I escaped Thea’s as fast as possible, hustling through their house, only to pick up the pace when I hit the sidewalk. My strides were long and fast, putting as many yards and trees and houses between Thea and me as possible.
Christ, I almost kissed her.
I hadn’t had that strong of an urge to kiss a woman since . . . well, Thea. I’d forgotten how magnetic she was. How fast she’d pulled me under in that hotel bar. Not even Emmeline had stirred that kind of raw, primitive desire.
I wanted Thea. I wanted to taste her again and feel her thighs wrapped around my hips while my hand fisted her hair. I wanted to give into the heat and get lost in a long night of sweaty, hard, mind-numbing sex.
So it was a damn good thing she’d stepped away when she had because I’d been seconds from smashing my lips to hers. I’d almost kissed Thea when I should have been thinking about Charlie.
My focus needed to be on my daughter. If I got lost in Thea, I had the potential to hurt us all.
And if we caused Charlie pain, we’d both regret it.
Maybe it was because my confidence was shaken. Maybe it was because of what had happened with Emmeline. But I had no faith in my ability to manage a long-distance relationship with my daughter, let alone a girlfriend.
So like I’d done last night, I walked the streets of Lark Cove without paying much attention. I was too busy chastising myself to notice street signs or landmarks. When I finally took in my surroundings, I chuckled.
My feet had carried me to the same dirt road I’d been on last night. The one surrounded by large vacation homes.
“At least I know where I am this time,” I told the lake.
Behind me stood the house I’d admired last night. The big one with all the windows and cedar shingles. The windows were all dark, like they’d been last night. And there wasn’t a car in the driveway.
Maybe I should buy it.
I had ideas like that pop in and out of my head all the time, but this one stuck. Maybe I should buy it. Thea had made it clear tonight that moving to New York was a last resort. Charlie hadn’t seemed too keen on the idea either. Which meant that for me to see my daughter, I’d be trekking to Montana.
At least if I bought this house, I’d have a place to stay other than the Lark Cove Motel.
“Gah!” My frustrated grunt echoed off the trees.
Why was Thea so against moving back to New York? That would make everything easier. They’d be close so I could see Charlie more. That was, if I got past the point of scaring her into complete silence.
I shoved a hand through my hair, pulling tight at the roots. My grandmother always said I worried too much. Well today, I hadn’t worried enough. Hour after hour I’d visualized worst-case scenarios. None of it had prepared me to face Charlie’s rejection.
I don’t want a dad anymore.
That. Fucking. Hurt.
My daughter didn’t like me at all.
And I honestly didn’t know what to do about it. I didn’t know how to fix this problem.
I’d been in Lark Cove for a day and my spirits were at an all-time low.
What was I going to do? I pulled out my phone from my jeans, doing the only thing I could think of at the moment.
I would buy this house.
Quickly, I snapped a couple of photos, being sure to get the numbers next to the door. Then I emailed them to my personal assistant with instructions to find out who the owners were and offer them whatever it would take to make it mine.
This could work.
I could set up this house with a remote office. That way I wouldn’t get too far behind at the firm or with the foundation when I was here. Maybe I could spend a few weeks here in the summer. I could come back for the holidays, though Mom and Dad would be pissed if I missed their annual Kendrick family holiday party. They’d have to adjust.
We were all going to adjust.
This could work. This house could work.
As far as I was concerned, Thea could have the place. If she wanted a bigger house, she and Charlie could both live here. Charlie would have all this room to run around and create her forts. Maybe I’d even have a special tree house built in the forest out back. And the detached garage would work far better than a shed for Thea’s art studio.
Excitement surged. This could be the start of a plan.
I smiled for the first time in hours, then turned around, going back to where I’d started. Thea’s. She might not want to see my face again tonight, but I was going back.
She’d asked me for answers.
Now I had some.
My phone rang and I grimaced as Alice’s name flashed. The last thing I needed was her calling all week, interrupting my time with Charlie, so reluctantly I answered. “Hello.”
“Hi, stud. Want to meet me tonight?” She was purring, something I’d always hated. It was far from sexy, more desperate than desirable.
“No. I’m out of town this week.”
“Bummer,” she whined. “Call me when you get home so we can see each other? Maybe go on a proper date?”
A proper date? “I don’t think so, Alice. If we run into each other at a fundraising event, please be sure to say hello. But I think it would be best for you to stop calling.”
“Excuse me?” Her nasal tone shred the last of my nerves.
“Take care, Alice.”
She snapped something but I hung up before I could hear it all.
I never should have started something up with her. Not only would she call again, but I’d also have to fend off my sister, Sofia.
Somehow, Alice had managed to worm her way into my youngest sister’s good graces. They were thick as thieves these days, no doubt plotting a way for Alice to get my last name. Tomorrow, I’d likely get an irate phone call from Sofia telling me how much of a fool I was for not marrying her friend.
I silenced my phone and shoved it back in my jeans pocket, then continued my walk back to Thea’s so we could try our conversation again. This time without a fight.
