Chapter 6 #2
It was amazing how much energy the kid had. Vic shook his head and settled back in his seat. He reached for his napkin and wiped his mouth.
“So,” he said.
“So…” Tachina eyed him nervously.
They stared at each in silence for moment. She bit her lip with and watched him. He hated to see her nervous. She was always calm and kept her shit together. Professionally. Socially. Even when giving birth. She’d had more composure than he had.
He leaned forward and rested his arms on the table.
“I thought about what you asked me,” he began. He paused, his heart racing.
Her eyes grew wider, and he would have sworn she’d stopped breathing.
“And I’m…agreeing.”
“Wait…you are?” Her voice ended on a squeak.
“I am.” He nodded. He’d thought long and hard about it. They did have a good thing between them. They had a smart, loving child already who was loved to the ends of the world. Their situation may not be ideal, but it worked for them. “But I have some terms.”
“Terms?” She echoed. She leaned back, curiosity burning bright in her eyes. She cleared her throat. “What kind of terms?”
Vic ran his hand over his jaw and felt the familiar pull between logic and instinct. He didn’t think his terms were out of the ordinary. He’d thought of when she had been pregnant with Kian and wanted things to be different this time.
“More nights over with you and Kian,” he said.
“I want to be there during the pregnancy this time. I feel like I missed a big chunk of things with Kian. The appointments, the little milestones of his growth, watching the baby kick your stomach, reading to your stomach…it’s hard to explain, but I don’t want to miss out on that again. ”
His words were met with silence. Her mouth opened then shut. Her eyes misted over as she stared at him.
“I understand. I wish I would have involved you more last time. I didn’t want to burden you with what I went through.” She lowered her eyes and exhaled.
“But you weren’t a burden. It took two of us to create that little boy,” he said quietly. “I wasn’t there for you enough like I should have been.”
The air stilled between them. He wished he could go back in time and just volunteer to be there with her, but he couldn’t. The only thing he could do was be there with the next one.
“And I want dates. Not romantic dates,” he quickly clarified at the rising of her eyebrows. “For bonding for me and you. Next time we would be able to have a connection. This one won’t be an accident. I want to be able to experience the whole thing.”
“I can do that.” She swallowed hard and nodded.
“Then we have a deal?” Vic leaned back, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
“Yes, we have a deal.” Tachina laughed. She wiped the lone tear away that had started trailing down her cheek. “So what are we going to do? Shake hands to seal the deal?”
Vic extended his hand for her. She slid her smaller one in his.
His breath caught at the heat that radiated up his arm from her touch.
They shook firmly, then she removed her hand.
He immediately wanted it back in his. He cleared his throat and chuckled.
It look a lot to keep from taking her hand back.
“We are now officially co-parenting for round two.”
“Round two.” She grinned and leaned forward slightly.
Kian’s laughter came from the living room. Just being here with her and his son gave him a warmth he didn’t generally have. The days when it was just him in the big mansion were lonely. He loved hearing Kian’s laughter and giggles. It was the one thing Vic looked forward to when he came home.
“And I’ve been tracking my cycle,” she said. “Lucky me, I’m regular as clockwork. I’ll be ovulating soon.”
Vic’s throat went dry. Vivid images flashed in his mind. Explicit memories of their times together years ago. His mind wandered. Would they have that same chemistry as before? He could still remember the way her skin smelled and felt against his.
His cock stiffened. He pushed down those thoughts. They were discussing things right now. He needed to focus on the conversation at hand.
“Don’t look so tense. I don’t need to drag you upstairs right now.” She giggled.
Why did she say that? Hell, if she tried to, he’d go willingly.
Just for them to practice at least once before the real deal.
The air crackled with electricity. Their smiles suddenly faded as they stared at each other. His fingers itched to run along her cheeks. He remembered how soft and supple she had felt underneath his hands.
“Hey, Daddy!” Kian came bounding into the kitchen. “Can we go outside and kick the ball?”
Vic tore his gaze from Tachina. Kian stood next to him with his soccer ball. His son bounced up and down.
“Sure, bud.” Vic pushed up from the table and went to grab his bowl, but Tachina waved her hands at him.
“I’ll get the table. You boys go outside and have fun.”
The backyard quieted as the sun dipped lower. The sky was a mixture of soft hues of golds and pinks. Kian must have burned off his late-afternoon energy. The two of them had flopped down on the grass and stared into the sky.
“Daddy! Look, a dragon!” Kian pointed to a drifting cloud.
Vic squinted to try to see what his son saw.
“Maybe a sleepy dragon.” Vic snorted.
They lay there laughing at the different shapes of clouds that floated by. A shark. A banana. Time slowed in the way it only ever did when he was with Kian. He glanced down at his watch and blew out a deep breath.
“Hey, bud. We need to head in. It’s getting late.”
Even though he didn’t want to leave.
He could feel the warmth of Tachina’s kitchen, the smell of the food, and remembered the feeling he got in his chest as she’d filled his bowl. It was the simple things that he appreciated.
“Kian! Time for your bath, babe!” Tachina called out from the door.
“Aww, do I have to?” Kian groaned.
They walked up the back stairs of the house. She rested a hand on her hip and tilted her head to the side. Vic recognized the look on her face. She was putting her foot down.
“Sir, you have been ripping and running all day, and now you smell like outside,” she said firmly. She tousled his hair as he walked past her. “You can pick out your jammies and a few toys for the tub.”
“Okay!” He turned to Vic and launched himself into his arms.
Vic held him and gave him a tight hug in return.
“Night, Daddy.”
“Goodnight. Love you.” Vic kissed his cheek and put him back down on his feet.
“Love you more!” The kid spun around and ran through the kitchen and down the hall.
“I better go,” Vic said.
The kitchen was spotless. If it hadn’t been for the aroma still lingering in the air, he would have thought he had dreamt up the meal.
“Here. You can take some home with you. I have a habit of making too much food.” She hurried over to the counter where a lone bag stood. She brought it over to him with a smile on her lips. “You can either have this for lunch or dinner tomorrow.”
“Thanks.” He took the bag and glanced inside. She’d packed it carefully. He appreciated the small gesture.
“I’ll walk you to the door.”
They strolled down to the foyer and paused in front of it.
The glow from the hallway light highlighted her beauty.
She was breathtakingly gorgeous. Not in the fancy, red-carpet way that Sydney had always perfected.
No, Tachina was different. She was warmer.
Real. A beauty that didn’t need much to shine, and that thought hit him hard in the gut.
“Thanks for picking him up and bringing him home,” she said.
“Of course,” he murmured.
Silence lingered between the two of them. Their eyes caught, and neither of them looked away.
He wasn’t sure when they’d gotten so close. He reached up and brushed the backs of his fingers down the side of her face. She inhaled sharply. He froze, not realizing what he was doing until now.
Then it happened.
He leaned down and kissed her lips.
A barely there kiss. A whisper of their lips brushing. Her lips were so damn soft. Just as he remembered. His entire body went rigid. Every muscle stiffened.
Especially his cock.
Her eyes were wide when they pulled away from each other. Heat rushed through his body.
They’d didn’t speak.
They just stared at each other.
That spark. It was still there. Even after five years. Vic dragged air into his lungs and made himself to take a step back away from her.
“I’ll call you later,” he rasped.
“Okay,” she whispered.
He forced himself to open the door and step outside. His legs moved on autopilot toward his vehicle. When he slid into his SUV, he exhaled hard and gripped the steering wheel.
Why had he kissed her?
He wasn’t sure, but one thing was made painfully clear.
Whatever he and Tachina were about to embark on, it wasn’t going to be simple.