Page 41 of One Unexpected Gift

Nick lowered his head and touched her lips with the tip of his tongue. “If that were the case,” he kissed her lightly, “you’d be naked in the front seat of my Jeep right now.”

Instead of pulling away or sounding shocked, Skylar sucked on his bottom lip. “You should’ve asked an hour ago. I would’ve been game. But now my chariot is going to turn into a pumpkin, so I’ve gotta go.”

She reached behind her, plucking her keys out of his hand and pressed the fob unlocking her car.

“You’re pure evil, woman.” He kissed her hard, gripping her hair in his hands, not too rough but enough to give her a taste of the passion he wanted to show her next time.

He stood in the parking lot until the taillights of her car disappeared. His headache returned, as it seemed to do as soon as Skylar left. Or rather, she had a way of making him feel something other than pain.

He may be a glutton for punishment, but he wouldn’t have traded tonight for anything. The mature side of him didn’t mind not having sex. Maybe it meant he was growing up, maturing. Wouldn’t that make his parents happy?

It wasn’t that he shied away from responsibility, he’d always been a hard worker, and owning his own business put a shit ton of responsibility and stress on his shoulders, but he didn’t want to live his life with regrets.

He’d made the most of his younger years doing what he wanted to do. He rushed into marriage, but he’d learned a great deal about himself during that experience. Trish had accused him of being a selfish bastard, and yeah, at twenty-three, he was. His own happiness had been more important than hers.

A decade later, having focused his life on himself, he’d crossed over that rainbow bridge into adulthood. Tonight’s date had been about making Skylar happy, and he didn’t regret it one bit. Sure, he’d have loved to end it in a tangle of naked limbs. He’d never deny sex with Skylar. But he didn’t feel unsatisfied standing in a dark and empty parking lot.

The kisses, the flirting, the joking. It all made him... happy. Hell, Skylar made him happy. If she wanted to take things slow, he’d put the brakes on hard core. When she was ready to take it to the next level, he’d be more than willing to lead the way or follow her. Anywhere. Anytime.

For the first time in his life, he’d gotten an adrenaline rush from simply being with a woman. If bowling and a pitcher of ice water could satisfy his craving, he couldn’t wait to feel the rush the next time he was with Skylar.

***

“Don’t you think it’s time to tell Nick about Gabby? You won’t have to rush home from your next date.” Brooke cradled Gabby to her chest and cut into her pancake with her free hand.

They’d met for brunch at the Black Fly Diner. Gina and Charlie were both working but the lull in customers had them sitting at the booth with Sky and Brooke.

“He’d be totally cool with it,” Charlie said, filling Sky’s coffee.

“What are you afraid of?”

Sky slouched her shoulders forward and gave Gina a sad smile. Gina could never have children. The roadside bomb had burned thirty percent of her body, and shrapnel had destroyed her uterus. It wasn’t fair of Sky to hide her child when her best friend could never have one of her own.

“Telling a guy you have a six-week old is a sure fire way to have him running for the hills.”

“If he runs, he’s not the guy for you. I see it as the quickest and easiest way to weed out the bad ones from the good ones.” Brooke kissed the top of Gabby’s head.

“Besides.” Charlie plopped in the booth next to Brooke. “Since you’re not looking for permanent anyway, if Nick runs, he runs. No sweat off your back, right?”

“And if you’re just looking to get lucky, why the dates with no nookie at the end?” Gina plucked a blackberry from Sky’s fruit salad.

“I can’t believe you haven’t slept with him yet. Owen says Nick’s been asking about you at the gym.”

“What’s he asking?”

“Why do you care?” Charlie’s eyebrow arched toward her hairline.

It was a fair question. If she didn’t care about Nick, she shouldn’t care about his questions.

“The poor guy is tangled up in you. You need to let him know what you want. That is, if you know what you want,” Gina said, swiping another berry.

“Is it sex or a relationship?” Brooke asked.

“Or both.” Charlie snagged Sky’s bacon.

“You two need to get your own breakfast.” Sky swiped her bacon back and took a bite.

“Answer the question.” This from bossy Brooke.

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