Chapter 9
Nine
Josh
She didn’t push me away. She didn’t stop me. She leaned in and met me halfway and kissed me back.
I poured my relief and pleasure into kissing her, hoping it conveyed all the things I wanted to say to her.
I wasn’t lying about wanting Hannah to stay away from her.
It didn’t matter that Reegan was only there for a few months.
Hannah would make sure Reegan never came back if she knew I was spending my mornings making out with the pretty teacher.
Reegan gentled our kiss with a flat hand against my chest. She didn’t shove, so I took it as a signal to ease up, not back the hell up. Slowly.
“I don’t need declarations or romance, Josh, but I do deserve respect.”
I nodded, putting more space between us but keeping hold of her hand.
“You’re right. My daughter is with me this week, so my mornings are going to be quick.
She’s working at the hospital for the summer.
She’s old enough that we let her choose where she wants to be, but if she spends too much time here, her mother gets nasty. ”
“I don’t… Why are you telling me all this?”
I sighed. “I want you to understand my life a little. Evie comes first. She always has, always will.”
“As she should,” Reegan said simply.
“I don’t want you to think that means I don’t want to spend time with you.”
“I’m only here for the summer,” she whispered.
I swallowed against the regret that we couldn’t be more than a fling. “I know. And I’m not going to convince you to stay longer than you planned. But I want to see you.”
“Stolen kisses and early morning coffee?” Her soft smile alleviated the bite of regret I thought I heard in her words.
“It doesn’t have to be just that.”
“I said I’m not looking for promises or romance. I meant that.”
“And I meant it when I said I want to see you. Unless you don’t want the same thing.” I held my breath as hers rushed out.
“I do. But Ashlyn just went through a breakup. I don’t want to throw this in her face.” She gestured between us with the hand I wasn’t holding.
“I understand.” And I did. Having someone’s new relationship rubbed in your face when you were managing a heartbreak was not fun. “I get why you didn’t tell her anything.”
“Thanks.” She sipped her coffee and stared out at the water. “Maybe I should tell her, though. She’s been doing well. She hasn’t mentioned him in a while. Not that I think she’s over him, but it’s been a good few weeks.”
“Whatever you think.”
She chewed her lip, tempting me more than I could imagine. The surge of attraction had me tightening my fingers. She looked over at me, her lips curling up in a smile. Without a word, she stood, taking the few steps toward me, then settled on my lap, straddling my rapidly growing erection.
My free hand went to her hip, drawing her closer. Her body brushed against my erection, and her eyes went wide.
“I think I don’t want to spend all summer wishing I had the guts to tell my best friend that I’m getting to know you.”
“Do you think she’ll be okay with it?”
Reegan shrugged. “Maybe not right away, but she will be eventually. She deserves better than she had with Rob.”
“One hundred percent.”
Reegan leaned closer, her eyes telegraphing her intention before her hands landed on my shoulders. She eliminated the gap between us, her lips meeting mine as I rose up to kiss her.
I felt her sigh more than I heard it. She sank into me.
I tensed as she relaxed, understanding the trust she was putting in me without saying a word.
I kissed her slowly, then I thrust my tongue into her mouth and kissed her hard.
I exhaled past her cheek, my head spinning from her and not the loss of oxygen.
“Reegan,” I whispered against her lips.
“Yeah?”
“I don’t just want stolen kisses and early morning coffee. I want late nights and you in my bed and to hold your hand.”
She smiled against my lips. “That sounds really good to me.” She kissed me again, then scowled and pulled back. “We have a few things to figure out first.”
I nodded. “I know.”
She eased off my lap, regret filling my body with her movements. “I’ll tell Ashlyn.”
“Okay.”
“When does your daughter go to her mother’s?”
“She’s there some during the week and the next two weekends.”
“I’ll tell Ash this week. And maybe this weekend we can have one of those late nights.”
My lips lifted. So did my dick. “Sounds good to me.”
She snorted. “I figured it would.”
I reached for her hand again, squeezing her fingers so she’d look at me. “It’s more than sex for me, Reegan. I hope you know that.”
She nodded. “Me, too.”
I smiled as she finished her coffee, then left me with the mug and retreated into Ashlyn’s house. I carried the two mugs home, feeling like I’d won something.
A second chance.
Evie trudged into the house Monday afternoon, looking like she’d gone ten rounds and lost.
“How was your day?” I smothered a grin as her eyes lifted to meet mine.
“How do people do this all the time?”
