by J. H. Croix
“Thought I’d come to surprise you, so… surprise.” I grinned. What I wanted to do was to pull her into my arms and hold her there until the clawing need to be near her subsided, but I couldn’t exactly do that where she worked.
Smiling, she shook her head. “I can’t believe you came. I’m not done for another hour. Didn’t you get my text?”
“I did,” I told her. “The strangest thing happened after that, though. I suddenly got this uncontrollable craving for halfway decent coffee.”
“You’ve come to the right place then.” She winked playfully, checking around her to ensure no one overheard us. “We’d better satisfy that craving immediately. You also look like you might be jonesing for a pretty good sandwich.”
I widened my eyes. “Of course. You read my mind.”
Sadie’s shoulders shook with silent laughter. She flashed a smile. “Only if you hang around until I finish up?”
“Can’t promise anything, since I only came for the coffee and the sandwich, but I’ll do my best.” I reached for her hand, giving it a quick squeeze before releasing it again with a wink. “I’ll be right here until you’re done.”
“Good,” she said, sounding relieved. I wondered why that was. I had so much left to learn about her, yet it felt as if I knew her so well already. “That’s good.”
The bell at the serving counter rang, and she rushed away before I could wonder much longer. There were many things I still wanted to ask her. My curiosity about her was unfamiliar to me. It wasn’t as if I’d never dated. Hell, my brothers and I had played the field when we were younger. Yet I’d never gotten too serious with anyone. Then my family’s life was turned upside down. Our mother passed away after a battle with cancer, and then our father tore our family’s reputation to shreds, leaving us to scrabble together our lives in the aftermath. Needless to say, dating hadn’t been a priority.
This curiosity for Sadie ran deep. I wanted to know her, to understand her. I wasn’t quite ready to dwell on why.
Maybe it would help me make sense of why she was so insistent on helping us gather information about Ken. There was more to it than wanting to take down a man who’d hit on her. A woman who looked like her had more than likely had to fend off jerks like that before. I somehow doubted that was her motivation.
Which begged the question, why? She’d mentioned he made her feel like she was talking to her father, and her eyes had hardened at the mention of him. I didn’t know what happened with her father, but it couldn’t have been good.
This was why I needed to know what made her tick, so I could figure all this out. Only then would I be able to keep her safe. I snapped out of my thoughts when she approached with my coffee.
She set it down in front of me on the table, her eyes glinting with her smile. “Ta-da. One craving taken care of.”
My mind dove for the gutter. There were cravings and then there were cravings—such as my craving to feel the silk of her skin again, the way she clenched around me when I sank inside of her. With a hard mental shake, I forced my mind right back to where we were.
Taking a long swallow, I smiled. “Thank you. It’s perfect. I owe you one. Tell me what you need.”
I was hoping she would say dinner, but then her eyes darkened, and she blinked away what I could’ve sworn was a moment of lust as she murmured, “I can think of a few things.”
Gutter, meet mind. Mind, gutter. I took a deep breath, reminding myself that I was here to see if she wanted to spend time together later, not to ask if she was interested in a quickie in the back alley. I wouldn’t have said no to that, but…
No. I grabbed my mind at the collar of its shirt and yanked it back to the plan. Maybe later if I was really lucky, I would get lucky. First, I was going to do my mama proud and be the gentleman she’d attempted to raise.
“How about if I bring over dinner for you and Emery later? You can put your feet up and spend some time with her, and I’ll take over food duty.”
She looked taken aback at the offer but recovered quickly with a smile forming on her lips. “You mean you’ll heat up pizza in the oven?”
I lifted my shoulders in a shrug with a rueful grin. “It’s that or grill them. The choice is yours.’
“Oven,” she replied quickly. “Definitely in the oven. I don’t think grilled pizza is a thing, and I think there’s probably a good reason for it.”
“You can grill anything if you know how to work your grill properly,” I shot back with a smirk. “Oven it is, though. I’ll pick up the pizza at the end of your shift and meet you back at your place?”
She nodded and hurried away again when a customer’s hand swept into the air a few booths over. I settled in with my coffee and ate my sandwich. I’d had such a busy day, I hadn’t even noticed I was fucking starving. The “pretty good” sandwich was damn delicious, if only because I needed the sustenance. Another day had passed where I hadn’t had much time for food.
Between returning emails on my phone and exchanging a couple of texts with my brothers, I watched Sadie flit from customer to customer. The weariness I’d noticed earlier between customers intensified. It seemed to be getting worse by the minute.
If I looked closely enough, I saw her wincing every time her left foot hit the ground. Those shoes must be killing her. My heart clenched again. She was doing so damn much on her own. The hours she worked were insane and seeing the effect it had on her, usually so carefully concealed, was devastating.
Where the fuck was Emery’s father? The good for nothing asshole should’ve been helping her, contributing to their expenses. As much as I didn’t like the thought of there being another man in her life, it killed me to see her carrying these burdens all on her own. If she had a little help, even if it was only financial, she might not have to work so much.
