“I have more questions,” Thea declared against my chest. She was draped over my side, our legs tangled underneath the sheet. I was twirling a lock of her soft hair around my finger.
I chuckled. “I’m all ears.”
“Why didn’t you come to the house when you got to town?”
“You were upset, so I decided to just wait until morning.”
Up until an hour ago when Thea had burst into my room, I’d had an awful day. I hadn’t wanted to bring my shitty mood to her doorstep.
This morning, I’d arranged for a Saturday brunch with my parents in order to tell them about Charlie. It had gone as I’d expected. My parents’ greatest concern had been Thea’s motives. Mom and Dad had grilled me about Thea’s background, immediately assuming a defensive stance. Their first assumption was that Thea was out to scheme a sliver of the family fortune. After they’d asked questions about her financial status, education and family history, most of which I hadn’t been able to answer, my father had excused himself from the table to call the attorneys.
From there, the day had gotten worse. There’d been an accident on the way to the airport, so I’d left two hours late. I’d had to take a conference call for the foundation from the jet, which had run an hour long, like I’d told Thea.
I’d hoped to make it to Montana in time to surprise Charlie and give her a face-to-face good night. But by the time I’d landed, I’d missed her bedtime call and Thea had been so pissed, she’d hung up on me.
The thirty-minute drive from Kalispell to Lark Cove had gone fast. I’d fumed the whole way, angry that Thea hadn’t had any faith that I’d keep my promise. When I’d finally pulled into Lark Cove, I’d been exhausted and all too ready for the day to end.
But now, with Thea in my arms, I’d actually go to sleep with a smile on my face.
I yawned. “Is Hazel with Charlie?”
“Yeah. I texted her while you were in the bathroom and told her where I was and that I’d explain everything in the morning.”
I pulled the sheet up higher, covering her bare back.
“I’m sorry, Logan.” Her arm slid farther across my stomach. “You said on the phone you had a change of plans, and I assumed that meant you weren’t coming here. I shouldn’t have cut you off.”
“Next time, I won’t try and surprise you.”
She closed her eyes and sighed. “How long can you stay?”
“A week. I’ll have to work during the day, but I should be able to free up my evenings.”
The last two weeks had been brutal. With the new client I’d taken on at the firm along with everything else, I couldn’t spend my days here chasing Charlie around and playing outdoors. This hotel room would serve as my office during the day, and I’d be Dad after five. The only thing working in my favor was the time difference. I was hoping that if I was up and working at four each morning, by the time quitting time rolled around on the East Coast, I’d at least have my evenings free.
Tomorrow would be the exception. Because for the first time, I was spending the day with my daughter to celebrate her birthday.
“I’m going to look at a house tomorrow morning,” I told Thea. “I’d like to bring Charlie.”
“That’s fine. Her party isn’t until three.”
Just then, my phone buzzed. “Sorry.” I reached to the end table and muted the incoming call.
“It’s fine. You’d better get it. Someone has been trying to reach you for a while now.” Thea tried to roll away, but I pinned her close.
“I’ll call them back in a minute.” I wasn’t sure who had been calling for the last hour, but my phone had gone off a handful of times. It hadn’t been hard to ignore with Thea in my bed. “I—”
My phone rang again. I rolled to mute it but saw it was the firm. At almost midnight in New York, something had to be wrong. “It’s work. I’d better call them back.”
“Okay.” Thea took a long breath, holding it for a second before letting it out across my skin, then pulling away. “I should go.”
I frowned and held her close. “I thought you had questions. Stay the night and you can ask them all. Just let me call them back.”
“I can’t.” She pushed harder, rolling away and tossing her legs over the side of the bed.
“You mean won’t.”
She didn’t respond, scooping up clothes and rushing into the bathroom.
“Damn it,” I grumbled, running both hands over my face. The day wasn’t going to end as well as I’d hoped.
I grabbed my phone and listened to one of five voicemails with an urgent question from an associate on my team. Apparently, some new tax regulation was coming down the pike and one of our larger clients was worried about the legal ramifications for a contract to be signed on Monday. I quickly shot him a text, letting him know I’d call him back in thirty minutes. Then I whipped the sheet off my legs and climbed out of bed to pull on my jeans. I was buttoning my shirt when Thea came out of the bathroom.
