Her phone buzzed once more. Mom was famous for sending countless texts without waiting for a reply in between.
Tank loosened his grip so that she could look at her phone.
Sure enough, Mom was firing off one text after another.
Don’t keep me waiting in suspense, Mickey.
Need details about the concert.
And your date with Tank.
He didn’t even pretend not to look at her screen, kissing her shoulder as she read her mom’s texts.
“She wants to know how your date went with me?” he asked, sounding slightly surprised.
“My mom is my best friend. So she knows everything I’m doing. We talk on the phone at least once a day and our texting is out of control.”
“You really tell her everything?” It was obvious Tank found that odd, though she wasn’t sure why.
McKenna rolled her eyes. “I’m pretty much all work and no play, Tank. It’s not like I’m going out and doing scandalous things with dangerous men every night.”
“Until now.” He tightened his grip again, giving her another one of those highly addictive love bites of his. She was going to have to wear a turtleneck to work today.
She giggled. “I stand by my original statement,” she joked, swatting his hand away when he started to tickle her. This morning, unlike last night, was more in line with Fantasy Tank, who was more playful and sweeter.
“Are you going to tell her about us?”
McKenna hesitated because, to be honest, she wasn’t sure. She’d told her mom the night she lost her virginity. Her mom had been the one to point out Dale’s emotional abuse, though it had taken lots of conversations—and a hell of a lot of pointing—before McKenna would admit she was right. And her mom sat up with her all night after Eddie broke things off, holding her as she cried.
But this…this, she wasn’t sure how to share. Probably because her logic and her emotions were at odds, and while her mom was the best when it came to helping her sort through stuff, McKenna was afraid of what advice she might offer.
And that fear ran both ways, since she wasn’t ready to hear her mom tell her to take a chance with Tank any more than she wanted to hear her say she should walk away.
“I already told her about the fake dating,” she hedged, aware that wasn’t really what he was asking.
“Thought we were keeping that a secret.”
“We are, but I know she won’t tell a single soul. In fact, she’s the type of person who’ll milk it for all its worth with her friends. She loves a gag. No doubt, the girls at work will go gaga over me dating a hockey player and Mom will fan the flames, just because it amuses her.”
“I’d like to meet your mom.”
She laughed. “This isn’t that kind of relationship.” As soon as those words slipped out, McKenna wished she could pull them back in.
Because Tank didn’t look like he agreed.
And she really needed him to.
She started to slip out of his arms, but he held on tight.
“It’s too early,” he grumbled.
It was, but suddenly she was starting to see the truth in Tank’s comment.
He was dangerous.
“I have to get ready for work.” She wiggled until he relented and released her so she could scooch to the edge of the mattress. She hastily covered herself with the robe hanging over the footpost of her bed, suddenly feeling self-conscious as her brain slowly started to reengage. “I need to get my glasses,” she said. “I’m blind without them.”
Tank let her go without comment, so she was surprised when she returned and found him still in bed. He was sitting, his back propped against the pillows, his bare chest so fucking gorgeous, it stopped her in her tracks.
