Page 97 of Tease Me

“Hello, gorgeous.” His cologne was lovely, with just the right amount of floral and spice.

“Hey, how are you?”

“I’m great.” He opened the back door of the car. “This’s Telitha.” The little girl beamed, all blonde hair and pink cheeks. Sheactuallylooked happy to see me.

“Hi, Telitha. I’m Jane.”

“Hi. You look so pretty.”

“Oh, thank you.”

I glanced at Clayton.He was beaming too, and it was easy to seethe resemblance between the two of them.

He turned to me. “Are you hungry?”

“Always.”

“Good. Let’s get going then.” He shut the back door and opened the passenger one for me.

I gathered my skirt and slipped into the leather seat.

“How old are you?” Telitha had moved forward, so she leaned between the two front seats.

I cleared my throat. “I’m twenty-nine. How old are you?”

“I’m seven and a half; my birthday is in February. When’s your birthday?”

“Mine was in July.”

“Have you been married before?”

Clayton slipped into the driver’s seat. “Telitha, sit back, honey.”

Thank God Clayton saved me. However, it looked like I was in for the Spanish Inquisition.

He put the car into gear and pulled onto the empty road. “How was your night shift?”

“It wasn’t too bad.Abit quieter than I like it though.Did you work today?”

“No, Daddy and I took Clancy down to the beach. She’s my dog. It was fun. You should come with us next time.”

Clayton turned to me. The pride on his face was undeniable. There was an awkward pause before I realized he was waiting for my answer.

“Umm, well, that would be nice.”

The questions didn’t stop, and I was mentally exhaustedby the timeClayton pulled the car into a parking space overlooking Mermaid Beach.

“I hope you don’t mind going to the surf club. Telitha likes the playground here.”

“Sounds great.”

He stepped onto the pathway that wove through the bush, and Telitha grabbed his hand. She wiggled her fingers at me, and as I stepped forward, she clutched my hand, too. We looked like the perfect wholesome family as we walked along with the pretty little girl in the bright pink dress skipping between us.

It was both weird and cute at the same time. Every glance Clayton sent my way showedjusthow pleased he was with how things were going.

“The coffee here is excellent,” he said as we reached the sign-in counter.

“Oh, good. I need a caffeine fix.”

---