Page 9 of Not In Love

His light brown eyes shone with caustic humor. “I said I’ll take pity on you since I’ll be there already. As long as there’s no touching involved.” He tugged his lower lip between his teeth, making her want to jump him right there. “Unless you really need me to and that might involve begging.”

Her pulse spluttered. “You want me to beg you to be my pretend date on the trip to Cancun?”

“Begging required only if you want me to touch you. Pretend or otherwise.”

“I wouldn’t beg if you were the last man on earth and we have to fuck three times a day to repopulate the planet,” she bit out.

He leaned back, a wicked-sharp smile curving his lips. A thick lock of hair fell forward onto his forehead. “That’s very specific for something you refuse to do.”

Heat crested her cheeks like a tidal wave. “Don’t need your pity. I already have someone in mind.” She let her own smile bloom. “Which is why your offer to spend time with Tia is a godsend. I can devote myself to him fully.”

She waited, with a racing pulse, for him to ask who it was. Seconds piled on. Rain thrashed against the windows. Air stretched between them, tight and thin as a wire. He held her gaze, something dark simmering just beneath the surface, though he didn’t let it spill.

Every inch of her ached with that swell of frustration and need.

“Is Tia going to meet him?”

Pushing away her teacup and the cookie plate with too much force, Kash folded her arms. She felt like a teenager who’d been caught watching pervy videos in class. “She probably won’t. But even if she does, I trust him.”

“You could hire a gigolo for all I care, Kash. The point isn’t whether he’s a good man.”

“What then?” she demanded, responding to his irascible tone.

“Are you going to expose Tia to someone that soon in the relationship?”

“Do you expect me to hide all potential boyfriends from her?” she retorted. Even though she had no intention of inviting a man into her life for anything more than sex, ever again.

“What do you think I’ve been doing?” Diego said calmly.

A hot pool of jealousy filled her chest, viscous and ugly. Had he already met someone special? Or was he playing the field?

God, she was such a fool to think he was pining over her. The attraction was there, of course. But there was no doubt he probably had scores of young, willing, sweet women to keep his bed warm.

In contrast, she was a decade older than him, was his daughter’s aunt, and had more than a few control issues. The thought pricked deep and hard—to think of herself as some over-the-hill shrew—but she wasn’t going to shy away from the truth.

“It’s my high-school boyfriend,” she said, tears scratching at her throat. She’d never felt so alone in her life. God, she needed her friends, badly. “DP raised his younger siblings since he was nineteen. He’s as decent as they come. For the first time in our lives, we’re both free. Enough details for you?”

Diego’s features tightened. “This sounds like more than a holiday hook-up. How long have you been seeing him?”

“What?”

That façade of calm shattered when he thrust his hand roughly through the short waves of his hair. “Of course, you considered how a new man in your life would affect Tia. For a second there, I forgot you’re a walking, talking paragon of virtue.”

“The fact that Tia remains my first priority incenses you. Why?” Her skin prickled at whatever he was putting out. “Is it because you have someone in your life that doesn’t want Tia? Or is that you’re discovering that she cramps your bachelor playboy lifestyle?”

Devilish mockery danced in his eyes. “Are you asking me about my love life, Kash?”

“I know that all these magazine and podcast interviews and PR stunts you do about the soccer academy, she’s never mentioned in anything. Clearly, it works for you to hide the fact that you have a daughter from the world.”

“So you’ve been keeping tabs on how I conduct myself?”

“Of course not.”

“If you want an explanation for my choices, you have to ask me, Kash. Treat me as a person who has a place in your life.” He exhaled roughly before saying, “If you’re considering a long-term relationship with this ex, we need to talk.”

“About what?”

“About making my position in Tia’s life official.”

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