I snorted, unable to stop the noise. “Work? You get used to it.”
“I’m exhausted. I don’t think I sat down for more than a minute the entire day.” It was the start of her third week of working at the hospital, and clearly, it was a rough start.
“That’s part of it sometimes. Especially when you’re in a place like the emergency department. Aunt Christy tells me her shifts are long.”
“She’s a powerhouse. I know she sat down less than I did.”
I hugged my kid and kissed the top of her head. “She loves it. If you end up going into healthcare, it’ll get easier. It always is when you’re doing something you enjoy.”
“I don’t know if I can enjoy it when I’m this tired.”
“I understand. What do you want for dinner tonight?”
“I don’t know if I’m awake enough for food.”
“No?”
She flopped onto the couch facedown, groaning as she did. “Maybe in a little bit.”
I chuckled, understanding the exhaustion of her day more than she knew. “I’ll start something, and we can eat later. How does that sound?”
I took her grunt as agreement and went to work on figuring out dinner.
I was never interested in cooking when I was growing up, but being a single father required the skill set.
My mom managed the task when I was a busy teenager in school and playing hockey all the time, although she insisted I learn.
My parents had a more traditional marriage where she was the stay-at-home mom and my dad worked full-time.
They told me it was what worked for them and they liked it, but always encouraged me to do what worked for me and my future spouse.
Hannah didn’t like anything. She didn’t want to work, and she didn’t want to be a stay-at-home parent. My parents never judged her or said anything bad about her, but I could see the tension in their eyes when she would complain.
Which she did a lot.
They died before Hannah and I divorced, but I always wondered what they would have said about that decision. If they would have been relieved or would have been disappointed. Either way, I knew they would have loved seeing Evie grow into the young woman she was.
I cubed pieces of chicken and steak, then cut up peppers, onions, and zucchini. I took my time sliding everything onto skewers to grill. Summers were too short, and I wanted to take advantage of my grill as much as possible.
With the food ready, I washed my hands, then walked outside to preheat the grill. I was immediately met with laughter that made my lips curl up. My gaze slid to the fire pit next door, where Reegan and Ashlyn were sitting.
“Hi Josh!” Ashlyn said, waving as I walked around the side of my house to the grill.
“Hello!” I called back. I continued on my path, wanting to walk across the yard and speak to them, but that wasn’t the relationship I had with Ashlyn.
We said hello, we were friendly, but we weren’t friends.
I turned on the grill, pausing to enjoy the scent of the honeysuckle that grew all over my property.
The sweet scent always made me think of summer and long days in the sunshine.
On my way back to the house, Ashlyn called out again. “Did Evie enjoy her party?”
I stopped, smiling at the mention of Evie.
I moved closer, noticing the holes in the yard where the tent had been.
I was thankful they removed it the next day, but the marks it left behind were less than ideal.
“She had a great time. Thanks again for letting us invade your yard. It looks like I have some work to do to fix it. Sorry about that.”
Ashlyn dismissed my concern with a wave of her hand. “It’s not a big deal. I was going to pick up a bag of dirt this week.”
“I’ll take care of it. You didn’t ask for the invasion.”
Ashlyn laughed. “Neither did you.”
“Yeah, well, I’m used to Hannah inflicting her personal agenda on me.”
Ashlyn smiled tightly, not commenting.
“You two have a good night.”
“You should join us,” Ashlyn said as I turned. “You and Evie. We’re just enjoying the evening.”
“Evie worked at the hospital today. She came home and crashed.”
Ashlyn snickered. “First real job? Poor girl.”
I snorted. “Yeah. She’s so unfortunate.”
“It’s a tough lesson. But she’ll have an easier time with her next job.”
“I think so.”
“Hi Ashlyn,” Evie said from behind me. “And Reegan, right?”
“Nice to see you again,” Reegan said, smiling at my kid.
I’d forgotten about them meeting at the party and was about to ask how they knew each other. I let my gaze slide to Reegan as Evie took a seat next to Ashlyn.
“Your dad said you had a long day,” Ashlyn said, reaching over to squeeze Evie’s hand. “It gets better.”
“I hope so,” Evie lamented. “I don’t know how people work all day.”
Ashlyn and I laughed, but Reegan offered Evie understanding. “You are used to being in school all day. It’s not much different.”
“I sit down most of the day at school. I was on my feet the entire day today.”
“Do you have a tennis ball?”
Evie nodded, her brows tugging together.