“But you went to Paris instead and you saved a child.”
He glanced at his mother sharply.
“Jack filled me in. I know you were largely responsible for helping the police track down that poor girl.”
“Yeah,” he said slowly. “We found her.” The horror of what he’d witnessed would stay with him for a long time.
“I’m glad you did, Teague. Don’t ever doubt that. I’m glad you were there for that little girl and all the other little girls you’ve been there for in the past. But now it’s time to be here, in this moment, in this life.” She pressed her palm to his chest. “It’s time for you to be here for yourself. You’ve done so much good, Teague. Helped so many people in so many countries, and…and I’m so very proud of you. Your father and I and every single member of this family are. Please know that.” His mother’s voice caught and the sound of her sadness nearly did him in.
“Hey,” he said, folding his mother into a hug. “I’m good. Jesus, Mom, I’m here and I’m in one piece.”
“Are you, Teague?” she asked softly. “Are you whole? I’ve always felt that there was a part of you that wasn’t happy. And as a mother, it’s kept me awake at night. I won’t lie about that. Out of all my kids, you are the one I worry about. It’s not because your job puts you in dangerous situations or that months go by with no word. It’s because I’m so afraid that you’ll lose yourself in all that darkness. I’m afraid that life will pass you by before you take the time to grab everything that you deserve. Before you take the time for love and a family of your own.”
She turned in his arms, her hands creeping up to either side of his face and he had to bend slightly to give her access.
“You would do anything for someone in need. Anything to make someone else’s wrong a right. Can you promise me that you’ll do something for yourself?”
“I’m working on it,” he managed to say.
His mother smiled, a gentle sort of thing. She caressed his brow and stepped out of his embrace.
“Good,” Eden said, her voice matter of fact. “You need to find your place, Teague. You need to find that one spot on this earth that’s strong enough to keep you grounded. That’s strong enough to keep you with us.” She paused. “Might help if you told Sabrina how you feel.”
He shouldn’t have been surprised at her frankness. But still, it took him a few seconds to get his thoughts straight. Was he that transparent?
He cleared his throat. “I’m working on that too.”
“Don’t expect her to fall at your feet. She’s no pushover, that one. She’s strong and fierce and with two little ones to protect, it’s not going to be easy to get back into her good graces.”
He was starting to get that.
Eden glanced to their right. “And honey, I wouldn’t waste any time if I were you.”
His smile faded as he followed her gaze. Sabrina was deep in conversation with Cooper Simon.
“Son-of-a-bitch,” he growled. Damned if the man wasn’t standing just a little too close for his liking.
“Let me take that,” Eden said reaching for his half empty beer bottle. Teague handed it to his mother and, with determined strides, headed toward Sabrina.
They both looked up as he approached—Sabrina’s expression was shuttered, while Cooper’s, well, he had that look in his eyes and it was one Teague had seen before. The guy was interested and there was no way in hell Teague was letting him anywhere near Sabrina or her kids.
“Can we talk?” he asked rudely, ignoring his cousin and totally focused on Sabrina.
“Jesus, Teague. You lose your manners somewhere over the Atlantic?” Cooper frowned, straightening.
Teague ignored his cousin. “Sabrina?”
All around them, people were chatting, celebrating, catching up and being noisy. But here, in this little triangle Teague was caught up in, there was none of that joy. A few awkward moments passed and then Sabrina attempted a smile and thanked Cooper for bringing her a glass of water. She arched her brow at Teague and headed for the stairs without a word.
“That’s gonna be a tough nut to crack, my friend.” Cooper shrugged. “Good luck.”
“No shit,” Teague muttered.
He followed Sabrina, weaving his way through the crowd—shaking an uncle’s hand, and leaning in for a kiss from his Auntie Beatrice. His sister Grace caught his eye, but he shook his head and kept moving. No way was he letting Sabrina out of his sight.
She was heading to her boathouse and a cool breeze lifted the hem of her skirt, showing him a tantalizing bit of leg. That little bit of skin had him hungry for more, and his eyes raked over Sabrina, taking in every detail.
Her hair was longer than when he’d last seen her, falling several inches past her shoulders, while the kiss of summer was starting to fade from her skin. She was so damn beautiful and every cell in his body screamed for a touch. This hunger, it wasn’t going to fade and it hit him in that moment just how much he needed her.
She paused at the end of the dock, her hair blowing behind her like a dark chocolate cascade.
“What do you want to talk about?” she asked in that no nonsense voice she usually reserved for the twins when they were being naughty.
Teague paused a few feet from her. He shoved his hands into his pockets because he didn’t know what the hell to do with them.
“Can you turn around? I sure as hell don’t want to talk to your back.”
She slowly turned to face him and tucked a large chunk of hair behind her ear. A delicate pearl shimmered there from the late evening sun, and he dragged his gaze up to her eyes.
Damn.
It was still there. That physical connection. That need and want. And he could tell by the expression in her eyes that she felt the same.
“I called.” Lame start to the conversation.
Sabrina’s eyebrow arched. “Did you?” There was frost in her voice and he didn’t like it.
