Maria
As we head inside the pet store with Marbles, my body still aches, my lips still tingling, wanting more, wanting to finish what we’d started in the Nook’s kitchen. Tuck holds the door open, the boys barreling past us in a blur of excitement.
I move by him and his fingers brush mine. Not accidental. Not subtle. I suck in a breath, my gaze flying to his in time to catch the heat in his eyes. Honestly what happened in that kitchen shouldn’t have happened. I know that. But there’s this ridiculous, fizzy bubble of anticipation rising in my chest, and I can’t seem to pop it.
Am I really considering this?
Considering another night in Tuck’s bed—or rather, on the kitchen counter—with the hot hockey player I can’t seem to ignore? Just to get it out of our systems. Which is exactly the kind of lie people tell themselves right before they make terrible decisions.
“Over here, Mom,” Josh calls.
I follow his voice, acutely aware of Tuck behind me. The warmth of him. The space he takes up. The way my entire body seems tuned to his frequency.
I’d rather be on top of you.
God, did I really say that out loud? I don’t even know who I am when I’m around Tuck. But what I do know is that maybe he’s right. Maybe, just once, I can make myself top priority. We’re both fully aware this isn’t going anywhere. It can’t. Sure, he’s keeping the kitten for my boys, but that doesn’t mean he wants to step in and be a role model—a father figure—for them. He just didn’t want to see the poor thing go back to the shelter…or worse.
So if I know what I’m getting myself into, if I know what this is and what it isn’t—getting into his bed with my eyes wide open—what could possibly go wrong.
Oh, so much, girlfriend, so damn much.
I turn the corner to find the boys chatting with a pretty young clerk while Josh cradles Marbles, giggling as the kitten snuggles into his neck.
“We need everything,” Lucas announces.
The clerk smiles at me, as Tuck moves around to stand next to me. “You must be Mom and Dad.”
“He’s not our dad,” Lucas corrects immediately.
Her eyes widen slightly. “Oh my God. You’re Tuck Delray,” she says a second later, recognition flashing across her face.
Tuck chuckles. “That I am.”
“Our place is too small,” Josh explains. “So he’s going to let us keep Marbles at his house. It’s huge.”
Her gaze leaves his face, dropping to his…let’s just say, below his belt. “I bet it is,” she murmurs, her eyes flashing with desire as she measures him up.
Are you kidding me right now?
Tuck clears his throat, bringing her attention back to his face.
“So you need…everything?” she asks, and I’m beginning to think she’s no longer talking about pet supplies.
Josh starts listing things off. “Food, litter, bed, scratching post.”
“Scratching post. Oh, yes, every little kitty needs a scratching post.”
What is happening before my eyes right now? Do all women lose their brain cells and turn into aroused puck bunnies around Tuck? Yes, yes, they probably do and I’m no exception.
She steps a little closer to Tuck, tilting her head up at him. “First time pet owner?”
A sharp, irrational spark of jealousy catches in my chest.
Tuck nods. “Yeah. Marbles sort of fell into our laps.”
“If you’d like,” she says, twirling a strand of hair around her finger, “I could stop by and help you get him all settled in.”
Lucas snickers.
