Page 53 of Hard To Leave

“I have a blow-up mattress set up in my office across the hall.”

Her eyes flickered over my shoulder. “You don’t need to do that.”

“Yeah,” Tanner added. “I sleep on a blow-up mattress all the time when I’m over at Tyler’s house. Your bed looks big. My mom can sleep in here with you, and I can sleep in there.”

Chloe’s eyes flew to mine in panic. If I was being honest, it wasn’t the worst idea I had ever heard, but as much as I wanted her in my bed, there was no way we were sleeping together with her kid in the next room. That wasn’t what this visit was about. Don’t get me wrong, I planned on getting creative with finding time to get my hands on her, but this trip was meant to be special for both of them.

“You guys are my guests, so I insist. Besides, sleeping with your mom would be inappropriate.”

Tanner smirked. “I’m almost eight, not five. I know what adults do when they’re alone, Jack.”

I brought my fist to my mouth and turned my head to stop myself from laughing. I wasn’t touching the comment with a ten-foot pole. Chloe’s face turned a bright shade of red. “Tanner!” she warned, while I silently wondered if he was closer to having the talk about the birds and the bees than she thought.

“Whatever.” He just rolled his eyes and walked over to the bed. He bounced on the mattress as if he were testing it out.

I clapped my hands together. “Okay, let’s get situated, and then I’ll show you both around the city. Sound like a plan?”

Tanner went right to work unpacking his suitcase while Chloe followed me into the kitchen. I grabbed her face and gave her the most tender kiss I had ever given a woman in my life. My feelings for her were getting too strong for me to hide, but I had to respect that Tanner was close by. Not being able to touch her when I wanted to felt like a punishment. My hands moved up under her shirt, finding the underwire of her bra. I wanted inside her softness so bad that it was killing me. “I really wish I could give you a proper fucking greeting.”

She laughed as I pushed her small frame against the kitchen sink. “I like how you threw the word fucking in there.”

My fingers stilled, and I bent my head sideways so she could see the truth in my eyes. “It’s never just about the fucking with you. You know that, right?”

Her hand reached up to cup the back of my neck. “I know that, but I love how you bring out the fun in me. And I also love your displays of affection—your little touches and shared glances. And I really like that no one else gets them but me.”

This woman made me wish I could take an eraser to my past and wipe the slate clean. Forget about all the nameless faces and meaningless fucks that used to fill my time. This was as real as it gets.

“After he goes to bed tonight, you’re all mine.”

She ran her tongue along her bottom lip, causing my dick to jump in my pants. Damn her.

“I like the sound of that.”

The patter of footsteps along the hardwood floor told us that our time was up. Tanner rounded the corner with his eyebrow raised. “Jack and Chloe, sitting in a tree…K.I.S.S.I.N.G…first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in a baby carriage,” he sang out.

Chloe buried her face in my chest and laughed. I felt the corner of my mouth tug into a grin.

She pulled away to straighten out her shirt. “Are you guys ready?” I asked, looking at the time on my phone. We still had a few hours of daylight left.

Tanner’s head popped up. “I’m so ready.” He sounded like he was ready to rock and roll.

I cleared my throat and prayed like hell that he would crash and burn by the end of the night because I had plans for his mother later. “Okay, do you have your list ready?”

When we spoke this week, I told him to make a list of all the places he wanted to see. As soon as he pulled it out of his pocket and handed it to me, I knew I was screwed.

I scratched the top of my head as my eyes scanned the wrinkled piece of paper. “Uh…as fun as all this sounds, there is no way we would be able to fit it all in. How about this,” I offered. “We can do Rockefeller Plaza and Times Square tonight, and then tomorrow we can do Central Park and the Yankees game.”

Tanner tilted his head to the side. “What about the statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, Wall Street, the Bronx Zoo, and the museums?”

I looked at Chloe sideways for help. There was no way we could cross everything off this list in two days. And there was no way in hell I wanted to disappoint this kid.

She leaned in and kissed his forehead. “Tanner, that is way too much to do in one weekend. We’ll have to save some stuff for when we come back.”

“You mean we can come back again?” he asked, looking right at me. He still seemed a little disappointed, but I think he knew crossing everything off his list in one weekend wasn’t going to happen.

“You both are welcome here anytime.” Hell, I would move them both up here in a heartbeat if I thought Chloe would say yes. I was in deep with this woman. Unfortunately, not the deep I wanted to be. That would change come later tonight.

* * *

---