I studied Teagan from across the table, seeing the vulnerability in her eyes. As I heard about her time in foster care, I had no doubt she was omitting a great deal. As much as I respected her privacy, I found myself wishing she’d share more. Hell, at this point, I wanted nothing more than to jump on the other side of the booth and comfort her with a hug. I doubted she’d appreciate the gesture, though, as it wouldn’t fit in with her tough-girl image.
She ate her fries but then sighed, giving me more clues about her childhood. “I didn’t always have thick skin and a sharp tongue.”
“I would dare to say no one starts out life with either of those attributes. They’re normally hard earned.”
She only played with her straw, declining to elaborate on my opening. Despite my craving for more information, perhaps it was time for a break from the serious stuff.
“So tell me, are you the type of girlfriend who shares her fries?”
The shadows left her eyes, and a smile replaced the tension. “What do you think?”
“I think I could lose a hand if I reached over to help myself.”
“Smart man. But I’m not opposed to a trade. Say, for a bite of your pot roast with potatoes?”
I forked up a perfectly proportioned bite, including the gravy, and held it across the table toward her amused face. But once her lips closed around my fork, my grin dropped. How could offering her a bite of pot roast make my dick hard?
Jesus, ever since our kiss, I’d become hyper-focused on every detail about her. At this point, if she moaned, I could go on to embarrass myself. Luckily for me, she only smiled.
“Damn, you made this trade well worth it. All right, you earned it.” She lifted up a section of her chili cheese fries on a fork before passing it to me.
The flavors were incredible. “I can see now why you wouldn’t want to share.”
“Exactly. Now then, spill it. How was your childhood?”
In contrast, my childhood had been privileged, rich, and indulgent—although not without its problems. “My dad and mom divorced when I was ten, so I spent a lot of time with Aiden’s family and with Mona, the live-in nanny.” I was closer to her while growing up than to either of my parents. Although she’d retired to Arizona, I still kept in touch with her. “My dad has been married three more times since my mother, each new bride younger than the last. His current wife is my age, and I’m assuming may be pregnant soon since he’s had kids with each of his wives. All of the kids are boys except for one.”
Teagan let out a low whistle. “Must make for an interesting family tree.”
“That’s an understatement.”
“Are you close with any of your siblings?”
Chance and I used to be tight. “I’m close with my half sister, Kelsey, who’s about your age. But the rest of my brothers, not so much. In my defense, though, the twins are five years old.”
She about spit out her drink. “That would be so weird. You could basically be their dad.”
“At this rate and given the trajectory of his brides, I will probably be old enough to be his next wife’s father.”
This time her drink caught in her throat, and she started coughing. I moved over to her side of the booth to thump her back. It wasn’t a hardship to have an excuse to sit close to her.
“Thanks for the assist. I can’t imagine that image. Will any of your family be at the wedding?”
Now that she could breathe again, I had no choice but to return to my side of the table. “My mother will be there. But my father wouldn’t want to leave his business. Not sure about Chance.” He knew the groom too, but I doubted he’d bother to come to a destination wedding.
“What’s your dad’s business?”
“He owns a private investment company. He invests in dozens of other companies and sits on the board for several.” He was a billionaire who valued his company above any human interaction.
“Did he want you to follow in his footsteps?”
“He did, but Chance and I preferred to make our own way.”
“You didn’t like the business, or you didn’t like working for your dad?”
“Both. My father enjoys having control, and how better than to have your children working for you? I couldn’t do it. Not for him nor for Vanessa’s father who wanted me to work at his tech company.” It was a source of pride for me to have broken away and become successful without my father’s influence or money. “My dad was annoyed at first, but he’s come around.” He was reluctantly proud.
“Are you close with your mom?”
“I love my mother, but it’s impossible to be close to her without some measure of drama, which means I often need a break. She’s also bitter about the divorce. She hasn’t forgiven my father for having an affair despite having had several of her own. The only difference was my father left her for his.”
“Yikes. You mentioned people wanting you and your ex to get back together. Does that include your mom?”
“It does. My mother and Vanessa’s mother have wanted us to marry for years. They’re friends, and I think it’s a source of pride for her to have our two families merge.”
“Sounds like another world.”
“It is.” One I was happy to no longer be a part of. Thinking about it now, I realized something strange. I’d been anxious to break away from the bubble of privilege I’d grown up in, but as long as I’d stayed with Vanessa, that meant I never truly could.
