I blushed as he scooted closer so we both fit on the towel. "They really seemed to respect you," I said.
Maverick nodded. "The family are regulars here, so we know each other. Again, I apologize if they bothered you."
I held up a hand. "No, not at all! Seriously. I love kids."
Maverick's brows raised and a peculiar smile spread over his lips. "Is that right?"
"Honestly, kids running around the beach adds to the atmosphere, don't you think? It's boring if it'stoopeaceful," I said with a grin.
"I agree."
We both glanced at the pair of kids, who announced enthusiastically that they'd found a hermit crab. One of their parents called out to be nice to it.
"It seems like a lot of work," I said, "but fun, too."
"To be a parent, you mean?" Maverick asked.
"Yeah. Never a dull moment."
One of the kids dumped a bucket full of sand in the other one's hair.
Maverick chuckled. "True." He turned to me. "Do you have any?"
I snorted. "Kids? Me? No way. You heard what happened with Terry. Although I guess I dodged a huge bullet by not having kids with him."
Was it my imagination or did Maverick's eyes flash gold at the mention of my ex? He was back to his normal smiling self a second later.
Was Maverick... jealous? That was silly. He didn't have anything to be jealous about; Terry was gone from my life forever. But I had to admit that seeing that flicker of momentary possessiveness in Maverick's gaze excited me.
"What about you?" I asked. If he was telling the truth about being fifty, there was a definite possibility he had children. But Maverick shook his head.
"None, though I would love to have one," he said a bit sadly.
That was odd. At Maverick's age, wouldn't he already have kids if he wanted them?
"Why not?" I asked gently.
Maverick smiled. "Up until now, I hadn't met the right partner."
My cheeks heated up fiercely and it wasn't because of the midday sun. Was he insinuating something? Our eyes were locked. I couldn't tear my gaze away from Maverick—and I didn't want to.
Memories of our almost-kiss flashed in my head like a reel. Maverick had been inches away from pressing his lips against mine, and now he was sitting beside me talking about the children he wished he had... what was he trying to tell me?
Right before my flustered brain exploded from thinking too hard, Maverick stood up, taking his tote bag with him.
"Say, Leo," he said. "The beach is getting crowded. Would you like to go to a private section?"
I didn't think the beach was that crowded, but if he was offering to go somewhere with me privately, I sure as hell wasn't going to say no.
"Sure!" I said a little too excitedly.
Tone it down, Leo, geez.
"Wonderful." Maverick hiked the tote bag over his shoulder and gestured for me to follow him. "Come this way."
I scrambled to my feet, stuffed my book and sandy towel in my bag, and hurried alongside Maverick. My heart raced like a teenager sneaking behind the bleachers for an illicit encounter, which was stupid because we weren'tdoinganything. Maverick was just showing me hospitality. Nothing more.
So why couldn't I control the swarm of butterflies in my stomach?