“I left a message on your phone last night.”
“Sorry. Didn’t get it.” Her voice was clipped and he swore under his breath. “My battery was dead.”
“Look, Sabrina. I… shit, have I screwed things up this badly? We can’t even talk?”
“Teague, there is no us to screw up. There never was an us. You left over two months ago and ended whatever it was that we had. And don’t get me wrong, I understood your need to go to Syria. I understood that you needed to close that chapter of your life and that finding out what happened to your friend Dallas was the only way that you could achieve that. I get that. I really do. But then you never came back. You never even tried to come back and I knew…”
He took a step closer, and she took one back.
“What did you know?” Hell if he wanted to hear this but what other choice did he have? As much as her words made him feel like shit, they were the truth.
“I knew that you were never coming back.”
“I’m here right now, Sabrina. In the flesh. Standing less than two feet from you.” His voice was loud, but he didn’t give a goddamn.
“I see you, Teague. All of you. And trust me, you’ll leave again.”
“Not going to happen. I’m not going anywhere.”
She made a strangled noise and shook her head, silent for a few moments. When she spoke again, her voice was subdued. “Can I ask you something Teague?”
He nodded.
“What if evidence came up to dispute what you found out over there? Would you go back to Syria again?”
Okay, she was twisting things and he was starting to get pissed off.
“That’s not going to happen.”
She shrugged. “Say it did. Hypothetically. Would you go back there?”
“I…” He glared at her, hands clenched at his sides.
“Or what if Bowen called you up about a hot story in some dangerous part of the world that only Teague Simon could cover. Do you expect me to believe you wouldn’t leave?”
“I’m not playing this game, Sabrina.
” Didn’t she get what he was trying to say?
“But that’s the thing, Teague. This is my life. It’s not a game.” She cocked her head to the side. “I’ve had, what, one conversation with you in two months? What the hell does that say about whatever this is between us?”
“I don’t know,” he exploded. “But maybe we can figure it out? I want to have a future with you, Sabrina. A life with you.”
He could see the shock in her face. The hurt. The confusion. All of it settled into those big blue eyes and it cut him to the bone.
“You want a life with me?” she whispered hoarsely.
“I do,” he said, taking a step closer. “I love you, Sabrina. And I’m not going anywhere.”
Her eyes squeezed shut and stayed that way for a long time. So long that Teague became concerned. He took another step closer but just when he was about to touch her, they flew open. She glanced behind him and the fury inside their blue depths was something else. “Harry and Morgan, get to the car. We’re leaving.”
“But Mommy,” Harry started.
“Car,” she repeated. The kids stood near the edge of the dock and at the tone of their mother’s voice, they didn’t hesitate. They ran back up to the car without another word.
“Bree, give me a chance here. I know I screwed up and I want to make things right. I’ll do whatever it takes. Just tell me what you need me to do.”
“It’s not that simple, Teague. This is not just about me and what I want and it sure as hell isn’t about what you want. I have two kids who’ve already lost so much. How can I let you back into their lives, knowing that you could leave us again?”
“That’s not going to happen.” He was firm on that. Why couldn’t she see?
“You love me,” she repeated.
“I do.”
A heartbeat passed. And then another. The pulse at her throat—the one he was dying to kiss—took off like a rocket. Her lips parted. Her eyes glistened and her chest heaved.
A shot of hope ran through him and he took a step toward her.
“You love me,” she muttered, sparks flying from her eyes. “Prove it,” she said, pushing past him.
Teague had no time to react, at least not without causing a scene, and he watched as Sabrina marched up her driveway. She fired up the engine of her vehicle and less than ten seconds later, disappeared from view.
What the hell had just happened?
Prove it, she’d said. She hadn’t said, go to hell or get lost or I hate you. She’d said none of those things. She’d said prove it.
Guess Sabrina didn’t know him as well as she thought she did. She’d just thrown down the gauntlet and fired him up. Teague Simon grinned into the early evening gloom and stood alone on the dock for a long, long time. So long that when he finally made his way back up to the house to join the party, the grass was wet with dew and the sun was long gone.
He made small talk with his family and all their friends who had gathered together for the event. He even held the new baby—a first for him. But his mind wasn’t on those things. Nope.
He had plans to make and a woman to seduce all over again.
Chapter Twenty-six
Sabrina was on edge and she looked like shit. She’d not slept a wink the night before and the kids had crawled into her bed way too early on this Saturday for her liking. They’d been full of beans and trying to keep up with the questions fired her way was exhausting. Especially because all of them were in some way connected to Teague Simon.
Teague this.
Teague that.
Ugh. She didn’t want to think about him right now because she was still trying to process what had gone down the night before.
But kids aren’t easily swayed or put off and their questions didn’t let up. By four o’clock, she shooed them back outside to play while she figured out dinner and worked on the laundry situation. She had The Eagles playing from her iPod, which usually lifted her spirits, but no dice today. No Tequila Sunrise for this girl. Figures.
The sun was shining, the early fall colors were breathtaking, and yet she felt as gray and dull as a slug. As far as she was concerned, it was a certain someone’s fault.
