied him down further. And though it hurt Andi for Nicky to know the truth about his father, he had lived in this house and seen it all. She hadn’t been able to protect him from Billy’s anger then, the emotional abuse as bad for her child as the physical he’d heaped on Andi, and she didn’t want his grandmother’s words swaying him toward wanting to see his father again. Just because Billy hadn’t turned on Nicky physically in the past didn’t mean he wouldn’t in the future should he return.
She shivered at the possibility and immediately put it out of her mind. He’d given her full custody and that allowed her to protect him.
They arrived at Francine’s house, a run-down ranch that had seen better days. A lot of work needed to be done on the house to make it more livable, but there was no one to do it. Even when Billy had been in town, he hadn’t prioritized his mother’s living situation and the house was in desperate need of repair.
Francine met them at the door, a wide smile on her face, her blonde hair cut shorter than usual. “Andi, Nicky!” She opened her arms and pulled her grandson into a hug.
“Hi, Grandma.” Nicky hugged her back. “Did you make my favorite lasagna?” he asked.
She kissed the top of his head. “You know I did. Come on in.”
They followed her into the family room, Andi bracing herself for the photos of her ex-husband around the room, at various stages of his life. Just looking at him brought back unpleasant, painful memories and she put blinders on as she settled onto the floral couch.
“Nicky, tell me about school,” Francine said.
“I have the best teacher. Mr. D. is helping me with my reading. I’m reading Harry Potter and I love it,” he said, and went off about the story.
When he finished talking about the book, he continued on about Mr. D. said this, and Mr. D. said that. Even if Andi had wanted to put Kyle out of her mind, Nicky made it impossible.
“This Mr. D. sounds really special,” Francine said.
“He’s amazing. All my friends think so.” Which explained why the extra help wasn’t causing Nicky to be made fun of by the other kids.
“I often wonder if my William had had a te
acher to look up to, if he would have turned out to be a better man. Samuel wasn’t all that involved with him,” she said of Billy’s father. “And that football coach was so hard on him all the time, expecting perfection…” Francine caught Andi’s wide-eyed gaze and shake of her head and trailed off. “Sorry.”
Andi glanced at Nicky.
“Dad used to yell at me. A lot,” he said, his shoulders slumping as they usually did at any mention of his father.
Andi closed her eyes and sighed. If there was anything in her life she didn’t want to revisit, it was how Billy had treated his son. She’d take all the wrist twists and hard shoves and hits if it meant she was protecting Nicky. But verbally, Billy hadn’t discriminated. He’d always been angry and always taken it out on them both.
“Well, he’s not around to do that anymore,” Andi said, not worrying about her one-time mother-in-law’s feelings. She couldn’t do that and put Nicky first.
“Let’s eat,” Francine said, changing the subject, for which Andi was grateful.
The rest of the meal passed peacefully without another mention of Billy, but Nicky had quieted down a lot. Not even his enthusiasm over Mr. D. remained, and when they arrived home, he wasn’t in the mood to read an extra chapter of his book.
She waited until he’d showered for school the next day and walked into his room. He was curled in his bed beneath his navy comforter, playing on an iPad.
“Hey, Nicky. Everything okay?”
He shrugged.
She sat down on the edge of the bed. “Did something Grandma Francine say upset you?” she asked, diving into the deep end of what she thought was bothering him.
“Grandma sounds like she makes excuses for Dad. Like if his coach hadn’t been mean, then he wouldn’t have been either. But…”
Andi waited for him to gather his thoughts and continue. When he didn’t, she asked, “But what?”
He bit down on his bottom lip. “But I had a mean teacher last year and I was still nice to my friends.”
She smiled at her wise-beyond-his-years son, wishing he was able to just be a kid. “You’re right. How someone else treats you is no excuse for how you behave. You should always take the high road.”
“Mom?”
“Yes?” She bent a knee beneath her and looked him in the eye.
“Dad’s never coming back, right?” He dropped his gaze from hers, clearly mortified by the question.
“Hey. Look at me.” She scooted closer to him, sitting cross-legged on the bed. Under any other circumstances, she’d spare him legalities, but she didn’t want him to worry about Billy’s possible return. “Even if he comes back, I have what’s called legal full custody. He would need my permission to see you and that’s not happening.”
Billy could take her to court. He could threaten and bully her. She’d be doing what was best for her son and he was thriving in the absence of his father, his shoulders no longer slumping, no longer skulking around corners, worried his dad was there to yell at him. She had enough people to testify to the fact that his father not being in his life was in Nicky’s best interest.
He threw his arms around her neck and hugged her tight. “I feel bad that I don’t want him to come back.”
“He caused that, not you.” She wrapped her arms around him tight. “Don’t worry, okay? That’s my job for both of us.”
She’d go to the ends of the earth to protect him and see the smile he had on his face when he talked about the teacher he loved.
Chapter Four
Ever since the football party, Kyle’s thoughts about Andi had shifted and not just because he’d kissed her, although he had to admit he’d replayed the moment over in his mind. He was jumbled up inside, trying to reconcile his anger at her over the past and his feelings for her now.
