“But you were naked and dripping wet, and that monster between your legs hypnotized me.”
“You keep talking like that and you’re going to get fucked before I finish my French toast.”
She grinned. “So we’re now officially dating?”
“Yep. I’m your boyfriend. It’s official.”
“Hurray, me.”
He chuckled and finished his breakfast, his appetite restored.
Maggie was telling him about Emily and Frank, and her daughter’s excitement to see her father again. “It was so sad, Reggie. Stephen wasn’t himself. His friend and mentor died, and that man was everything to Stephen. He was a kind man, his wife equally nice. I missed them when Stephen and I divorced, but by then they’d moved to the East Coast, and I wasn’t used to seeing them so often anyway.”
He studied her. He knew what Doug and Benny thought. But what did Maggie really feel for her ex? “Are you and Stephen close?”
“We’re friends. We share Emily, and we shared a past. But I don’t confide in him, and we’re not close-close.” She snorted. “He asked why I didn’t call him when I broke my arm. I mean, why would I?”
Hmm. So maybe she didn’t feel close to him, but it sounded as if her ex might have feelings for her. Something to think about.Great. Now I’m jealous.
“Emily mentioned you. Stephen wanted to know who you were.” She frowned. “I told him you’d helped us with Frank and that you were the EMT who helped me after the accident. But I didn’t mention us as a couple.”
He gauged her. “That bothers you?”
“It does, and I don’t know why. We hadn’t confirmed to each other that we were dating until now. So what would I have said? Stephen, I had mind-blowing sex with a man who could lift you up with one hand tied behind his back? Oh, and he’s a hot firefighter, so there?”
Reggie grinned. “You totally could have said that.”
“Stop it.” She grinned back. “Besides, you clearly said to keep ‘us’ between, well, us. We aren’t going to tell Emily yet.”
That put a damper on things. “I think we should stick to that, for now.”
She studied him, and her expression softened. “I agree. You really care about Emily, don’t you?”
He nodded and forced himself to talk about the past. “I told you I dated a woman with a little girl. I was on my way home from work one morning and saw a woman whose car had broken down. I stopped to help her, and there was Rachel in the back seat. Just six and already a mini adult.” He smiled at the memory, not hurting so much at reminders now. “I’ll be honest. I love kids. And Rachel was—is—amazing. Amy and I connected, but Rachel was a part of that relationship from the very beginning. When it started to sour, I didn’t want to let go. For Amy, but also because I really loved Rachel.”
“I bet she loved you too.”
“She did. I’m not going to say things were perfect between me and Amy. But we were together for two years. And then, out of the blue, Amy called us quits, and I lost them both. Rachel was devastated. She cried and cried, and then she’d call me crying, and Amy would make her hang up.” He sighed. “That was tougher than losing Amy. Sounds terrible, but it’s true. Knowing I unintentionally caused that little girl’s tears still rips at me.”
“I’m so sorry.”
He cleared his throat, swallowing down the ache at Rachel’s pain. “I didn’t want that again. For eight months I’ve stayed away from relationships, especially with women with kids. You… I have no idea why I can’t stay away from you. Oh, I know Emily’s adorable and just snotty enough as the queen of everything that she’s impossible to resist. And you, with your perfect body and beautiful face, and that smile and that dimple…” He groaned. “I can’t stay away. Even worse, I haven’t really tried. And I’m afraid this will end the way my last relationship did.” Man, he hadn’t realized he felt all that until it had poured out. He really did miss Rachel more than Amy.
“I feel exactly the same way.” Maggie stared at him, wide-eyed.
“You do?”
“Yes. I’ve never introduced anyone I’ve dated to Emily. Never. No man in our lives since Stephen. Benny and Doug don’t count; they’re more like her uncles. I’m worried that Emily will grow attached to anyone I might date and be hurt when we break up. Or she’ll see me with a man and think she’s getting a new daddy. She’s got a father. I don’t need that for her. I want a man forme. And trying to convince anyone that’s what I want has been hard. I wasn’t looking for you when I found you. Or, you know, when you scraped me up like roadkill.”
“Attractive roadkill,” he corrected with a large smile, understanding Maggie because they felt the same way.
He stood and crossed to her, taking her in his arms.
She looked up into his face, and he desperately wished she felt what he imagined he saw there. “I’m just being honest with you,” she said. “I don’t know where you and I will end up. And I don’t want Emily hurt. We’re new.”
“Yes to all that.”
“So keeping Emily out of our dating relationship makes sense.”
