He shrugs and moves another piece. “Turns out I’m going to be a grandfather.”
“What?” My mouth drops open. “Really?”
He nods. “Tessa didn’t tell you?”
“We haven’t really had much chance to talk lately,” I say with a shake of my head. “That’s…wow. How do you feel about that?”
“About the fact that my best friend knocked up my daughter?”
I almost spit out my drink at his tone, but there’s the smallest trace of a grin on his face, so I can see he’s okay with the situation.
“They’re happy,” he says simply. “And that’s all I want for both of them. A baby…what a blessing that will be.” I can hear the raw honesty in his words. “There was a time not that long ago, when I hardly even knew my daughter. To have the chance to be a grandfather and know her baby…that’s…” he looks down and runs a hand through his beard. “Well, it’s a gift I wasn’t sure I’d ever have.”
I can see the love in his eyes as he talks about Tessa. He’s never been so open with me. So vulnerable. It’s…nice.
“Tessa never really mentioned you much,” I say. “When we were in school together, I mean.”
“I’m not surprised.” He shrugs. “I wasn’t really around much when she was growing up.”
“Why?” I know I’m pushing, but he doesn’t seem to mind. “What kept you away?”
Luke
She’s pushing.
And the truth is, I don’t really mind.
I pick up a discarded pawn, rolling it between my fingers before answering.
“The truth is, Cheryl and I probably never should have been married, and we certainly should never have had a kid. Not that I regret Tessa,” I add quickly. “Not at all. She is the single best thing that has ever happened to me.”
Lilly smiles and relaxes back onto her elbows.
Fuck, she’s gorgeous. I have to tear my eyes from her beautiful, bare legs crossed under her, glowing in the firelight. What Ireally want to do is kiss and bite my way up the length of those sexy legs until I can bury my face in her wet pussy and make her scream my name. Again.
But she’s right. The game was my idea.
For the last few weeks, since we crossed the line, life has been full of sex and work. And then more sex.
Not that I’m complaining, because I’m most certainly not.
In fact, I’d happily eliminate the work altogether in favor of keeping my sex kitten of an assistant in my bed all day, every day.
She’s like a drug that I continually need another fix of. With Lilly, I’m completely insatiable.
But I’m cognizant that, as much as she thinks she doesn’t need to rest, she does. Her body has to be sore from everything we’ve done, and I need to remind myself that it wasn’t long ago that she was a virgin.
“Can I ask,” she says softly, “what happened then?”
“With my marriage?”
She nods.
“Pretty common story, if I’m being honest. When Cheryl got pregnant, we got married. I was already in the service, but back then, I was still idealistic. Or maybe I wasjust naive about the world. I thought I could change things,” I say, my mind drifting right back to those days when the guys and I would sit around, crack a few beers, and talk about how we were going to change the world. “We didn’t know then what we’d see. And what we’d experience.” I blow out a breath. “We didn’t know how hard it would be to go overseas and…well, it was the coming home that ended up being the hardest part. Seeing what we saw, doing what we had to do…it changes a person.”
“I’m sorry.”
I nod, but keep my gaze locked on the flames dancing over the logs in the hearth. “It wasn’t fair to Cheryl,” I continue. “When I came home the first time, I was different. Not the man she met. And definitely not the man she deserved. By the time I was discharged a few years later, I was no good to either of them. A terrible husband and probably a worse father.” It hurts to remember those days, and if I could go back in time and change things, I would. But I can’t.
