Page 11 of Secret Baby for Mr. Grump

You’re losing it. Calm down.

Allie looked a little uncomfortable at the statement and bit her lip. Of course, that dragged my attention to her plump lower lip, which made my cock throb with the memory of the heated kiss we had eight years ago.

And I can’t believe you’re getting hard at dinner because of an eight-year-old kiss.

But to be fair, it wasn’t just the kiss. Everything about her made me hard.

Allie was still silent as if she didn’t know what to say to that.

I tried to smile at her to let her know that it was okay, I wasn’t mad about her marriage, but it might have come out as a grimace instead.

“Um, yeah,” she finally said. “We got married a few years ago, but as I said, it didn’t work out.”

“Who was it to?”

“Um…to my friend Ken. I don’t know if you remember him.”

I did, and I also knew for sure that a scowl was appearing on my face now. Ken was a preppy kid like her, and according to Allie, they’d been friends since they were children.

I didn’t know much about him except seeing him occasionally around town, and that one time I’d dropped Allie at her house. He’d stood there watching me with a possessive gleam in his eyes.

I’d wanted to deck the kid then but didn’t want to do it in front of Allie. I was also way too old to be involving myself in juvenile fights anyway, especially with a man who was about half my size and ten years my junior.

But it didn’t mean I wanted him anywhere around Allie, either.

They’re divorced,I told myself to calm the heat. He’s no longer in the picture.

“Was it a rough marriage?” I asked. “Did he do something?”Give me an excuse to go find him.

Allie shrugged. “Not really. As I said, the divorce was mutual and amicable. We just weren’t right for each other. We’ve remained friends regardless, even though he stays in Minessota now because of his job.”

Good, he’s far away from her.

“Oh,” I said.

After that, the conversation was stifled. It might partially be from my lack of conversation skills or the fact that she seemed visibly uneasy about something. She kept glancing around like she was looking for something or paying attention to everything else but me.

And then it hit me.

God, I was such a dumbass.

She probably didn’t want to be seen with me.

I couldn’t blame her. Even though it was eight years ago, a lot of people in town still only saw me as the guy who murdered an innocent old man. It would damage her reputation if she were seen with me. It was why I left her in the first place.

The restaurant was out of town, but it was also a popular spot for people to go on dates. There was a high likelihood that someone here would be from Summit, and they might recognize her or me.

I was an idiot.Why did you bring her here where anyone could see you together?

Well, simply put, it was arrogance. I wanted to show off a little, to give her the one thing she told me she wished for, her dream date experience that began at Keke’s Lobster House.

The date I should have given her all those years ago before I was dubbed a murderer.

Her eyes went wide as I shifted my chair back, getting up.

“Let’s go,” I said.

“Where?” she asked as I walked behind her and pulled out her chair. I held out my hand, and she took it, getting to her feet. I ignored the frisson of electricity that sparked from the contact, reaching in and throwing a few hundred dollars on the table, enough to leave a very generous tip. Her eyes widened as she glanced at it, but she said nothing as I grabbed our coats on the way out.

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