She wasn’t bad at all until, of course, she decided to dance her way across my heart and out of my life.
“We dated for two years, got married on a whim, and split one year later. And that was that.” I look down at my hands. I’m fine talking about it, but it seems weird to tell this woman who I’m just getting to know—and feeling no small amount of attraction to—that I was heartbroken when my marriage split up. “I loved her,” I admit. “But I learned pretty fast, love isn’t enough. Not to make a marriage work, that is. Funny, isn’t it? I guess families are the same too. I love my parents, brothers, and Gracie. And that love is enough. It can be too much sometimes. But that’s why I moved back in with my parents after the divorce. The world didn’t feel right without people around me who I could trust and count on.”
Eden is quiet, and I wonder if I’m bringing her down.
I tap my fingers against the table and motion toward the phone. “So, yeah, you want my ex’s grandfather’s house, put it on the list.”
She reaches across the tiny space that separates us and covers my hands with hers. “I’m so sorry if seeing that house brings back painful memories. There’s no way I’d take you there even if I did want it. But I don’t. I don’t have it in me to rehab a house.” She nods toward Juniper. “She’s a very easy baby, but no baby is easy enough to raise in a construction zone.” She squeezes my hands and then releases them. “Thanks for sharing all that, Vito.”
I nod, not sure what else to say. Almost everyone in town knows my history with Michelle. It’s been a long time since I talked about it. It almost feels good to. “Thanks for listening,” I tell her. “And not judging me. I married for the right reasons. I just picked the wrong person.”
My words hang between us, and a slight shift charges the air between us.
“So,” she says, swiping at her touchscreen. “What do you think about a ranch versus a two-story?”
* * *
I offerto drive so Eden can look over the neighborhoods, the streets, even scanning for parks and things as we drive to each of the houses that have been set up.
“Want to take my car?” she asks, bending down to lift Juniper into her arms.
I look away from the view of her cleavage, but only after I get a nice eyeful. I’m respectful, but hell, Eden’s body is something straight out of my fantasies. I never thought of myself as a guy with a type before. I’ve dated skinny, toned women like my ex, women with a little extra junk in their trunk, tall, thin, dark, light. I don’t discriminate. But I also don’t ever stick around and get too close. Not since Michelle, at least. But if I did have a type, tall and lush with a rack I could bury my face in would be it, and that’s Eden.
Fuck.
I’d better concentrate on inspecting properties for hazards. Not inspecting Eden’s smoking-hot curves and dreaming of touching her.
“Vito?” She meets my eyes, and I snap my wandering thoughts back to her.
“Sorry,” I say. “Ready to go?”
She follows me out the door, giving me a sexy smile as I wait for the hotel door to close behind us. Then, I turn and test the handle to make sure the electronic safety has engaged, and the door is actually locked.
“You always like this?” she asks, accepting my silent offer to take the diaper bag from her.
“Like what?” I ask.
She is studying my face over the top of Juniper’s curly hair. “Attentive,” she finally says. “Thoughtful. Maybe safety-conscious?”
I shrug. “I don’t think anyone in my line of work can avoid it.”
She grows quiet, and I follow her to a brand-new SUV with Ohio plates. “I’m sure,” she says softly. “Do you mind driving my car? It’s a pain installing the car seat over and over.”
I laugh out loud at that and lean maybe a little too close to her. “You realize that’s one of the services we offer?”
She looks confused for a second but then bursts out laughing. “Is that true? Do people really come down to the fire station to make sure their car seats are safely installed?”
“All the time.” I hold open the rear passenger door while Eden secures Juniper in the seat.
“I don’t know why I thought that wasn’t really a thing,” she chuckles. After Juniper is buckled in, Eden turns to me and extends the hand holding the keys. “You sure you don’t mind?”
I take the keys, and I’m damn sure she almost clasps my hands as she passes over an efficient silver ring with just one simple key fob for the car on it. It startles me a little when I realize she doesn’t have any other keys. No place to call home that requires keys. The hotel has cards for entry. She just lost her rental home. As far as I know, she has no job, but she does have money. I have so many questions about this woman.
I do my best to shake off the quick brush of her soft skin as I take the fob. I roll my shoulders and hold open the passenger door so she can slide in. Once I’m settled and my seat belt is secured, I look back at Juniper. “Everybody ready?”
Juniper is smashing a plush rabbit against her knees, and of course she’s securely belted in. Eden is too, so I adjust the mirrors and punch the address of the first house into my phone even though I don’t really need it.
“Fancy,” I say, grinning as I plug my phone into the loose cable that connects my device to her car. “Your in-dash display is bigger than my parents’ television.”
