“I just bet.” He lifted his hand and I thought he was going to touch my face, but instead, he brushed a loose strand of hair out of my eyes. My cheek tingled as if he’d caressed me just the same. “It would help a lot if we could date. Just in case Jessica follows through and contacts the judge, which I have to think she’s serious about if she’s in town.”
The faintest bit of panic tickled the back of my throat. I swallowed hard to make it dissipate. Dating was fun. Lighthearted. No kind of commitment.
I wasn’t good at those, and most men I’d been involved with definitely weren’t. So, it was better if that word never came up.
“Well, since we are on a date right now, this should qualify. Though you kind of conned me into it, and we haven’t actually done anything date-like yet.”
“Conned you by asking you straight out?”
“In a manner of speaking.”
Finally, he lifted my hand off his arm, but not to offer me any sort of respite. He brought it to his lips and kissed my knuckles, his gaze roving over my face. “I’ll ask you this straight out then. Let’s date. No pressure. No stress. No worries about dramatic breakups when I catch you cheating with the pool boy.”
I narrowed my eyes. “It’s almost fall, so pools are closing. I also don’t even have one, never mind a ‘boy’.”
“Even better.”
I nearly replied ‘or dramatic breakups after I catch you using the copier as a sex bench with your ex.’ It wasn’t exactly first date material either, but why stand on ceremony?
Except it felt like he had enough baggage that I might as well leave mine at the curb.
“I don’t really get what you’re asking. We haven’t even had one date yet. And no offense, I know there are extenuating circumstances and all, but I’m not even sure about the second never mind agreeing to a string of them.”
“You will be. I have plans.”
I arched a brow. “Do they involve eating? My stomach is about to chew through my sternum.”
“Sure. We’ll date as long as it feels good—or until Jessica decides she isn’t interested in any more parenting time than she already has.” He kissed the tips of my fingers and the zing went straight up my arm and down into regions of my body that had no morals. “Or we can put a date on it, depending how things go. With an option to extend of course. Like Halloween.”
“Put a date on it. A date for when we stop dating, although it might be before if Jessica climbs back on her broom and flies away.” Even as I said the words, my brain was whirling.
He was setting up a scenario to prove something he shouldn’t have to. So what he didn’t have a woman in his life? He was just as capable of raising his daughter alone as millions of women were without a partner.
But I was no dummy. I knew judges often sided with mothers in cases like these. And I didn’t know if her money and possible influence would make a difference, but they usually did in most other things, so why not here?
Still, I was wary enough about dating. So, my first foray into it in how long would have artificial parameters that looked good to the outside world? Then again, no messy breakup. No concerns about having to kick his ass out of my personal life while he was still working to get my restaurant ready for opening day.
“It seems messy. Potentially dangerous. You can’t put boxes around feelings. Stuff happens when you date. Why I don’t do it.”
“You mean you might get feelings for me?”
I couldn’t respond fast enough. “No. Of course not. I mean you might get feelings for me.”
“I’ll take my chances. Besides, we’re smart, logical people. We’ll have fun for a couple months and go our separate ways after if it has ru
n its course. You’ll look very good for me in front of the judge. Successful businesswoman and all. Completely upstanding. Not a negative influence even a little bit.”
Although I knew he’d said it to tease me, I instantly remembered how I’d helped to get him into this mess—or at least I hadn’t helped improve the situation.
I kind of owed the guy. And I did like him. And his kid.
Fuck me.
“Besides, it’s not like either one of us has time to find someone, if we even wanted to. Workaholics that we are. This makes it easy.”
Easy, sure. When a swarm of locusts was about to take flight from my belly. Sure didn’t seem easy inside me when everything was a riot of questions and needs.
A lot of the last one.