“So I believe I have the lay of the land on your ex and now your family. What about the groom and your friends who will be there?”
“The groom, Kevin, is someone I grew up with. He’s marrying Vanessa’s cousin. And I went to undergrad with some of the other groomsmen. Phil will be there. He and his wife, Ellen, are normal people. Word of warning: she may be the solitary woman there who will be nice to you.”
Teagan lifted a shoulder. “Don’t worry.”
Right. I’d try not to.
“Stay right here, and close your eyes. Hold still.”
The following evening we were at my apartment. Teagan’s idea of retribution for the shopping trip was to give me a facial. She assumed I’d find the idea of pampering absolute torture, but it wasn’t the cool mask on my face responsible for making me uncomfortable. Nope, it was the touch of her fingers over my skin, the nearness of her so I could pick up her signature scent of coconut, and the way my body was reacting to her.
“What are you going to do to me?” Damn, my voice was much huskier than I’d intended. But in my defense, she was leaning right over my position where I lay on the sofa with my head propped on the arm of it.
“That first step was cleansing your face.” Although my eyes were closed, I could hear the smirk in her voice. Quick little dabs with her cotton rounds were efficiently gliding along my skin. Next came something cold. “The substance I’m applying now is a mask.”
Once she was done spreading the goop on my face, she started massaging my hand.
I couldn’t help tensing up.
“Sorry, part of giving a facial is typically a little massage of the arms and hands, but if you don’t want me to—”
“No, no, it’s fine.” Pathetically, I could feel my cock already liking the idea. Jesus, get it together.
“The mask will make your skin brighter.”
“Are you saying my skin is dull?” I was kidding, yet her response hit me directly in the solar plexus.
“There’s nothing dull about you, Reid Maxwell.”
Bitterness laced my response. “My ex would disagree with you. I tend to be a creature of habit.” She’d always admonished me about how I’d order the same meal in a restaurant, wore the same brand of shirt in different colors, and had worn the same style haircut since college.
“Your ex is a cunt.”
I tried to smile, but my face was covered in a creamy substance smelling of marshmallows. Teagan’s bluntness cracked me up. “And now I know you don’t flinch at using the C-word.”
“Not for a woman who cheated on her fiancé with his older brother during a family holiday party. Yeah, she’s the definition of the word. But not to worry, I won’t go dropping C-bombs at the wedding. Oh, unless you give me whiskey. Whiskey makes me feisty.”
My chuckle filled the room. “You mean there’s such a thing as another level up?”
“What are you implying? You think I’m feisty now? Let me guess: it’s my red hair.”
“Your red hair has nothing to do with what makes you feisty. And it was meant to be a compliment.”
“Is it? It seems most men don’t want a woman who speaks her mind, says the C-word from time to time, or doesn’t take shit from people.”
I contemplated the vulnerability edging her words. “Then I’d argue you haven’t found the right man yet.” I paused, wondering who could be the right man for Teagan. “What, uh, would you look for in a potential mate?”
She gave a snort of laughter. “Please don’t say mate ever again. Makes me feel like a goat.”
My smile was tough to manage with the goo tightening my face. At least I was now able to open my eyes. “Why would you say a goat, of all animals?”
She shrugged while I bit back a groan of pleasure at the way she was now massaging my hands. “Goats mate same as any other animal, I suppose.”
I needed to get off of the mating topic. “True. By the way, how exactly is this payback for our shopping trip?” I thoroughly enjoyed the way her strong hands kneaded my arm, and tried not to notice how she was now leaning over me, the soft swell of her breasts inches from my face.
“I may have underestimated how much you’d enjoy being my guinea pig.”
“So tell me again. You finished cosmetology school?”
“No, not quite. I had a few more classes to go.”
I focused on her face. Her expression showed concentration as she massaged my left hand. Never would I have thought a hand massage would feel so good. “You miss it?”
“Mm, sometimes. But it’s probably better as a hobby. Friends-and-family type of thing.”
“Why? You could go work at a spa.”
Her eyes locked with mine, and I knew in an instant I’d asked the wrong question.
“It probably doesn’t pay as much as the assistant position, I take it?” I inquired quietly.
“No, it doesn’t. Anyhow, your mask is set, so I’ll grab some warm water and get it off of you.”
I opened my jaw, feeling the mask crackle as a result. “’Kay, what’s next?”
“Let’s order some food.”
