Page 92 of Reckless

I clear my throat. “Mila, where did you learn the word ‘sex’?”

She shrugs. “UncleLogan.”

Of course.Gonna kill that brother ofmine.

“And what do you know about it?” Please, God, I will do anything if she thinks sex is an island in thePacific.

She shrugs. “Just that he likes to have sex with his girlfriends. Likeallthe time.” She tilts her head. “Is it a game? LikeMonopoly?”

I laugh awkwardly and glance up at Tori’s parents, whose stony expressions freak me out. Turning back to my daughter, I shake my head. “It’s an adult word, okay? Kids shouldn’t be talking about it, but no, it’s not likeMonopoly.”

In my head, I put two and two together. She heard my brother use the word ‘girlfriend’ and ‘sex,’ and she equated them.FuckingLogan.

She scrunches her nose, my answer clearly not satisfying her curiosity.Fuck my life.Why don’t I know how to answerthis?

Tori reaches over and takes Mila’s other hand, her soft voice immediately soothing to my frayed nerves. “It’s how babies are made, but you don’t have to worry about that for a long, longtime.”

For a second, I’m worried Mila’s gonna ask if Logan is trying to have babies withallof his girlfriends—again, please, God, no—but instead, she shrugs again, the concern in her eyesdisappearing.

“Can I have some pancakes, Daddy?” she asks, and I nod, relieved to have this conversationover.

Standing, I direct her away from the table. “Mr. and Mrs. Duran, it was nice to meet you. I certainly enjoyed this little exercise in mortification. I hope y’all have a goodlunch.”

Kat snickers. “Ethan, you’re the sweetest thing ever. At least that’s what my sister tellsme.”

Pretty sure I’m blushing. A grown man.Blushing.

I run my hand over my face and blow out a breath. When my eyes connect with Tori’s, though, the crazy swirl of affection I have for this woman almost overwhelms me. “Take your time here today. Enjoy the visit with yourparents.”

For a second, it’s just the two of us, like some scene out of a movie where all the ambient sound fades, and she comes into sharp focus, knocking my heart rate up a few notches with her secretsmile.

Yup, pretty sure I’m head over heels for this girl. I give her a wink and quickly nod to her scary parents before I scoop up my daughter and head for the counter to order her some pancakes in a to-gobox.

Because we need to go.ASAP.

“Whathappened?”Logan’s laughing so hard, he snorts, and I shove him off the living room couch. He lands on the carpet with a loud thump and rolls onto hisback.

He clutches his stomach, tears streaming down his face as he relishes one of the most awkward moments of mylife.

“Mila saidwhat?” he asks again, more for dramatic effect than the need to have me repeatit.

“Get off the fuckingfloor.”

“Oh, my God. That’s hysterical.” With a quick swipe of his palm, he wipes one eye and then the other. “Bro.”

I can’t make out what else he mutters because blood is pulsing in my ears. Taking a deep breath, I try to calm down before I choke mysibling.

Once I’m confident I won’t stroke out from anger, I try to put into words how utterly embarrassing this situationwas.

My eyes dart to the hallway, ensuring my kids are still taking their afternoon naps, before I jab a finger in his direction. “What do I always tell you? Mila isn’t window dressing. She fucking hears you talk about your dating life, dumbass. Thanks for her first lesson on sex, for traumatizing me, Tori, her parents. Fuck, her parents. You should’ve seen their expressions. Like I was an ax murderer. Like I had defiled their daughter and then told my kid aboutit.”

With my hand to my forehead, I try to focus on the silver lining. “’Course, Tori came to my rescue. Asalways.”

“Love that girl.” Logan pats himself on the back. Literally. “Pretty sure you have me to thank for planting her cute little ass in yourlife.”

“Don’t talk about her ass,” I growl, even though I know he doesn’t think of her that way. He’d better not be jerking it to thoughts ofTori.

“Just saying you can’t be too angry at me since I’m the reason she’s here in the first place. And hey, have you even thought about our court appointment this week since all thishappened?”

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