Page 30 of Needing You

“Yourseat?”

A flash of boldness shot through me, driving me to say all the wild things I wanted from her. But the maturity I’d gained since Kate and I were first together had me holding that back. My intrusion tonight had been enough of that brashness, and now, I needed to handle this well. She didn’t seem upset I’d barged in, but I didn’t need to sit here and beat my chest over it.

So, I went with the clincher instead. “Jackson mentioned you’d be here. I figured I’d do my due diligence and make sure the guy wasn’t a serial killer or something.”

Her brows raised a bit, clearly not expecting the mention of Jackson, but she recovered. “And you did that by scaring him off?”

“You really want to be with someone who gets scared off when another man simply shows up to say hi to his son’s mother?”

She shook her head, but I saw the smile. Internally, I fist-pumped over that small win.

With a little shrug she said, “He was a decent guy. Just different from you.”

I studied her, looking for signs she saw that as a qualifier rather than a negative. She held my gaze, unwavering, and that answer sent heat through me yet again.

“How about we move on from the boringlydecentprevious occupant of this seat and talk about you? How was your day?”

“Uh, fine.”

“Good. I got to hang out with Jackson, so that means mine was great.”

Her smile grew from pleased to outright delighted, and everything in me felt satisfaction, as though that response from her was a prize I’d been working for since I’d shown up.

“He sent you here?”

I tipped my head side to side. “Maybe notsent. But he made sure I knew where you were and that you were on a date and that if I wasn’t an idiot, I’d find my way here too.”

Those brown eyes bore into me, and after a moment, a half-smile graced her lovely mouth. “Smart kid.”

I nodded. “Smart kid.”

* * *

Over an hour later,I signed the bill as Kate watched. I could tell it took something from her not to offer to pay her part, but I was also pleased she recognized the futility. She would’ve let the other guy pay, so I wasn’t about to go halvsies.

“Thank you for dinner, even if you weren’t originally invited.”

I smiled, more pleased with the night than I’d been with anything in a long time. This could’ve gone so far south that I would’ve been digging for weeks to recover, but instead, it’d been beautiful. Easily the best date I’d ever been on.

We’d talked nonstop the entire meal. Everything from Jackson’s football schedule to his friends. And I told her the big news about him wanting to call me Dad—and with a shit-eating grin that wasn’t the least bit ashamed of. And judging by Kate’s expression, she was just as happy about it as I was. Sure, it likely brought up some hard stuff for her, but she was happy forme.

After that, we managed to move away from the topic of our son, and she told me about her friend April, who’d set her up tonight. Not only did April have shitty taste in dates for Kate, but she also had the misfortune of being a Carrigan, though I’d long-since forgotten whether there was actually anything to the Walker-Carrigan feud.

And the food? Excellent. But Kate eating the food? Hot as fuck.

It should be no surprise that I found a woman who liked to eat about the sexiest fucking thing on the planet. Kate enjoying food? I might’ve blacked out from the sight. I’d probably think about it later. Granted, it’d bemyfood that had her moaning. Or better yet, she could eat my food while I ate her.

That’s what I’d call an inspired menu.

She slid out of her seat and walked ahead, the hem of her dress bouncing a little as she went. She looked gorgeous, and it’d been wasted on that other fucking guy. I jogged slightly to catch up and set a hand on her lower back. She glanced at me over her shoulder, but not with irritation. More like relief.

That was what it felt like for me, too. Relief to be connected to her again in this small way. No more striving to get close. Finally, contact.

After thanking the hostess and exiting, Kate wrapped her arms around her waist. I cursed myself for failing to have a jacket to offer her, but I’d forgotten how much a late-summer night in the mountains could cool off. It tended to stay thick and stagnant in the city right up until mid-September at the earliest.

“I’m sorry to ask, but can you give me a ride home? He picked me up.” She didn’t look at me, just scanned the street as though she was embarrassed. As though I wouldn’t want to drive her home.

“I’m happy to.” I didn’t take my hand from her back, instead opting to slide it around to rest on her hip, so we were side by side and pressed a little closer. And shit, the feel of her body lit me up.

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