Page 21 of Born to Sin

That was all they had time for, because the dog-behavior topic was either exhausted, or had exhausted Ezra, and Beckett didn’t get another chance to talk to Quinn until they were in his ute again and headed back to the lake and her own ute. He still didn’t get much of a chance, because by the time he’d climbed down from his, she was already unlocking the door of her own.

“Hang on,” he said, wanting to laugh again and yet frustrated as hell. It had been that kind of evening. “You’re meant to give the fella a chance to say goodbye.”

“Oh.” She paused in the act of climbing inside and turned to face him instead. “Well—goodbye. Thanks for dinner. That it, then? Or is there something else I’m supposed to say?”

He scratched his cheek. “You could make this easier.”

She leaned against the back door and studied him. “How? Seriously. I’m a student of life.”

He had to smile. “You pause a bit, is the idea. Give the fella a chance to kiss you, possibly.”

“I’m not kissing you,” she said. “I could say I don’t kiss on the first date, but it’s probably not true. I just don’t feel like it’d be a great idea to kissyouon the first date.”

“Am I dangerous?” he asked.

“Well, yes, to my peace of mind. I don’t have the greatest track record. I tend to be attracted to attractive men who are attracted to more traditional women. My curse. I could try going for a less, uh, manly type of man, I guess, but what can I say? I’m from Montana. I was an elite athlete. I’m a judge. I like testosterone.”

“Good,” he said. “Because I like it, too.” He wasn’t standing too close, but still, he was close enough to put a hand around her head and another one on her waist. If she’d go for it. Which she’d just said she wouldn’t. The light was fading, and the lake was a golden pond, the mountains a deep, shadowed blue. A nip in the air told you autumn was here, and as he watched, she shivered a little. Nerves or cold, he couldn’t tell. “But no kissing anyway?”

“No,” she said. “Better not.”

“OK. We could go out again, maybe, and see what happens. As you’ve got those five dates to go. I could be the control. That’s the word, right? The comparison in the experiment.”

“Well,” she said, “every experiment does need a control.” Weakening. Good.

Wait. What was he doing here?

“What does that look like?” she asked. “You get a babysitter, and …”

Oh. A babysitter. He hesitated, and she said, “You don’t have a babysitter.”

“An old lady for after school,” he said. “If I try to shove the kids in there at night, I’ll have a revolt. I’m sure I can find one, though. People have babysitters, right?”

“Wow,” she said. “I said I’m not ready, butyou’rethe one who’s not ready. How long ago did your wife die?”

He tensed. He felt it happening, and he couldn’t help it. “Two years. Well, twenty-three months.”

“You’re still counting in months. You’ve never had a babysitter. Beckett—that’s hard. Are you sure?”

He wanted to say,I’m not sure of a bloody thing.How would that sound, though? He said, “I’m sure I want to try. Look, we—” He paused. Was this mad?

Probably. “You could come over at the weekend,” he said. “Do something with the kids and me. Something outdoors. We could cook dinner, or go out again. Watch a movie, maybe. I know it doesn’t sound exciting. I’m trying to think of another idea, but the last time I dated, I was twenty-five. And had no kids. And was better-looking.”

“I can’t imagine that,” she said. “Because you’re pretty spectacular now.”

He laughed. “I’m not. Going a bit gray, though you’ve kindly not said anything.”

She’d have said something right then, but Janey opened the door of the ute and said,“Dad.”

“So,” he said. “When? Saturday?”

“Date,” she reminded him.

He made a face. “Right. Sunday. You can comparison shop. Oh—number. Told you I wasn’t smooth anymore.” He hauled out his phone. “How do you do this?”

“I believe,” she said, “that you hand it to me, open to your contacts, and I put in my name and number. Not my address, of course. Dangerous.” Smiling, and looking up at him. That look would never be “through her lashes,” or anything close. Straight on, but straight on worked for him.

“Right.” He handed it over, and she typed and handed it back. “Want my number as well? Iwillhave to give you my address if you’re coming to mine, in case you’ve forgotten where I live, but you seem pretty trustworthy.”

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