No matter what, I’d been raised with the ethos that you took care of your family. I couldn’t countenance a man who didn’t. No wonder Jeremy had wanted to rip Marie’s ex’s head off with his bare hands back when he was fucking with them and threatening to take Austin away from her. I didn’t even have to deal with Sadie’s ex, had no idea who he was or where he was, and I was ready to fucking slay him when I saw the weariness in her eyes.
The protectiveness I felt for Sadie and Emery rose inside, a simmering anger. If there were anything I could do to make this easier for her, I would do it. Even if it was as little as bringing them food on a Friday night, whether or not they invited me to eat with them.
Chapter Four
Sadie
“Hi, sweetie. How was your day?” I asked Emery when I picked her up from school. I met her at the gate in front of the building, waving to the teacher on duty watching them. There were only a few kids left there at this time, with most having been collected earlier.
I’d arrived in the nick of time. If I’d been thirty minutes later, Lori would’ve had to pick Emery up again. School appeared to have cheered Emery up, and her testiness from earlier was all but forgotten. As were her questions about her father.
She clasped my hand and walked with me to the car, talking all the way. “My teacher told us all about libraries and how to find a book. We’re going on a field trip to one soon. There was a lady at school who works at the library and everything.”
With bright eyes, she explained to me in detail how you were supposed to find the book you wanted in the library and check it out. I was exhausted, but I listened as attentively as I could to every word she said.
When she was done rehashing her day, she rubbed her stomach. “I’m hungry. Can we have macaroni for dinner?”
“I wanted to talk to you about that. Evan said he would bring us pizza for dinner,” I told her, watching her reaction carefully.
At the mention of his name, Emery clapped her hands and bounced in her seat. “Pizza is better than macaroni.”
Inwardly, I breathed a sigh of relief. She was as excited to see Evan tonight as I was. Even though I was tired, knowing we were going to see him made bu
tterflies flutter in my stomach.
I’d thought about the situation with him a lot during the day at intervals when things were quiet at the diner. He was a good guy. I would be careful about it, and I would manage Emery’s expectations as well as I could.
I wasn’t going to run away from the possibility of something with him because I couldn’t know how it would end. If I did that, I might as well never bother with anyone. With my eyes open and my guards in place, I would keep getting to know him.
I wasn’t going to spend my life cowering away from men and relationships because of my father and Emery’s. Evan wasn’t like them. He’d already proven as much to me in so many little ways since I’d met him.
When Emery and I arrived at home, Evan pulled up right behind us. Emery twisted in her seat to see his truck rolling to a stop behind my car. “Evan’s here! Mommy, Evan’s here.”
A smile spread on my lips. “Yeah, honey. He is. Do you want to go say hi?”
Her head bopped up and down enthusiastically. “I’ll help him carry the pizza.”
She was out of her seat like a shot out of a gun as soon as I unbuckled her. I laughed as she ran to Evan and hugged his legs. “Sure you will, baby.”
Evan saw her running to him and shifted the pizza boxes under one arm. He hugged her back with his free arm and then dropped to his knees in front of her. Watching them together, I felt a pang deep inside.
While I’d made the decision to keep seeing him, I wished I could hope for more with him. I really, really liked him. A little bit more every time I saw him. It was a big deal for a man to get serious with a single mother, though. Whether Evan was up for the challenge or even wanted it, I still didn’t know.
It wasn’t me alone he was going to have to get to know and live with but Emery as well. She wasn’t his, and he was under no obligation to us. With a mental shake, I forced my mind off that track. I didn’t need to go getting all tied up inside.
Striding toward them, I smiled at Evan, and Emery and went to unlock the door.
“Mommy, Evan got me a cheese one. My own cheese one.” Emery beamed at me, carrying a children’s size pizza box into the house and proudly holding it up to present it to me. “I’m going to eat the whole thing.”
I lifted my brows, struggling to suppress a smile. Emery wouldn’t finish half of it in one sitting, but that was okay. “We’ll see. If you don’t finish it, though, you can have some for breakfast too.”
She looked up at me, clearly torn. I twisted a lock of her hair between my fingers, smiling reassuringly at her. “It’s up to you, sweetheart. Why don’t you see how far you get?”
Evan watched us from the doorway, leaning against it. “Your stomach’s only that big, Em. Eat till you don’t want to and then have more tomorrow if you want.”
She nodded thoughtfully, soothed by his assurance that she didn’t have to eat it all. “Can I go unpack my backpack?”
“Sure. I’ll tell you when dinner’s ready,” I called to Emery’s back. She’d started turning to run to her room as soon as I said sure. “And remember to put your sweater in the hamper and bring your lunch box to the kitchen.”
“I will,” she yelled as she disappeared around the corner.
Evan stared after her. “She’s got a lot of energy. She runs everywhere.”
I smiled, but at the same time, doubt clouded my mind again. Was Emery having too much energy going to scare him away?
Stop it! I berated myself. You’re getting to know him, that’s all. If it scares him away, better he run sooner than later.
Unaware of my internal monologue, Evan continued. “I wish I still had that much energy. Being around her is the best pick-me-up ever. I was beat when I left the shop. Now I kind of feel like I could run around too.”
