Page 19 of Sticking Around

I shrug. “He needed it. Did you see his forehead?”

“Do you give money to everyone who needs it?” she asks.

The truth is, I do. “Just helping out.”

“You’re not responsible for him,” she points out, and her words hit me in the center of the chest like a hard puck. I suck in a tight breath as my muscles stiffen. “You’re not responsible for anyone but yourself. I don’t mean to sound harsh, Brady. It’s just you’re never getting that back.”

She says that like she knows—has experienced it—firsthand. “He promised to repay me.”

“People don’t keep promises,” she mumbles under her breath and keeps her head down, her focus on the sand as we walk. Her hair spills forward, veiling her face and I can’t see her expression. I don’t need to, really. The pain in her words was enough to let me know she’d been let down—probably many times. Goddammit, I hate that and I don’t want to let her down, ever. Which once again reminds me I shouldn’t be getting involved.

“Just sex, right? No commitment. No future. No promises,” I say almost to myself, a reminder that I can’t do more. Her head lifts and her blue eyes latch on mine. I spot a fierce determination there when she nods her head in agreement.

Okay, great. We both know exactly where we stand and what the other wants. I’ve always lived by those rules with women in the past, no problem. Shouldn’t be a problem this time, either.

Yeah, go ahead and tell yourself that, dude.

We walk a little further, and a child about four comes racing down the beach, trips on nothing in particular and face plants in front of us. Melanie gasps and drops to her feet.

“I’m so sorry,” a woman screams out and comes hurrying toward us, but Melanie already has the little girl upright and is brushing sand off her knees. “I only turned my head for a second.”

Melanie laughs. “That’s all it takes. I think she’s perfectly fine.”

“Zoe, you know you’re not supposed to run off like that,” the mother scolds, and takes the child into her arms to give her a big hug, clearly relieved that nothing bad happened.

“I wanted the bucket, Mommy.” The mother looks toward the water, to the abandoned bucket riding the waves.

“We don’t take what’s not ours,” the mom reminds her and looks back at Melanie. “Thank you again.”

“Not a problem. She’s adorable.” The warm, loving look on Melanie’s face curls around my heart and tugs tight. Holy crap, I don’t really know much about kids, but from the longing look on Melanie’s face, there’s no doubt that she adores them…maybe even wants one of her own. “Are you staying here at the resort?” Melanie asks.

The mother nods. “For the weekend.”

“Why don’t you come up to the rooftop pool this evening? I might have something special for Zoe.”

The mother gives a big smile. “That’s so nice of you. What do we say, Zoe?”

Zoe glances up at Melanie with big brown eyes. “Fank you.”

Melanie and the mom laugh. “I’m Gina.”

“Nice to meet you, Gina. I’m Melanie.” Melanie bends and taps the child’s nose. “See you soon, Zoe.” The mom and Zoe head back to their beach cabana, and I take Melanie’s hand back in mine again.

“You’re good with kids.” She nods, a tender smile on her face. “You’ll be a good mother.”

Her demeanor changes quickly as she snorts out a laugh full of mockery. “Nope, not happening.”

“Really?” I’m not sure why that surprises me. She’s pretty career focused.

“I’m not bringing a child into this world.” I don’t tell her I totally agree—that I can’t do the responsibility. “Besides, I’m too old for kids.”

Okay, now that makes me laugh. “You’re what, twenty-eight?”

She nods. “By the time I finish my degree, and settle into a career…”

“I don’t know much about biological clocks, but I’m guessing you think yours will be done ticking by then?”

“Broken.” She gives a humorless laugh. “The chance of getting pregnant goes down when you hit your thirties.”

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