Chapter 11
Katie
Igrinned as he leaned against my car door, his head poking in and stealing one last kiss before I had to go.
“You’re going to make me late,” I hissed, cupping his cheek to kiss him yet again.
“You’re not leaving.”
“Stop it. I’ll text you later. I really need to talk to Tiffany about all of this.”
His thumb smoothed over the lines between my brow, a smile on his lips.
“She’s a lot stronger than you think she is, give her some credit.”
“I’m supposed to be older here, wiser. And yet you know more than I do.”
“Well, you did rock my world last night,” he teased, causing me to blush all shades of pink and red. “But this is my life, my job. I know kids. But, let me know if I need to intervene at all.”
“Will do.”
He leaned down, gave me one more kiss, and then I was off, picking my daughter up from her friend’s house, and hell if I knew how to even begin any part of this.
It wasn’t that me having a boyfriend was the problem.
It was that Zeb was ten years younger, that it was someone Tiffany looked up to and liked.
I didn’t want to ruin that for her. But at the same point in time, I was really happy.
Happier than I had ever been married, and it wasn’t just the sex, though that was mind blowing.
Zeb and I had talked for hours on end, about our past, our futures, what we wanted, how we liked the area. We talked about things we hated, things we loved, things we wished for. I hadn’t spilled my guts out to someone like that ever. And I had a feeling it was much the same for him.
So, to turn around and lose that type of connection was the hardest thing possible. But my daughter’s happiness came before my own and if she didn’t want me to see Zeb, then I wasn’t going to do it. No questions asked.
But I was really praying she was on board with this.
I pulled up to the house, wishing I could keep this smile up for the whole drive home. I knocked on the door, smiling at the laughter that came through, and then nodded when Tiffany opened the door.
“Did you have fun?” I asked, taking her bag and waving to the other woman.
“We did, and they want me to come back again.”
“We’ll talk about it. Let’s get you home. Thanks for having her,” I called, making the other girl scream that Tiffany just had to come back again.
“Well, I’m glad you had friends you could do this with.”
“Thanks for letting me stay, Mom. It was such a blast.”
Her smile at me was so bright, so big, that the last thing I wanted to do was have this conversation at home. So, a bribe was going to work.
I made a turn onto the main road, making her frown.
“Where are we going?”
“Ice cream. I need to talk to you and I’m hoping a couple scoops of your favorite treat will butter you up.”
She gave me a side eye, her arms crossed, but she didn’t say no, so I was going to take that as a good sign.
Ten minutes later, I parked in the parking lot and climbed out, Tiffany hot on my heels. We quickly ordered our favorites and sat down. But she didn’t start digging into hers like I was hoping she would.
“Spill it, lady.”
I sighed and wiped my mouth before nodding.
“I wasn’t home last night. In fact, I spent it with a man who treated me like the queen I am.”
“Is that where the mark came from?”
My hand flew to my neck and my eyes opened wide, making her laugh. She finally had a few bites before nodding.
“My guess was right. Who was it?”
“You can’t be mad at me Tiffany, and if you tell me you don’t want me to see him, I won’t. But just know that he makes me happy. Which is really funny because he probably shouldn’t.”
“You were with Zeb, weren’t you?”
My jaw fell open and once more she was laughing.
“How the hell did you know?”
“Because all the fighting was just intense between you two. Classic enemies to lovers.”
I watched as she played with her ice cream before having another bite. She looked up at me, a smile in place.
“What’s that smile for?” I asked.
“If he makes you happy, that’s all I want.”
“This won’t be odd if you know, we start dating?”
“Mom, you’re the only one who would make it odd. Sure, he’s younger, but Zeb is a great guy. I mean, I only know so much about him.”
“Would you want him to cover for dinner so that maybe you can get to know him on a different level? One away from the ranch?”
“You don’t know him all that well either, do you?”
I threw my napkin at her, because I actually did. Just in different ways, but it sure wouldn’t hurt to have him in our domain and be domesticated.
“You sure you’re good?”
“Of course, Mom. Really, I want you to be happy. And Zeb is a great guy. He’s funny, smart, and good looking. There’s no problem with his age unless you have one. And even if I have talked to him, I know it won’t get to you.”
“Do you have a problem with me dating?”
“Oh my gosh, no!” We both laughed and I reached out, giving her a quick side hug.
“You’re my most important person, Tiffany. And I want things to be good between us. Your dad left things rough on our end, but it’s always been me and you.”
“I know, and I feel the same.” She grabbed my phone from my purse and handed it to me. “Now text him.”
I took the device and let out a sigh before pulling up his number.
Talked to Tiffany. She’s good. Would you like to come over for dinner tomorrow night?
Sounds amazing, what are we having?
I sent a devil emoji, making Tiffany groan.
I make a pretty good lasagna, see you around six.
Perfect. It’s odd, but it’s the right thing.
I looked up at Tiffany, who only lifted a brow.
“What?
“He said it’s the right thing.” I grinned as I texted back.
It feels like the right thing.