She kept her eyes on the carpet as she crossed the room to slide on her flip-flops. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“What’s the hurry? Slow down for just a second.”
She shook her head, going for the door. “Tomorrow is a big day. I need to go home and get some rest.”
Bullshit. Something had happened to put her off. But what? Was it the phone calls? It wouldn’t take me more than fifteen minutes to deal with them and then she’d have my undivided attention.
My palm pressed against the door before she could open it and I trapped her right in my space. “Thea, talk to me.”
“I just . . . I don’t know if this was smart. You and me.”
My jaw clenched. “I disagree.”
Being with Thea had felt nothing but brilliant and I sure as hell didn’t have regrets. The way the two of us connected was unlike anything I’d ever felt. She touched me and I came alive. With my lips on hers, everything made sense. When our bodies were linked, the stars aligned.
I wasn’t going to let her regret tonight either.
“Look at me and tell me you didn’t feel the same thing I felt.”
She turned up her chin, ready to lie, but when her eyes met mine, the fight disappeared. “I can’t,” she whispered.
“Then why are you running away? Stay the night.”
“I shouldn’t. I don’t want Charlie to wake up in the morning and me not be home.”
“I have an alarm.” I pointed to the end table. “It’s that little black box, right over there.”
She shook her head. “It’s not just Charlie. This happened so fast, I just need some time away to think. Okay?”
“Fine,” I muttered. “I’m willing to let that be your excuse to run away, but just this once. In the future, you can do your thinking in my bed.”
The last time a woman had told me she’d needed some time away to think, she’d moved to Montana and found a husband. There was no way I was going to lose Thea like I’d lost Emmeline.
She might need a night to think things through, but I didn’t. Nothing about us together had been a mistake. I’d thought about her constantly while I’d been in New York. I’d missed her and Charlie like crazy. And all it had done was confirm something I’d known the day I’d left Lark Cove weeks ago.
Thea and I could be amazing together.
“Good night.” She pulled on the door hard. My hand was still by the peephole, holding the door closed, so I let up and opened it for her.
“What are you doing?” she asked over her shoulder as I followed her outside.
“Walking you home.”
“You don’t need to. I’ll be fine.”
“Yes, you will because I’m walking you home.” It was dark, and I didn’t care if we were in Lark Cove. She shouldn’t be walking around alone at night.
She quirked an eyebrow. “You don’t think I can make it five blocks?”
This beautiful woman was testing my patience. If she wasn’t going to stay, then I wanted to get her home safely. Except that eyebrow quirk made my cock jerk in my jeans, and if I wasn’t out of condoms, I’d pull her right back inside and fuck her until she was so tired, she’d collapse in my bed.
“Thea, you can either let me walk you home or you can stay here with me. We’re out of condoms, but I’m sure I could find another way to wear you out. What’s it going to be?”
“I, um,” her cheeks flushed, “should go home.”
I grinned and placed my hand on her hip, pressing my fingertips into the small of her back. “Then lead the way.”
We walked in silence the distance to her house, past the bar and across the highway. As we turned down the side street closest to the lake, she picked up her pace. Either she was cold or she didn’t want me close enough for a good-night kiss.
Too bad. She had long legs but they couldn’t outrun my stride.
“Thanks.” She waved over her shoulder, turning up the sidewalk in front of the house. “I’ll see you—”
Before she could escape, I reached out and snagged one of her wrists. Then I spun her around and slammed my mouth down on hers. Her lips were open, so I slid my tongue inside, kissing her hard and fast before tearing myself away.
I grinned at the flush I’d left on her face. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She nodded, then turned and jogged up to the house.
Tomorrow.
Thea would be mine again tomorrow. And the next day. And the day after that. She’d be mine all week long.
I’d spend these seven days breaking down her barriers, proving she could trust me. And when I left, she’d be coming too. Because there was no way I was going to leave Thea and Charlie behind again.
Which meant, starting tomorrow, I was going to find a way to get them to move to New York.
The next morning, I was back in the same place I’d left Thea last night, bent and ready to catch the little girl racing my way.
“Logan!” Charlie shouted as she flew down the sidewalk and into my arms.
“Happy Birthday, peanut.” I wrapped her up and spun her around. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too.” She leaned back and her smile melted my heart. “You’re back.”