How could he drop that on her after weeks of silence? Who did that? He’d said the L-word and now her head was spinning.
She slammed the washing machine door closed and swore when her finger caught in it. Sucking the tip to ease the pain, she headed for the kitchen, only to turn on a dime when the doorbell went.
Must be Allie, she thought, but frowned as she reached for the handle. Allie would have rung and then walked in. She peered through the frosted glass. The shadow on the other side of the door was definitely not Allie. It was tall and male, and tall…and…
Teague.
Shit.
For a second, Sabrina’s mind went blank. And then all sorts of ridiculous things crowded the space inside her head, but the gist was pretty much the same. Hide. Now. Don’t let him see you looking like crap because he’ll know you spent the entire night thinking about him.
“I can see you Sabrina.” Teague’s deep voice made her jump and she reached for the door handle, taking a few seconds to get her nerves settled.
She swung the door open and her heart fell out of her chest. If it were physically possible, her heart would be lying on the ground at her feet, flopping around like a fish out of water.
Flop. Flop. Flop. How could this man still have this kind of power over her? And yet, the cells in her body erupted and every single one of them was literally singing.
Teague stood with legs spread slightly, one hand shoved into the front pocket of his pants, the other holding a vase filled to the brim with deep red roses. He was dressed formally, and holy hell did formal look good on Teague Simon. The black suit and crisp white shirt made him look darker, more dangerous and—she couldn’t lie—sexy as hell.
Calm the hell down.
“Are you going to invite me in?” His voice was light, and a hint of that lopsided grin she so desperately missed, hung around the corners of his mouth. “It’s not like I’m a vampire.”
“You don’t have to be a vampire to bite,” she responded, glad that she didn’t sound like a complete idiot.
“True, but I promise I won’t bite unless you ask me to.”
She hesitated and that smile of his deepened. And even though her body was saying COME THE HELL IN, that part of her that had gotten her through all the darkness of the past few years, well, it roared to life and infused her with some sort of calm. She wasn’t going to roll over this easily.
“How did you find out where I live?” Sabrina asked.
“Allie.”
“Of course,” she replied, disgusted by how easily her friend had caved.
“Are you going to let me in?”
“Why are you here?”
“I’m here because I love you Sabrina.”
Shocked at his forthright words, she was left with her mouth hanging open. There was that L-word again. Dammit. Why was he doing this to her?
“I’m prepared to camp out here all night, but I’m not sure if Chef Jean is. She’s come a long way to cook dinner for us, so you might want to at least think about letting her in.”
Chef who?
Sabrina cranked her head to the side and spied a small woman standing behind Teague. Dressed in white, she nodded and pointed to the basket of vegetables at her feet. “I bring?” she asked with a grin.
The woman didn’t bother to wait for an answer. She scooped up the basket of vegetables and stepped past Teague. “You get the rest, okay big man?”
Teague handed Sabrina the roses and she was pretty damn sure his fingers trailing over the soft spot under her wrist was no accident.
“You better take these,” Teague said with a knowing smile. “We don’t want to disappoint Chef Jean since she’s making our dinner tonight.”
“Our what?” Confused, Sabrina swung her gaze back to the kitchen but the little woman had already disappeared.
>
“Chef Jean comes highly recommended from Abby and Tucker. She’s part owner and head chef at an amazing Thai restaurant in Manhattan.”
“But,” Sabrina stuttered.
“I managed to convince her to fly up here and give us a meal to remember. I know how much you enjoy Thai.”
Shocked she stared up at Teague. “How would you know that?”
“You mentioned it once during the summer. If I remember correctly, you said that you lost a battle to have Thai served at your wedding and you had to settle for chicken. And you hate chicken.”
“I…” She was stunned that he would remember a small detail like that. “This is…this must have cost a fortune.”
Teague shrugged and smiled that devastating smile of his. “A man’s got to do what a man’s got to do.”
“You! Simon man! You bring me the rest of the baskets, yes?” Chef Jean frowned at Sabrina. “Lady you should get clean and maybe change. Okay?” She clapped her hands together. “We have a good night.”
The little woman disappeared once more.
“You might want to listen to her,” Teague said softly, as he passed by her with a large cooler and a smaller basket of food. “I think she’s used to giving orders and there might be hell to pay if you don’t follow them.”
She glanced down at her worn jeans and the paint-stained T-shirt that was two sizes too big.
“Maybe wear that blue dress,” Teague said with a wink, and then he too disappeared into the kitchen.
She heard the excited voices of her children and the mad barking of Bingo. The welcome crew was out in full force. Sabrina slowly closed the door and set the vase of red roses on the table in the hall.
Morgan was shrieking “Tigger! You have to see our fort. You have to!” While Harry was asking if he had to eat all the vegetables in the baskets. He informed Chef Jean that he hated the green ones. Sabrina couldn’t hear the lady’s response, and the timbre of Teague’s voice was low. Intimate. This entire situation was surreal.
Whatever he said quieted the children, and wonder of all wonders, the dog followed suit.
Teague Page 18
