Page 51 of Misadventures Of A Single Mom

“I…I have to go,” I murmured, lost in my thoughts of that sexy fireman.

Dex stepped back, let me get in my car and close my door. I let out a deep breath and drove off. I was definitely in over my head with Dex. He wanted to marry me and have mustache kisses the rest of my life. This was bad. Really bad. I had to figure my way out of this. But not tonight. I wanted Ty and I wanted him…now.

Thirty minutes later,Ty knocked on my door and took in my outfit. His jaw tightened. He pushed past me and into the kitchen. “Russell Hosanski was at Gilly’s and said he saw you. With a man. Based on what you’re wearing, it must’ve been some date.”

Oh crap. “Who is Russell Hosanski?” I asked. Damn small towns. Of course, he’d find out. What had I been thinking?Unless Dex and I had a picnic in the woods, someone who knew me was bound to be around.

“Works B shift at Station Two.”

I followed him into the kitchen. “That doesn’t explain how he knows me.” My hands went to George the Gnome and fiddled with him, my finger running over the pointy hat.

Ty rolled his eyes. “I told him the same thing. He finally admitted to being a customer of Goldilocks on occasion.”

“Ah.” That clarified everything.

He made a circular motion with his hand. “So, Gilly’s?”

“Yes. Gilly’s.”

He went to my fridge, pulled out a beer, popped the top and drank half of it in one swallow. He wore his fire uniform, although he must’ve dumped all the electronic paraphernalia off at home because his belt was gizmo free.

“So who was thisdate?”

“Drake Dexter. He has a horse ranch down by Ennis.”

I wasn’t going to share the fact that he was the same man from the horse auction at the fair. Definitely a bad idea right now.

We stared at each other, his gaze so intent, so dark I swallowed. It was blatantly obvious Ty was jealous. His body was tense. He practically ground his teeth to dust when I’d said Dex’s name, making the guy real for him.

This was so cool!

I’d never been the kind of woman who made men jealous. Now, I had two men interested in me. Dex wanted to marry me and make babies. He also wanted to take away my own free will and keep me naked all day. The only thing I knew for sure about Ty was that he cared about me, wanted me, and was not planning on taking over my life. We’d never talked about babies. The idea of being naked all day with him didn’t freak me out at all. In fact, it made me hot all over. Zing!

“It must have been some date if you wore that,” Ty grunted his response. “Is he still here?” He looked over my shoulder toward the living room.

Now it was my turn to overreact. I had planned to tell him I wanted to have sex with him right this very minute. Now, I just wanted to be pissy. “No, he’s not in there. The bedroom actually. You caught us just before he ripped my clothes off.”

“Funny,” Ty said sarcastically. He ran a hand over his face.

“You’re jealous because I went out to dinner with another man!” Okay, screw being pissy. I just wanted him. I fisted my hands at my sides ready to either punch him in the face to knock some sense into the man or pull him in for a kiss. I took a step closer. The nearer I got, the more turned on I became. Something about arguing made my adrenaline, and other juices, flow. Made me want to rip the uniform off his hot body. This past week had all been foreplay.

He felt enough for me to be jealous! It sounded kind of stupid, but it felt wonderful. Ty was being possessive and not in a creepy, chain-me-to-the-bed sort of way. My heart might burst with joy and excitement. Need. I’d never had that happen before. I felt like a teenager, but wiser.

Ty’s feelings probably came from the genetic makeup of his ancestors, the caveman. He needed to beat his chest, stake his claim. Mine were newer to me. I just learned I had power over a guy, over Ty. Who needed a box of Goldie’s toys when I just needed confidence in myself to make it happen?

“Hell, yeah, I’m jealous.” Ty shook his head. “I want you to go out with me, have my friends mention seeing you onmyarm. Do I feel threatened you went out with another guy?” He shook his head. “There’s some reason why you did, I just don’t know what it is yet. I know enough about your past to know you’re not a cheater.” His eyes raked over me in my new dress.

The light bulb went off. “Oh.” I smiled at him. A full wattage smile. “You’re jealous because I wore this”—I moved my hand in a sweeping gesture over my new dress—“for another guy. It bothers you I put effort into a date with someone else.”

“You look hot as fuck in that dress. But if the guy you were with needs that dress to get him interested, he’s not the guy for you.” He pointed his beer bottle at me. “You don’t need to wear that to turn me on.”

I angled my head to the side. Looked at him. Really listened to his words. Goldie and Kelly had been right. I’d needed an update to my wardrobe. But they’d been wrong about part of it. I’d needed a makeover forme, not for Ty. Ty wanted me just as I was, uninspiring clothes and all. He’d seen me at my worst and wanted me.

“I know.” All my doubts, my insecurities about getting close to a man were gone. Poof! Just like that. Knowing Ty liked me for me, not for a smokin’ dress, was all the help I needed to let go of that last little bit of insecurity.

The slow burn for him had grown to forest fire proportions. I thought about what Kelly had said about answering the door naked.

I took a deep breath. It had been years and now, it was Go time. With a man in uniform.

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