“Of course I’m back. I made you a promise. Besides, I had to deliver your present. The mailman said it was too big.”
Her eyes sparkled. “What is it?”
“I guess you’d better go look in the back of the car.” I tipped my chin toward the black Suburban parked on the street. My assistant had arranged for the SUV to be at the airport last night, ready and loaded with Charlie’s gift.
She squirmed out of my arms and ran to the back, pushing the button to open the hatch. I followed, standing behind her with a stupid smile as the box came into view. It wasn’t wrapped, so she could see the pictures on the cardboard.
“A Jeep!” she yelled. Her voice was louder than I’d ever heard.
“Your very own Jeep.” Her excitement was contagious. I couldn’t wait to get the toy set up and see her driving it around the yard.
The Jeep I’d picked out was red with black trim. It had an open top, seats for two kids and a row of spotlights on the roll bar. It was top-of-the-line, the best toy vehicle on the market. I hadn’t even thought about asking Thea if the gift was too expensive. I’d missed five birthdays already, so if I wanted to spoil my daughter on her sixth, no one, not even her mother, was going to tell me no.
The door to the cottage opened and Thea and Hazel came down the sidewalk, joining us by the car.
“Mommy! Gran!” Charlie frantically waved them over. “Look what Logan got me.”
“A Jeep.” Thea smiled as she took in the box. “This is awesome! Did you say ‘thanks’?”
Charlie stopped admiring the box to wrap her arms around my hips. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Happy Birthday.” I bent and kissed the top of her hair. “Come on. Let’s get this thing unloaded and then I want to take you somewhere.”
“Where?” She and Thea stepped back, joining Hazel on the curb.
Since Thea was doing her best to avoid eye contact, Hazel and I shared a smirk. Whether Thea liked it or not, we would be talking about last night soon.
But for now, I was spending the morning with the birthday girl.
“We’re going on a birthday adventure.”
“Hey.” I walked into the kitchen and found Thea at the sink.
“Hi.” Her eyes tracked my hands as they set down the screwdriver I’d been using to build Charlie’s Jeep. She was still refusing to look me in the eye. “All done?”
“Yeah.” I went right to her side and leaned against the counter, making sure to get close enough that I could bend and talk into her ear, but not so close that we were touching. “She’s driving it around.”
She was doing her best to act unaffected by my presence, but I heard the quick hitch of her breath as she washed a bowl. She’d been setting up for the party ever since Charlie and I had come back from our adventure.
“Sounds like you two had fun this morning.”
I smiled. “We sure did.”
The first place I’d taken Charlie this morning had been the lake house to meet with a realtor and get a tour. I’d assured her that I was buying the home for myself and she wouldn’t have to move but that I needed her help to decide if it was a place she could come for visits.
Charlie explored the house from top to bottom, inspecting every inch of the five-thousand-square-foot home. By the time she declared it was acceptable, the realtor—a man who’d stood by patiently the entire time—had earned his commission.
After we left my future Montana home, I took Charlie to a boat store about ten miles outside of Lark Cove. We went straight to the showroom where I told her to pick one. Just like with my house, she gave every boat a thorough inspection before deciding on a blue ski boat. And I’d handed the salesman my credit card.
From there, we’d returned to the cottage for lunch and to get Charlie’s Jeep assembled before the party.
“Can I help with something?” I asked Thea. It was almost three and guests were due to arrive at any minute.
“No, I think I’m all set.”
The cake, a camouflage rectangle with neon-orange piping, was on the kitchen table. The snacks were all in bowls ready to take out to the card table set up on the back lawn down by the dock. And the coolers on the porch were all full.
Charlie had invited over some friends to play outside and go swimming in the lake for her party. There’d be kids with their parents along with Jackson, Willa and a couple of Thea’s friends from the bar crowding their backyard.
There weren’t a ton of decorations, just some balloons on the porch and tablecloths on the card tables. It was the polar opposite of the birthday extravaganzas that my sisters and I had experienced as children. There were no petting zoos or Cirque du Soleil performers. This wasn’t a competition to see who could spend the most money for their child’s special day.
Because it wasn’t about the party at all. It was just about celebrating Charlie.
“That was a really nice gift you bought her.” Thea spoke to the kitchen window as Charlie came driving around the side of the house.
