Page 34 of All I Desire

He shakes his head, grabbing my hand. “I’m sorry. This isn’t what you signed up for when you asked me over for a romantic dinner.”

“It’s okay.” I squeeze his hand. Asking him to make out and get nasty seems inappropriate now. Maybe we should cuddle and watch a movie. “Do you have to go?”

“Yeah, I probably should. I’d like to video chat with her. I do a better job of calming her than Yvette does. I’m so sorry.”

Of course I’m disappointed, but my heart squeezes at the thought of him being such an attentive dad.

“When does she come here for good?” I chew on my bottom lip. Will he even have time to see me once his daughter’s here? Am I a selfish person for thinking about that right now? God, I am.

“Next week.”

I lean in and kiss his cheek, and he folds me in for a hug.

“Let’s try to do something soon, okay? If you want, that is.” His voice is low and sexy in my ear.

“I totally want to.”

“Good. Because I do, too.” There’s an awkward pause. “Well, I’d better get going.”

I spring off the sofa. “Of course. Of course! I hope your daughter’s okay. Being bullied is so hard for a kid.”

He wraps his arms around me. “It breaks my heart to see it, you know?”

I nod into his broad chest, an uneasy feeling in my stomach.

“I’ll text you, okay? Thank you for dinner. It was delicious. And you are delicious. I’m really sorry I have to leave.” He cups my face in his hands and gives me a slow, sensual kiss. With tongue. It’s so scorching that my knees wobble.

He breaks away with a groan. “Jesus, you’re gorgeous. I wish I didn’t have to go.”

This makes me smile. “We’ll continue this later.” My voice is shaky, but I’m trying to sound upbeat.

“Definitely.”

I walk him to the door and kiss him once again. When he leaves, there’s an emptiness in my place that I hadn’t noticed before. I flop down on the sofa, hugging a pillow to me. Mister Sinister emerges from the bedroom, glancing around the room with his orange, marble-like eyes.

There’s a knot in my stomach, one that’s twisted and coiled both with threads of my past and with what just happened in the present, and I don’t like it one bit.

* * *

The next day,I’m in my office at work, trying to concentrate on a proposal to host a naturist convention at the Paradise Beach Resort, but I’m really still thinking about Matthew’s daughter. Starting a new school will be difficult for her, and I’m trying to think of people I know with kids her age. Maybe if I can find a few, I could organize some sort of play date for her, to welcome her to the island.

Is that too much? I tap my pen on my cheek. No. Everyone loves a party.

But do ten-year-olds still have play dates? Or is that just for little kids? My lack of knowledge regarding children is glaringly obvious. And would Matthew even want my help on something like that? So many questions. This is why I’ve always tried to avoid dating men with kids. It just opens up a whole new can of worms.

My phone pings with a text. It’s Matthew.

Hey cutie!

I grin. Hey you. How’s your daughter?

Better. Thanks for asking. What are you up to?

Trying to decide if the resort should host the Florida Union of Naturists’ annual convention.

Naturists?

Nudists. It’s a nudist convention. Five hundred nekkid people here at the resort in February.

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