Page 61 of The One I Want
“Hi.”
She smiles at me, which I think knocks me more on my ass than that kiss. “Hey.”
“Thanks for getting the kids.”
“It’s no problem,” she says, walking toward my bed and sitting down. “I figured you needed your rest.”
I raise an eyebrow. “No problem? Nothing happened with Cara?”
Betsy shakes her head. “Nope. Not a thing. Smooth transition. She was gracious and nice.”
Okay, now I know she’s lying.
“You’re a worse liar than Magnolia, but we’ll go back to that later,” I say, taking her hand in mine. “I thought we should talk without the kids.”
She nods. “You’re right. Because we’ve kissed now.” She lowers her voice to a whisper. “Multiple times.”
I laugh, but then all of a sudden forget what I was going to say. We’re now just staring at each other, and every time I open my mouth, nothing comes out. On the drive back to the house I knew exactly what I wanted to say. But now that I’m in front of her, with the taste of her lip gloss still on my tongue, I can’t think of a single word.
“Can I ask you something?”
I let out a breath of relief. “Anything.”
“I just need to know—was last night, and what happened two minutes ago—you wanting comfort after everything that’s happened? I can understand if you do, and I wouldn’t fault you for it. Last night was emotional. The whole day was. I get needing the comfort of another person. And I’m glad I could be there for you. But one minute you’re telling me that we shouldn’t do this and then you’re giving me the best kiss of my life. I just need to know which way is up.”
Wow, she just went right for it. And I’m not going to forget that wholebest kissthing.
“Is a little bit of everything an option?”
“Depends on the explanation.”
She turns to face me as I bring her hand into mine. “Yesterday was a lot. I don’t know if I’ve ever felt that many different feelings all in one day.”
“Understandable.”
“I wasn’t prepared for the roller coaster of it all. I thought I was, but I wasn’t. I was off balance all day.”
“That all checks out.”
I give her hand a squeeze. “Do you want to know the only time I felt balanced?”
She smiles. “Guessing by what I heard last night, sometime after the Shania Twain karaoke?”
This gets a laugh. “No. It was when I kissed you. When I kissed you, and finally felt you in my arms, it was like all of a sudden my world wasn’t spinning. For the first time in months, I felt centered. And that wasn’t because of a kiss. It’s becausewekissed.”
“Wow,” she whispers. “Okay then.”
I kiss her hand. “Now, I need to ask you a question.”
“All right, but don’t expect an answer like that. That was good.”
“Why thank you.” I take a breath, wanting to make sure I get every word right. “I know this is probably the worst time for me to start something new. I have three kids. I pay you to help me raise my three kids. I’m a few months from ending my career and have no clue what comes next. And it’s been fifteen years since I’ve done any of this.”
She laughs. “Is there a question in there?”
I shake my head. “I want to try this. With you. If you want to. I can understand if you don’t. You probably shouldn’t. I was never a friends-with-benefits kind of guy, and I don’t think I’m one now. But the idea of never kissing you again is a thought I don’t want to entertain.”
Betsy doesn’t say anything. Instead she crawls toward me and throws her leg over my lap, so she’s now straddling me.