For years he’d wondered how she’d feel in his arms. Her soft lips and lithe body were the answer to his dreams, and everything he saw in her personality made it difficult for him to be angry with her in any way. In fact, something didn’t add up. The woman who’d told him to go away and leave her alone was nowhere to be found. The Andi he’d always known was back, warm and friendly… if much more vulnerable than she’d been, and he found himself attracted to the whole package.
But it didn’t escape his notice that she was skittish about what had happened between them. She’d blushed when she picked Nicky up from his first tutoring session after the football party, and avoided alone time with him without her son present. He respected the boundaries she set up and kept a respectful distance. They were teacher and parent, and that was all there could be.
Soon September turned to October, the weather grew colder, and before he knew it, Halloween was around the corner. The elementary school hosted a grade-wide parade, and the kids got dressed in their costumes midday, the class moms coming in to help. Because of the work involved and the holiday, they also extended an invitation to all the parents who wanted to come see the kids dressed up.
Thanks to the excitement of the holiday, he never expected to get any real work accomplished with the kids, and instead he had a relaxed day planned. The morning went by quickly and soon the parents arrived. It was a hectic jumble of madness, costumes, and loud, excited voices.
Even Andi had taken the afternoon off from her job to be there for Nicky, and it took a concerted effort for Kyle to pay attention to the other parents and children and not focus solely on Andi. He couldn’t stop staring at her lush figure in jeans that accentuated her curvy ass and hips, and more than once, he had to jolt himself into awareness and force himself to look away and do his job.
They made it through the costume parade around the school, followed by the class party with cupcakes and sugar highs. As much as he enjoyed the holiday and the enthusiasm of his students, it was a relief when the day ended and the kids began to drift out of the room, accompanied by their parents.
Although Nicky didn’t have a tutoring session planned for the afternoon, he seemed to be procrastinating taking his Harry Potter costume off and getting his books together.
Andi shot Kyle a frustrated glance as the boy bent down to tie his sneakers for the second time.
“Mom, I need to go to the bathroom before we leave.”
She sighed. “Go. Hurry up. And don’t forget to wash your hands,” she said as he shuffled to the door. She turned to Kyle. “Reverse sugar high?” she asked. “He’s not bouncing off the walls. He’s just plain exhausted. And we still have trick-or-treating to get through.” She sounded tired herself.
“With a little luck, you’ll get a second wind. I like how he chose Harry Potter as his costume. It tells me he’s really into the story.”
“Oh, he is. And I notice a definite difference in his willingness to sit down and read. Is it translating to his schoolwork? Not as much, but a little,” she said, obviously grateful for the slight change.
“Do you remember the Halloween we dressed up as Harry Potter and Hermione?” she asked.
The memory washed over him as if it were yesterday. They’d done everything together, including coordinating their costumes. They would laugh and were completely in sync.
Smiling at the memory, he teased, “You were so insistent that you be Hermione and not Ginny.”
“Well, I still think Harry should have ended up with Hermione.”
“I know, I know.” He shook his head. “Poor Ron.”
She grinned.
He missed those days, now more than ever, since they were together in the same room, communicating… kissing. “It was fun back then, wasn’t it?”
She nodded, her eyes softening as she looked at him, the memory clearly affecting her, too.
He stepped forward and inhaled her peach-scented shampoo. Reaching out, he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, the smell arousing him, making him aware of her as a very feminine woman he desired. “We were good together.”
As friends. Now they could be more and he suddenly realized how much he wanted that more. Heart pounding inside
his chest, he skimmed his knuckles down her cheek and she sighed, leaning into him.
His body tightened with need, desire winding its way through him. He didn’t have to do more than breathe in her scent and he responded. He leaned in closer, his lips a millimeter from hers.
Noise in the hallway brought them back into the present.
She jerked back, realizing she’d almost been caught in a compromising position. She blushed, ducking her head.
He blew out a harsh breath. He ought to be annoyed with himself. After all, he was the teacher, the one who needed to be a professional while in school. But he couldn’t bring himself to regret this tentative reaching out to Andi. He felt the potential between them, the possibilities in the air.
And he made a decision. This time he wasn’t going to pull back and give her space.
This time, he was going go after what he wanted.
“I realize this probably isn’t the right time…” He paused in thought. “But if I overthink things, no time will be the right time.”
She tilted her head and looked into his eyes. “What’s going on?” she asked, obviously curious.
“I want to see you. Alone. As in, you and I go out on a date.”
“Kyle, I’m really in no position to date anyone.”
“I’m not just anyone. How about we say we’re just two old friends catching up and start there?”
She laughed at that. “We can’t be in the same room together without acting on this new attraction. I don’t think we can go back to just two friends catching up.”
“At least you admit to an attraction. Can you really walk away from that? From me… again?” Yeah, he went there.
Because to get what he wanted, he had to push.
She sucked in a shallow breath. “No,” she whispered. “I can’t. I just can’t make any promises.”
“One date at a time,” he assured her.
She nodded. “Okay.” Her soft lips curved upward in a smile, one that he felt in his gut. “Give me your phone and I’ll send myself a text. That way you’ll have my number.”
Dream (Rosewood Bay Series Book 4) Page 5
