Page 36 of Reckless Curves
Kendra poked a finger at Tom’s chest. “Don’t lie to me now. You’ve always told me like it is... And I can’t start a relationship based on lies.” She poked him again. “That’s partly what hurts so much. I thought you were different, but if you’re going to try to twist our situation to suit you, you’re not.”
He took a gentle hold on her wrists. “I’m sorry, Kendra. I’m sorry that I let you down and hurt you like that. Let me make it up to you.”
Kendra didn’t hide the tears that welled in her eyes. “I don’t know if I can. How can I trust you? How can I believe that you really want me and not just Connor? Us marrying won’t help Connor if we later divorce. Connor comes first.”
“That was the past. This is a different time and place in our lives. I didn’t know what I wanted before, but now I do.”
His unwavering gaze held Kendra prisoner and she couldn’t look away. Could she, should she, take the risk when there was so much more at stake than her own heart? What if Connor became attached to Tom and everything fell apart? It would devastate her little boy, and she didn’t want him to go through that. But Connor was so young he’d bounce back, wouldn’t he? And he could still see Tom. Tom had never lied to her before. Could she depend on him to show her that same honesty now?
“What makes you think you’re ready for a commitment now? What’s changed?”
“I’m getting older. I’ve had time to look back over my life and see a few home truths. I know what it takes to be a good father. I’m not saying I’m not scared. I’m petrified, given my parent’s example. But we aren’t our parents. I know that I want to try. Will you at least give a relationship with me a chance?”
She wished he didn’t push so hard. She turned and grabbed her handbag. “Come on. We have a busy day of house hunting to get through.”
Tom grinned. “I guess that's a start. It’s not a no and I’ll take it.”
* * *
Kendra admitted to herself she was enjoying the day. The apartments and houses they had selected to view were such a step up from her current living conditions that she could have said yes to any of them. In fact, deciding on which one would be hard.
And the added bonus of spending the day with Tom made her heart scream to say yes to dating him. When they’d stopped for lunch, the waitress flirted with him outrageously and her temper had soared. But in fairness he hadn’t flirted back, in fact he’d never taken his gaze off her.
Who was she kidding? She would give him a chance to prove he wanted her just as much as he wanted their son. Not want—love. She wanted his heart more than his money or body—okay, shereallywanted his body too.
“This is the last one.” Tom pulled into the drive of a beautiful California bungalow. “This is the one with the pool.”
Kendra looked at google maps and knew the area would be perfect. There was a kindergarten around the corner and a school a few blocks away that was supposed to be fabulous. Then it hit her. She’d seen this house before. She looked around and then looked at Tom with disbelief. “That’s your house,” and she pointed across the road.
“Yip. Is that a problem?”
She sat speechless. Was it? “What are you up to?”
“You selected this property to look at if you recall. I didn’t push you into anything.”
That was true. “Well, let’s go look then.” Kendra loved how Tom’s face lit up with such a sexy smile. Her heart flipped in her chest. “Look being the key word.”
Tom leaned over and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. “Thank you. I bet you love it.”
“Have you seen it already?”
He hopped out of the car and walked round to open her door for her. He hesitated before saying, “Only from afar and online, I swear.”
The realtor came out to greet them and gave them the details and low down on the house. The minute Kendra stepped into the hall and saw the polished wooden floors and period details, she fell in love just as he guessed. As they walked through the fully furnished property, which even had one bedroom decorated for a little boy, it almost seemed too good to be true.
She moved through the spacious bungalow and fell in love. She could make a fabulous home for Connor here, and there was even a music room with a grand piano in it. She suspected she’d find more clients in this area, too. Many of those who knew her reputation hated coming to her current neighborhood, and she suspected that was part of the reason she was finding it difficult to grow her business.
She swung to face Tom. “This must cost a fortune to rent.”
“I owe you a lot in back maintenance so let me do this for you.”
She wanted to dispute his words, but she swallowed her negative response. This was what was best for Connor, not how it made her feel about being able to provide for her son. Tom was his father, after all. And once she got on her feet, she’d be able to contribute substantially more. If she sold a few songs to this big star…
“Come on, we’ve not seen it all yet,” and Tom took her hand and led her into the lovely open plan kitchen dinner with bi-fold doors out into the garden.A garden.Connor could play outside! On real grass. It even had an outdoor room with shade louvers to keep them cool. Then she spied the pool area. Fully fenced in, it had a toddler’s pool leading into an adult’s pool. The temperature was as hot as Hades today, and she knew the pool would be bliss, along with the fact the house was centrally air-conditioned.
She turned and noted Tom was staring at her. “It’s perfect, isn’t it? Perfect for our son.”
Tom’s face lit up at her words, ‘our son’. “It would certainly be handy for me too. I promise not to pop over unannounced though. This would be your house.”