“Too much?”
“No.” She shook her head. “I don’t care if you spoil her for a while, Logan. I get it.”
She did. Thea had been nothing but supportive of the bond Charlie and I were building. If only she’d let down her own guard, then the two of us could do some more bonding too. “It’s time to talk about last night. Why did you run away?”
She abandoned the sink, darting around the kitchen, looking for something to do.
I grinned as she shuffled the bowls on the counter around, then squared up the stack of army-green party napkins.
With her back to me, I crossed the floor and placed both of my arms on the counter at her sides.
“Logan,” she gasped as I trapped her, my chest pressing against her back.
“Thea.” My voice was low and quiet as I spoke in her neck. “You can’t avoid me forever. I’m not going anywhere. Talk to me.”
“Except you are going somewhere.” She turned her head, speaking to my bicep. “Back to New York. Back to being distracted.”
“Distracted? What are you talking about?”
She spun around in the space between my arms, leaning back against the counter and crossing her arms. Her breasts lifted under her simple gray sundress, revealing a hint of cleavage.
I fought the urge to press my hips into hers. There was fire in her eyes, a passion that made the bulge in my jeans even worse.
“You were different these last two weeks,” she declared. “Like you didn’t really have time to talk to us.”
My eyebrows came together as I mentally ran through our phone calls. Most of the last two weeks had been spent at the firm with my team buzzing in and out of my office with questions. Was that why she’d asked me if I had a girlfriend? Was she worried I’d been seeing someone else?
“I spent the last two weeks working fourteen-hour days at the firm. Every. Day. If I was distracted, it was because someone had barged into my office and interrupted our call. Trust me, there was nothing I would have rather been doing than talking to you and Charlie.”
“Then—”
My phone rang in my pocket. Damn it. I’d forgotten to put it on silent.
She dropped her eyes to stare at her bare toes as I declined the call.
“Hey.” I hooked a finger under her chin. “I work. A lot. My job is important to me. But that doesn’t mean you and Charlie aren’t important to me too. I’ll try to do better.”
“Thanks. Charlie will appreciate it.”
I grinned. “Just Charlie?”
She fought it, but I caught a twitch on the corner of her mouth.
A mouth I was going to kiss right now.
I leaned forward, holding her gaze until our noses touched. Before I brushed my lips to hers, I licked her bottom lip and pressed my hips forward, letting her feel how much I wanted her. Thea’s mouth had just fallen open with a gasp when the back door burst open.
“The—Shit,” Hazel cussed. “Sorry.”
Thea ripped her lips from mine, turning her head to the side, then ducking under my arms to escape. She cleared her throat, grabbing two bowls and walking right to the door as she muttered, “I better get these outside.”
I took a few moments to get myself under control. Then I ran a hand over my lips before turning around to Hazel.
“Sorry.” She barked out a laugh. “Bad timing.”
“It’s okay.” I shrugged. “It’s probably not the best time to be kissing her anyway. Not with a bunch of party guests on their way.”
Hazel went to the sink and filled a glass of water as she scanned the backyard through the window. Thea was setting the snacks down outside on the tables.
“Come and sit.” Hazel motioned to the table so I followed her over, taking the seat with my back to the door. “This town is small and people like to gossip. After today, everyone in Lark Cove is going to know about you.”
“Is that a problem?”
“No. It’s an opportunity.”
I grinned, leaning my elbows on the table. “I’m listening.”
“Thea doesn’t have a ton of friends here in town. She spends her free time with Charlie, and she works at the bar. Not exactly a place to host play dates. She’s never been able to really connect with the other moms in town. They just don’t have anything in common except their kids.”
I wasn’t quite following how I fit into this, but I stayed quiet as Hazel slowly sipped her water before continuing.
“If you put Thea behind a bar, she can charm anyone on the other side. Hell, she could charm the lights off a Christmas tree. But the women in this town are cliquey and a bunch of them are coming here for the first time. I don’t want to see Thea uncomfortable at her own daughter’s birthday party.”
Neither do I. “I’ll make sure Thea has a good time today.”
We nodded at each other and I stood, going straight for the door. I wanted to find Thea and do whatever I could to keep a smile on her face.
I stepped onto the porch with a smile on my own.
It dropped as I watched Jackson kiss Thea.
