Unexpected Daddy

I lean forward and kiss her mouth softly. “That’s okay, there’s always next time.”

Chapter Nine

Megan

It wasn’t planned. It wasn’t expected.

But Craig has made me fall for him. Everything about him—his crooked smile, his soulful eyes, his delightfully muscular body and the way his arms held me with such desire, such purpose. Most of all, his mind and demeanor have entranced me. He’s a man with only one thing driving him forward; his need to do right by his son.

And if that’s not the sexiest thing about a man, I don’t know what is. Everything that comes after that is just bonus. And, hell, is there a lot that comes after that.

Cardon Springs is supposed to be my place to start over, to begin to live again. I never imagined that someone like Craig would be a part of that.

But here he is, and here I am, in his pickup truck, slowly pulling my clothes back on as we share tender kisses and warms words in husky, satiated voices.

If unexpectedly having sex with Craig in the front seat of his truck is supposed to be awkward, it’s not. In fact, I’m more comfortable now with him than I’ve been since the day I met him, and I can feel the calmness radiating off him as well.

The urgency and undercurrent of our desire has been quenched momentarily, allowing us both to breathe without the electricity of our physical needs brimming just below the surface.

“I should probably get you home,” Craig says, tugging his t-shirt back over his chiseled abdomen. “You and I both know Nancy’s sitting in that chair by the window, watching and waiting with stars in her eyes.”

The mental image makes me smile. Mostly because Aunt Nancy had been right about Craig. About what a good man he is, and that he’d be good for me, too. “And you want to go home to Ellis,” I add, giving him a knowing grin. “It’s okay, you can say it. You don’t have to hide that from me.”

He leans over and kisses me, a slow and passionate kiss that leaves me breathless and rethinking the earlier thought that my desire for him had been quenched. “You are a truly amazing woman, Meg,” he breathes against my lips. “Don’t let anyone ever tell you otherwise.”

I’m grinning like a goddamn fool as he leans back and finishes pulling his clothes back into position. We drive from the garage to Aunt Nancy’s house with only a few words spoken between us, but Craig’s arm is stretched across the bench seat, his fingers entwined in mine. The way his thumb runs across my knuckles, so softly and sensually, says more than his words ever could.

Something has happened between Craig and I. Something more than just giving ourselves to each other in the front seat of his truck in a flurry of overwhelming need. Something daunting. Something that could be like a dream come true for me. Something very, very good for us both.

Or very, very bad.

A thought niggles at my consciousness. You’re not ready for this. You can’t handle this. This wasn’t the plan.

I remind myself that my plans were crushed the moment I left Dallas. The moment my boss ripped away my dream job and sent me packing.

To a small town called Cardon Springs.

Where a man named Craig Connelly has taken me by surprise and made part of me think that that should have been the plan all along.

“I want to see you again,” he says, pulling his truck into Aunt Nancy’s driveway. “Are you free tomorrow night?”

It’s on the tip of my tongue to nod, but I wonder if I shouldn’t seem too eager. “As good as that sounds, I should probably spend at least one evening with Aunt Nancy,” I say as an excuse. “Don’t want her to develop a complex, you know.”

He chuckles, giving my hand a squeeze. “Fair enough. What about the next night?”

He’s not going to give up easily, I can tell, so I nod. “That sounds really nice, Craig. Where are we going to go when everything closes down by eight o’clock?” I smirk.

“My place,” he says with a smile. “I can’t very well ask my mom to watch Ellis again. Besides, I’ll be more comfortable having my little man in my sight. I’d love for you to meet him, Megan.”

My stomach constricts at the thought of meeting his son, despite the fact that the little boy isn’t even a year old. It seems like a big step. I am about to push the thought aside and just give another smile when Craig continues.

“That’s probably a bit scary, and I get that,” he assures me. “But I’d love to introduce you to him, if that’s something you want to do. If we’re something you want.”

“Craig, I—”

“I’m not meaning you have to promise anything, Meg,” he says. “We’ll go slow, I swear. I just want to make sure you and I...well, that whatever is going on here is something you want. Because I sure as hell do. Want it, I mean. Want you.”

His confession traps my breath in my throat, but I answer him without even weighing the question in mind. “I do, too. Want this, I mean.” I promise him with a soft smile. “I’ll see you and Ellis soon, okay?”