My cheeks are flaming fire engine red; I feel like an asshole jumping to the worst-case scenario.
“You’re not the father?” I ask.
“Definitely not. Lincoln and my brothers all look pretty similar. That’s why this guy is so handsome,” he says, bouncing the baby on his hip.
I wrap my arms around my waist, feeling like a complete idiot
“I’m sorry?—”
“Hey, don’t apologize. I don’t blame you for thinking that. My brother had a work emergency, and Penny asked me to join so she had a helping hand.”
Great, so I assumed he was a married cheating asshole, and he’s the kind of guy who wakes up early to help his sister-in-law with the kids in the pool.
“I think we’re going to the diner after this. Do you want to come?” he asks.
His gaze is hopeful, and after being such a judgy jerk, I feel like I have no other choice but to agree. Which is probably equally stupid.
This man left a palm shaped bruise on my ass, and I’m about to park that same ass in a booth and eat pancakes with his family?
“Please, Kate. Let me buy you breakfast.”
I tilt my head at him and he grabs the baby’s fist and waves it at me as he speaks in the wildest baby voice ever. “Please, Kate. Take mercy on my Uncle Benny. Have pancakes with us.”
“That’s just…wrong.”
Ben grins at me. “So, is that a yes?”
“Fine. Let me shower. I’ll meet you all there. Posey’s?” I confirm, with it being the next block over from the gym, I knew that was likely where they were going.
“That’s the one. Let me go tell Penny, and we’ll head that way. You won’t regret it,” he says, like he can read my mind and knows I’m already second guessing having said yes.
I go back into the locker room and get into the shower, rinsing the chlorine off and trying to get my wits about me. It honestly feels like I’m being haunted everywhere I go in Tampa lately.
If it’s not my ex I’m bumping into, it’s my sex club buddy.
Maybe this is a sign to never leave my house again.
I scrub the shit out of my hair, maybe hoping that I’ll grow a single brain cell in the process. When that doesn’t work, I step out of the shower and dry myself off. I blot my hair with a towel and detangle it with a brush, knowing it’s going to look like an absolute disaster, so, instead, I toss it into a messy bun.
I didn’t bring any makeup, and I blink into the mirror taking in my simple shorts and T-shirt. Well, this is as good as it’s going to get.
What the fuck are you doing, Kate? Going to get breakfast with the guy who started your sexual revelation, along with his niece and nephew. Christ.
Instead of going home like a normal ass person with common sense and self preservation, I walk over to the diner.
As soon as I reach the entrance, Ben’s waiting—alone.
I glance around and Ben laughs.
“Penny thought it would be too much for her and the kids to tag along. I hope that’s okay?” he asks.
Now I feel really bad for thinking she was his wife.
“Yeah, more than okay,” I say. Relief fills me immediately as we walk inside and take a booth by the window.
The server, with very large hair tucked behind a headband and over dramatic eyeliner, takes a rag and wipes down the linoleum countertop before handing us menus that are way too big for this kind of establishment.
“Can I get y’all something to drink?” she says, taking out the pad and paper.