The sun was setting as I reached her street. Her house was the smallest on the road, sandwiched between houses that were definitely not the originals. But somehow, between two homes that were twice the size and much newer, their green cottage fit. It was the house that belonged while the others were out of place.
I went straight for the front door, ready to knock, but stopped short as a crash sounded from Thea’s shed.
Déjà vu. I’d been in exactly the same place last night when I’d heard a sound in Thea’s workshop. And like last night, I changed direction, forgoing the front door for her shed. When I was a few feet away, I heard her cuss.
“Goddamn it!”
I approached the doorway cautiously so as not to startle her, then peeked inside. Tonight, her back wasn’t to me. She was in profile with her head tilted to the ceiling and a bottle tipped to her lips. She took a long pull, then slammed the bottle on her paint-splattered table. She swallowed, grimacing at the burn of the vodka.
I knocked on the open door. “So what’s your rule for drinking vodka straight?”
“Shit,” Thea gasped, clutching her heart as she spun to the door. “You scared me.”
“Sorry.” I stepped inside the shed, raking my eyes down her body.
Earlier, she’d been wearing a thin, long-sleeve gray top, but she’d changed after I’d left. Now she was just wearing a low-cut tank with thin crisscross straps. The way her chest heaved as she breathed made her breasts strain against the cotton.
And it made my cock jerk behind my zipper.
This woman, everything about her, was sensual. Her hair was up again, revealing the long line of her neck. Her legs were so smooth and toned, bare except for her green shorts. They hugged the curves of her hips. She was wearing rubber flip-flops, showcasing toes painted fire-engine red.
She was stunning.
My mother and sisters had always thought designer gowns and fancy jewels made a woman beautiful. They pampered themselves at the spa weekly and never left the house without makeup. Would they think differently if they saw Thea like she was tonight? Raw and natural. She was so damn gorgeous I had a hard time staying upright.
“What are you doing here, Logan?”
My head jerked up as I tore my gaze from her legs. “I owe you an apology.”
Her eyebrow quirked. “For?”
“The fight.” I walked farther into the room, taking my place against the far wall and leaning on the same cabinet I’d propped myself against last night.
“Oh,” she muttered, dropping her gaze and picking up the bottle again. Instead of pressing it to her lips, she held it between us. “Me too.”
I took the bottle and brought it to my mouth, doing my best not to think that Thea’s had been on the rim not thirty seconds ago. The vodka burned but had a sweet aftertaste. What was that?
“Huckleberry,” she said before I could inspect the label. “It’s another one of my drinking laws. Vodka for the particularly bad nights.”
I winced. “I deserved that.”
“No,” she sighed and took the bottle back to set aside, “it’s not your fault. It’s just . . .”
I waited for her to continue, but she stayed quiet. “Just what?”
She gave me a pleasant, but forced, smile. “It’s just hard. We need to figure this out for Charlie.”
Her eyes were on the floor. Her shoulders hunched forward. Was this just about Charlie? Because my gut was telling me there was something else. Something I was missing. I opened my mouth to push her for an explanation but stopped before a word came out.
No question I could ask would get answered. Thea wanted this to be about Charlie, so I’d make it about Charlie. Maybe after she had some answers to give our daughter, Thea would realize I wasn’t the enemy. She’d realize I genuinely cared for her feelings.
She’d trust me.
“I had an idea I wanted to run past you. I’m thinking of buying a house here.”
She straightened off the table, her eyes were full of hope as they lifted to mine. “Really? You’d move here?”
“Oh, no. Sorry.” Shit. “That’s not what I meant. I’d still live in New York but get a house here to stay when I visited.”
“Visits. Right.” She went for the bottle again. “And how often do you think you can visit?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t gotten that far. But I thought if I had a place to stay and work while I was here, I could extend my trips.”
“Great idea. Charlie will love that.”
Except she didn’t sound like it was a great idea. The excitement I’d had thirty minutes ago was gone.
Thea gave me another one of her pleasant smiles. The fake smile.
I knew it well because I had one of my own. It was the same smile I used when I wanted to appease a difficult client. The one I gave my mother when she pried into my personal life. The smile I wore to fundraisers.
Most people bought that pleasant smile without question. I’d perfected it over the years.
Thea’s was better.
She’d almost had me fooled.
Almost.
“If you don’t think buying a house is a good idea, then just say it. Don’t feed me compliments just because you think that’s what I want to hear. I’m not a customer at the bar. Don’t bullshit me.”
Her smile vanished. “What do you want me to say? I’m glad you’re going to come here to visit. If owning a house makes that easier, great. I’m sure Charlie will enjoy that once you guys get to know each other.”
“But . . .”
“But I’m worried. What happens when one visit gets canceled? Then the next? I’m terrified that you’ll go back to your life in New York and forget a piece of it is still here.”
Forget? I would never forget about Charlie. “I’ll do my best to commit to each trip, but we both know that things come up. I can’t promise plans won’t change. I’m doing the only thing I can think of if you’re so set against moving back to New York.”
