Chapter Three
Torren spent the next few days taking out groups and manning the store.
Tag took Piper on a last-minute trip that he was calling a “babymoon”.
The whole thing seemed ridiculous, but Torren was happy that his brother seemed so happy.
Before they knew it, Tag and Piper’s baby would be there, and they would all need to make some adjustments.
He was going to be an uncle, and that thought terrified him.
He was never any good around kids, but he was excited to try his hand at being the cool uncle.
He took Tucker over to Tana two days ago, before he left on a little hiking trip with a group.
He was going to stop by the grocery store on his way home and then pick the puppy up.
Just the thought of seeing Tana made his stomach flip-flop, and fuck, that made him feel like a complete wuss.
The wedding was a little more than a week away, and he couldn’t wait to pick Tana up for their “adult” date.
He was happy for just the two of them to spend some time together, but he was serious about taking the girls with them to the wedding.
Tana’s girls were starting to grow on him, and he was pretty sure that Tucker was completely in love with them both.
Torren finally made it back to his house and felt just about ready to collapse.
He threw his gear in the mudroom and hit the shower.
By the time he got over to Tana’s to pick up his puppy, it was dinner time.
He felt a little guilty about interrupting their dinner, but he wanted to grab Tucker and head home to bed.
Torren rang the doorbell and smiled to himself when he heard Tucker’s yap followed by a chorus of groans and the girls crying that they wanted his puppy to stay longer.
Tana pulled her front door open and smiled at him, chaos raining down behind her.
“Tell me that it hasn’t been like this for the past two days,” Torren asked, following her into her little house and back to her kitchen.
Tana told him that she was only renting the house, but she made it feel like a home with all her quirky art.
His personal favorites were the girls’ artwork that she framed and hung in the kitchen.
“Well, life with twin four-year-olds and a puppy isn’t boring, let’s just leave it at that.
” Tana handed him a dinner plate and smiled up at him.
“You are just in time for dinner. We were about to put Tucker in his crate and sit down to eat,” Tana said.
Torren looked down at his hand holding the brightly colored plate and back at Tana as if he didn’t understand.
Honestly, he felt a little slow on the uptake.
“You’re inviting me to dinner?” he questioned. The girls were shouting Tucker’s name, trying to corral him into his crate that sat in the corner of Tana’s kitchen.
She nodded her head, “Yeah, if you’d like.
You probably didn’t plan on dinner since you just got home, and I made enough.
It’s lasagna, by the way.” He looked over at her stove, where the pan of pasta covered in cheese sat cooling, and his stomach growled.
Lasagna was one of his favorite meals, and spending time with Tana and her girls was a bonus.
Since he asked her to go to the wedding, she distanced herself from him.
Hell, maybe it was the scorching kiss that they shared in his kitchen before his cookout that had her taking a step back.
He knew that Tana didn’t have an easy relationship with her ex, but he was starting to wonder how tumultuous their marriage was.
If he had to guess, her asshole ex-husband abused her, and that made him furious.
He didn’t want to push her, but a part of him wished she would let him in—which was crazy.
Six months ago, he wouldn’t have cared less about any of Tana’s past relationships—he was only looking for one thing.
New Torren was a hell of a lot more caring than old Torren, and he wasn’t sure how to proceed in getting to know Tana or her girls.
Old Torren would have already had her in his bed and would have moved on to his next conquest. New Torren was mapping out the whole dating scene, and he was finding himself a bit lost.
“It’s just dinner, Torren. If you already have plans, don’t worry about it.” She tried to take the plate back from him, and he tightened his hold.
“I’d like to stay, thank you.” Torren smiled and helped her finish setting the table. The girls came running into the kitchen, shouting that they had washed up.
“We made you cookies, Mr. Torren. But, you have to eat all of your dinner, including the salad.” Sarah made a disgusted face and then continued. “Mom won’t let you have dessert if you don’t eat your veggies.” Torren laughed at Sarah’s displeasure at eating vegetables.
“I love veggies, so no problem there. Thanks, Sarah.” Torren messed the girl’s hair, making her giggle.
He helped her into her seat and then held out Beth’s seat, scooting her up to the kitchen table.
He took the warm pan of lasagna from Tana and set it on the table, then pulled out her chair for her.
“You made me cookies?” Tana nodded and sat down in her seat, scooting herself into the table.
Torren let his hand brush hers and didn’t miss her shiver at his touch.
He rounded the little kitchen table and sat on the other end across from Tana.
She helped the girls fill their plates, and Torren marveled at how normal the whole scene felt, reminding him of the family dinners that his grandfather insisted on when he and Tag were younger.
Dane was a stickler for spending time together at the beginning and end of each day, something that he missed the most after his grandpa died.
Tag and he moved in together, but the two were a little lost without their grandfather’s guidance.
They might have lived in the same condo, but they both led very different lives.
When Tag met Piper, Torren felt like he was spiraling out of control.
He started bringing home women in pairs and then in groups, not caring about them or what they wanted from him.
He only thought about forgetting his loneliness, if just for one night.
But he never really found what he was looking for.
When Piper and Tag announced that they were having a baby, he knew that if he didn’t change his ways sooner or later, he’d alienate himself from his brother and his family.
He wanted to be a part of their lives, not find ways to push Tag and his new family away.
That was when he decided to buy his house and take on the project of not only remodeling his home but also his life.
He learned to work through his loneliness and find a new normal.
Torren liked his alone time. Although having Tucker around kept him busy now, he was settling into being alone.
Maybe he was growing up, but at almost thirty-one years old, it was about damn time.
Beth smiled at Torren, flashing her dimples that mirrored her mother’s.
“I helped to make the cookies, Mr. Torren.” Her smile beamed at him just before she turned to stick her tongue out at Sarah, who immediately started squawking about her sister being mean until Tana put her foot down.
“Girls, do you need to go to your room without finishing dinner?” Both of her daughters shook their heads and kept their eyes on their plates. Torren couldn’t help his chuckle, and Tana mean-mugged him. He held his hands up, as if in defense.
“Hey, I just think they’re pretty darn cute, is all.
” Tana pointed her fork at him. “You are encouraging bad behavior, Torren. I can’t have you laughing at my adorable daughters every time I discipline them.
” The mention of Tana disciplining anyone had Torren’s cock standing at attention.
He knew that wasn’t supposed to turn him on, but it did.
He found that a good many things about Tana turned him on, and he wasn’t quite sure what to do about it.
She seemed to be attracted to him—he noticed her little shivers every time his hand brushed her skin or the way her eyes darkened and she leaned into him when he got a little too close to her.
His favorite was the way she responded to him when he kissed her in his kitchen.
If he had to guess, it was a long time since anyone touched Tana that way, and that one, single thought kept him hard.
He even spent the last few nights masturbating to the memories of the way she moaned into his mouth and let him stroke his tongue over hers.
He thought of all the other places on her sexy little body that he wanted to run his tongue over.
A groan escaped his chest, and he realized that all three of his dinner dates were watching him with renewed interest.
“You all right, Torren?” Tana smirked, and he knew that she could pretty much guess what he was thinking about.
“Yep, just thinking about how good your lasagna tastes,” he lied. “It’s probably the best I’ve ever had.” Tana barked out a laugh, letting him know that she didn’t believe him.