Page 113 of Better Late Than Never

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My heart thundered as I walked up to Connor’s front porch. I was nervous about meeting his sons—I’d been with a few men who had kids, but there’d never been any reason to introduce me to them.

I wasn’t just nervous, though. I hadn’t seen Connor all week, and I was aching to be in his presence again. Even if we couldn’t do anything, I missed him.

Don’t get ahead of yourself, Alex. He’s just a hookup.

As I cleared the top step, the front door opened.

Oh. Fuck me.

“Just a hookup” never made my pulse kick up like this.

Hopefully I kept that out of my expression as I crossed the porch, and somehow I even kept my feet under me.

I’d decided on the way over to follow his lead on how physical we’d be. He didn’t waste any time—as soon as I was close enough, his hands were on my waist as he said, “Hey, you,” just before his lips met mine.

It was a quick kiss. A light one. Nothing deep or spicy.

But oh, hell, it was enough to make my head spin and make me wish this wasn’t going to be a platonic visit.

When he broke away, he smiled. “Thanks for coming. My sons are looking forward to meeting you, and…” The smile turned to a grin. “What can I say? I like having you here.”

Warmth rushed through me. “Even when I won’t be?—”

He kissed me softly. “Yes. Even then.” Fingers laced in mine, he nodded toward the other end of the house. “Come on. Everyone’s out by the pool.”

“Of course they are,” I said as I followed him inside, then out into the backyard.

And oh, wow—there was no mistaking that these two young men were Connor’s sons. One was almost exactly the same height as his father, though he had a lankier build. The other was maybe two inches taller, and I suspected he liked the gym as much as Connor did. The first one’s hair tickled his collar, and taller one’s was almost as short as mine, but it was the same wavy dark hair as Connor.

“Hey guys.” Connor gestured at me. “This is Alex. These are my sons, Quinn and Landon, and Quinn’s girlfriend, Savannah.”

I shook hands with all three of them. Up close, the resemblance was even more striking, especially with Quinn, the shorter one, who had his dad’s dark eyes. Landon’s were more hazel; probably from his mom.

As we sat down in the shade of the cabana, I said, “It’s nice to meet everyone. Your dad’s talked a lot about you.”

All three of them shot Connor suspicious looks.

He rolled his eyes. “Oh for God’s sake. You know it was all good stuff.”

“Bullshit.” Landon gestured at his brother. “With as much dirt as you have on him, we know you’re?—”

“Dude, I will push you into the pool again,” Quinn groused. “Do not test me.” They exchanged challenging looks, which had Connor and Savannah laughing and shaking their heads.

She looked at me and shrugged. “Brothers. What can you do?”

“Oh, I know. I have a brother and a sister. Trust me—I get it.”

“Yeah?” She smiled. “They must love having someone to come visit in Spain.”

An uncomfortably melancholy feeling tried to sweep over me, but I kept it out of my expression. “They… don’t really have the time or the money to come this far. Kids, jobs—you know how it goes. So I just bring everyone souvenirs when I come home.”

“Damn.” Quinn sipped his beer. “I can’t imagine missing out on coming over here.”

“Good thing Dad’s got guest rooms,” Landon said, and he fist-bumped his brother.

Connor shot me a curious look, but whatever thought was behind his eyes, he didn’t say it. I’d dodged the subject of my family before, but something told me I wouldn’t be able to next time we were one-on-one. For now, the conversation moved in a different direction, and I relaxed into my chair. I was in a good mood, happy to be with Connor and his family. We didn’t need to get into the complicated stuff with mine.

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