“Back to that again?” she asked. “I don’t want to move.”
“Then I’ll visit.” I stepped off the cabinet, standing closer to Thea to make my point. “I want to get to know Charlie, but I live in New York. That doesn’t mean I can’t be a part of her life.”
In twenty-four hours, Charlotte Faye Landry had become one of the most important people in my life. Maybe the most important. I’d already missed five years. I’d missed seeing her as a baby and toddler. Earlier tonight, as I’d stood in Thea’s living room, staring at the portrait she’d painted of Charlie as a baby, I’d made a vow not to miss any more.
“Please, Thea. Give me a chance to prove that she’s important before you cut me out completely.”
“I’m sorry.” Thea put her hands to her temples. “I’d never cut you out. I just don’t want Charlie to get hurt. I don’t want her to ever feel rejected.”
Rejected? Why would she think I’d reject Charlie? “I’d never reject her. I promise.”
Her gaze narrowed as she assessed my sincerity. My chest tightened, much like it had when Charlie had looked me up and down earlier tonight. I didn’t remember a time when I’d gone through such intense scrutiny. Not in college. Not in law school. My father, who was known for his ruthless critique, hadn’t inspected me this closely when I’d practiced my high school valedictorian speech for him.
These Landry women were stripping me bare.
“I want to believe you,” she said quietly. “I really do. But I don’t even know if you believe in yourself right now.”
I staggered back as if she’d slapped me. She saw right through me, didn’t she? She saw every flaw and insecurity. “You’re right. I don’t have the first clue what to do with Charlie. But I’ll figure it out over time.”
“Time? I thought you only had a week.”
“I’m coming back.”
“You’d better. If you make my daughter fall in love with you and then you leave her behind, I will find you and smother you in your sleep.”
I chuckled. Not many people challenged me. I liked that Thea didn’t back down. She met me with full force when we were fighting and when we’d had sex. I loved that she was especially scrappy when it came to our daughter. “I think you’d better hand over that vodka. You’re getting violent.”
She answered by grabbing the bottle and gulping down another shot. “You should see me when I drink bourbon. The last time I had Jim Beam, I decided to trim the shrubs along the sidewalk out front.”
“What shrubs?”
“Exactly.”
I laughed, picturing a drunken Thea going to town on some harmless greenery. “I met Hazel today.”
“She told me.” Thea handed over the bottle, our fingers brushing as I took it from her grip, and my pulse quickened.
This was dangerous, the two of us together in a cramped shed, drinking and letting the awkwardness melt away. I should say good night. I should go back to the motel and spend a couple of hours working. I should leave her here before I did something rash.
Instead, I took a drink.
Thea had this way of making me ignore should. She inspired me to throw out logic and prudence and obligation.
“So what’s next?” I asked, handing her the bottle. “Tell me what to do.”
She shrugged. “You have a week. I guess let’s start there. Charlie has a soccer game tomorrow night, and you’re welcome to come.”
“I’ll be there. Just text me when and where.”
She nodded. “We usually go out to dinner afterward. You’re welcome to join us.”
“Done.”
“No more talk about moving.” She pointed the bottle at my nose. “Don’t tell Charlie you’re thinking of buying a house here either. At least, not until she warms up to you. She’s scared she’s going to have to live in two places.”
Yes. Now we were getting somewhere. Much like in a difficult acquisition or tense merger negotiation, I always studied my opponents. I liked to know exactly who I was facing off with on behalf of my clients. Before I sat down at any conference table, I knew everything possible about the business my client was trying to buy—financial position, staff members, any previous legal troubles. And I knew even more about the opposing counsel. It wasn’t uncommon for me to take them out for a “get-to-know-you” lunch before we faced off.
It was ridiculous, comparing a soccer game and dinner with a five-year-old girl to my contract negotiation strategies. But I was desperate to get along with my daughter.
I waved Thea on. “Keep it coming.”
“Don’t make her any promise you can’t keep. Don’t let her silence scare you away. She listens more than she talks. Oh, and we can never argue in front of her. If she senses that we’re not getting along, she’ll pick a side and it won’t be yours.”
I grinned at the mental image of Charlie protecting her mother. I could relate to that feeling entirely. Something about Thea made me want to wrap her in my arms and never let go. “Anything else?”
She shook her head. “I’ll let you know what I come up with.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” She took a shot, then handed me the bottle to do the same.
We stood there in silence for a while, passing the vodka back and forth. The entire time, I studied Thea’s deep brown eyes. They were so bold and large, the color of dark chocolate. The night we’d spent together, I’d spent hours getting lost in her eyes as I’d moved inside of her.
Drunk and unable to fight the pull, I stepped away from the cabinet, holding her eyes as the space between us disappeared. I walked right into her space, trapping her against the table. The heat from her heaving breasts warmed the front of my shirt.
“Logan,” she whispered when I pressed even closer. “This is stupid.” Still, her hands came to my waist, gripping my shirt.
“You’re probably right. But I’m going to kiss you anyway.”
