Page 12 of Insta-Love

“Let me get this straight.” I whip my head back and slam my arms across my chest. “You want me to feel sorry for you when you just about crippled my daughter?”

“No. I just want you to accept my apology and move the fuck on.”

“Mum.” Lily tugs at my arm. “I’m okay. Let’s go.”

His eyes flick between us. I know what he’s thinking; I must have been young to have her. I throw him a look that says, “Yeah, I was.” He settles his gaze on Lily and smiles. “If you find any damage you come over and let me know.”

“She won’t be going anywhere near your house, okay?” I’ve unleashed my inner crazy; I can’t fit her back in the box. Shut up, Ava. Shut up before he thinks you’re certifiable.

“Why not?” he scoffs. “What are you trying to say?”

I know what he insinuates: that I inferred he wouldn’t have her best intentions at heart if she were to be left alone with him … that he’s some kind of paedophile.

So much for second chances at first impressions then. Jesus. I need to walk away. Now.

“I was merely pointing out that we don’t really know you, okay? And I’ve taught my daughter better than to go over to a stranger’s house without me.”

“So come over with her,” he grinds out. “I live next door. It’s not as though she’ll need a breadcrumb trail to get home now, is it?”

“Mum.” Lily pulls at my arm again. “Let’s go.”

“No. Hold on, baby.” I lift a hand to her, still staring down this smug asshole that seems to think he has some onus over me because he’s mister fit and healthy, and I’m just some crazy unjustified mother. Partly true. Still, I don’t back down that easily. “What is it with guys like you?”

“And who exactly are ‘guys like me’?” He takes a step forward, forcing me to tip my head back to see him properly. The fucking afternoon sun has me squinting like a moron.

“Arrogant, self-serving meatheads who think the fucking world owes them something for looking how they do.”

A smirk tugs at one side of his mouth. He leans down giving me no option to take a step back unless I want his face in mine. “How do I look? Good? Like something you’ll never have?”

Ooo, that conceited fucking—

“Mum!”

Shit. “Yeah, okay,” I say to Lily, sidestepping the jackass. “Looks like we’re banging our heads against a brick wall trying to get through to this piece of work anyway.”

The cheeky bastard lifts the hem of his T-shirt revealing a set of abs that surely need a damn licence, or their own insurance policy in the least. His wide hand runs a slow path over the ridges. “Any time you wanna bang this brick wall, you let me know, sugar.”

Jesus Christ. “There’s a child present!” I holler at him as we head up Mum and Dad’s drive.

The jerk flicks his tongue suggestively at me while Lily has her back turned at the door, and then blows another damn kiss across our front yards. I unlock the house in record time and leave Lily to unpack her school bag while I head straight through to our shared bathroom and shut the door.

The tap water is cool on my neck as I dab wet hands either side in an attempt to appease my heated skin. An exasperated sigh escapes me as I flop down on the side of the bathtub and drop my head back. The guy is everything I assumed him to be the minute I opened the link Kath sent: swollen ego, over-inflated sense of importance in the world … and still the best thing I’ve laid eyes on in years.

What’s worse? I’m already imagining what that tongue would feel like doing exactly what he did, only somewhere else.

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