“Only if something chases you,” I told him, smiling because it looked like he appreciated the energy instead of being intimidated by it. “Else conserve your energy for when you actually have to chase her or she decides to chase you.”
His green eyes glowed with amusement. “Is that something she does often? Chase you?”
I shrugged. “From time to time. It’s called tag, do you remember it?”
He chuckled. “Games of tag always got pretty spirited around our house. My mom banned us from playing inside before I could even run properly.”
“I bet.” If I thought having one Emery could be exhausting, his poor mother must’ve had her hands full with five boys. “Are you ready for dinner yet?”
“Whenever you are.” He nodded. “What can I do to help?”
I smiled. “You already got the pizza, and since you’re not grilling it, you can relax. The oven will be ready in a minute, and then we only have to wait.”
“While we wait, would you like a drink?”
My eyes narrowed in confusion. “Shouldn’t I be the one offering?”
“I got juice on my way over,” he said, picking up a bag off the floor. I hadn’t seen him carrying it in, but it must’ve been shielded by the pizza boxes.
“Juice?”
He nodded his head up and down. “For Emery. I’ve got a bottle of wine for us if you want some. I’ll get that. Why don’t you go sit down? I’m sure I can manage to get the pizza out of the oven on time and bring it to you.”
Surprised by his offer, I gratefully accepted it. My feet were killing me, and I wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. “That’ll be great. I’m going to go change.”
By the time I got back to the kitchen, Evan and Emery each had a couple of slices of pizza in front of them. She had a glass of juice, and he had his wine with another plate and glass ready and waiting for me beside him.
“Then you have to take the book to the librarian, and she checks it out for you,” Emery was telling Evan. Clearly, he was also being treated to the story of her day. “And you can have any book in the library you want.”
“That’s great.” Evan grinned at her, nudging my plate closer when I sat down. “My brother’s fiancée is a librarian. She’s pretty neat. She loves books too.”
Emery looked at him, her eyes wide like he’d told her he knew the president. At this stage, a librarian was probably more exciting to her.
“Speaking of your brothers, I saw Jeremy at the school the other day. At least I think it was Jeremy. He was dropping off a little boy,” I told him, picking up a slice of pizza.
Evan finished chewing a bite of pizza, following it with a sip of wine as he nodded. “It was probably Jeremy if it was one of my brothers. Unless one of the others is really good at keeping secrets.” He held his hand out at about Emery’s height. “Cute kid about this high?”
“Yup.”
“That was Jeremy then. Jeremy’s engaged to Marie, and Austin’s her son. He loves that school. I’m assuming it’s the same one Emery goes to?”
I nodded, but Emery chimed in before I could say a thing. “It’s the best school. You should come and look at it sometime. I’ll show you around.”
“Thanks,” he said. “I’ll take you up on that someday. Austin’s forever raving about it. Well, that and T-ball.”
Evan told us about his nephew some more, and from the way his features softened, it was clear he was fond of the boy. I felt another pang deep inside. If he felt that way about Marie’s son, he could feel that way about Emery. Maybe he was a big enough man to date a single mom.
After dinner, I waited for him to say he was taking off since it was Friday night. I was sure he had better things to do than spend time with us, but he didn’t say a thing. Emery invited him to watch a movie with her, and despite it being the newest, girliest Disney movie, he agreed.
She fell asleep not much later, and I carried her to bed. Evan was in the kitchen refilling our wineglasses when I got back from putting her to sleep. “She down?”
“For the count, I think.” I accepted the glass he handed to me. My fingers brushed against his when I took it, causing a jolt of heat to spin through me. I jerked my hand back. “Thanks
for sticking around tonight.”
“No problem,” he said easily, but his eyes were warmer now. Heated. They lingered on mine. “I was happy to help out.”
And he had helped out. He refused to let me move a muscle for either myself or Emery all night. He even insisted I go take a long soak in the bathtub while they watched the movie. It was heavenly. I’d been raising Emery on my own ever since she’d been born. Being exhausted and carrying on without a break in sight was basically my life. Every tiny bit of a break meant the world to me.
“Do you have to leave yet?” I asked, trying to ignore the way he was looking at me. Without the presence of my built-in chaperone of a daughter, my body hummed to life at his nearness, heat coiling in my center and radiating outward.
He shook his head, his gaze becoming predatory. Something changed in him, much like that night we’d been together. “Not unless you want me to.”
“I don’t want you to,” I whispered, afraid to break the spell that settled between us. There was a low thud as Evan set his glass down.
He rounded the island, closing his hand over mine as he took my glass from me. I opened my fingers, letting it go. Need for him rose in me, pooling between my legs.
As soon as he set our wineglasses out of the way, Evan slid one hand to tangle in my hair and the other down my spine as he pulled me close. He lowered his head and sealed his mouth over mine.
Oh god, yes. Yes, please. I was totally on board with this plan.
Chapter Five
Evan
Sadie's lips were soft and hungry against mine, her hands winding into my hair. She tugged just hard enough to drive me crazy.
My body took over as I surrendered to the draw she had on me. All I knew was that I wanted as much of her as I could get for as long as I could get it. Lowering my hands to cup the sweet curve of her bottom, I lifted her onto the granite counter.
