Brianna bit down on her tongue so hard it nearly bled. What gave him the right to tell her kids what to do? But Cody was already gone, running inside with his Optimus Prime.
Brianna folded her arms over her chest and eyed Thomas. “What?”
“We’ve been over this. I need to talk to him,” he said with a sigh, then held up his hand. “I know—he’s your son. And you know your kids better than I ever could. But the problem is between Zach and me. If we don’t work it out between us, it’ll just fester.”
She shook her head. “It’s a bad idea.”
“You may be right. But I have to try, Brianna. He needs to know I’m here for the right reasons and he needs to hear it from me. I’ll risk another black eye on the off chance it’ll work.”
“What if it just makes the problem worse? And what if you make him like you, and then leave us? What then?”
He swallowed. “It’s nothing that can’t be fixed.” His hand on her shoulder was warm. “You need to trust me with this. If I’m going to be part of your life, you can’t be there to dictate every time I have to interact with your kids.”
“But will you be here? Or are you—?”
“Bree. Shhh.” He pulled her into his arms and rested his chin to the top of her head. “Now isn’t the time for this conversation. We can talk about it later.”
“Later when? I’ve been avoiding bringing it up, but it’s time. We need to stop avoiding this ax hanging over our heads.”
“I’m not avoiding it. I’m just pushing it back a bit.” He kissed the top of her head. “Trust me. Please?”
“I’m trying.” She pulled away. “I am.”
“We’re going to talk about the future. Our future. When we can talk freely without a kid knocking on the door.” He sighed, looking off into the distance. “Jeremy and Erica are coming to visit. And…they want to meet you.”
“They do?” She froze. If his family was coming out to visit him…did that mean he was staying? “Really?”
“Yes.” With gentle fingers, he brushed her hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. “My sister wants to meet the woman who managed to tie me down to three kids. She’s even agreed to watch the kids overnight so we can have another real date. An overnight date. And we can talk all you want then.”
She’d think more on that later. But for now… “That’s a big step, meeting your family. What if they hate me?”
“Well…I met yours. It makes sense for you to meet mine.” He shrugged, just a little too diffident. “And they won’t hate you. How could they? You’re you.”
Her heart melted. “Come here, you idiot.”
She caught the front of his shirt, pulled him down, and kissed him. He nearly fell into her with a strangled sound. His arms locked around her, and he took control of the kiss with a breathless intensity that left her whimpering and clutching at him. Arousal burst through her in a hot rush. She wished they didn’t have to go inside to a G-rated, kid-safe evening. Wished she could take him upstairs.
Take him upstairs and show him how much she needed him. But maybe she could do that tonight, once everyone was in bed. They had kept their hands to themselves long enough.
When she drew back, he was breathing raggedly, looking down at her with dark, unreadable eyes that burned with an emotion she couldn’t identify—an emotion that nearly stopped her heart.
“Brianna, I—”
“Come on!” Cody ducked through the front door and grabbed Thomas’s hand. “Enough kissing.”
Thomas laughed. “Right. We have work to do.”
He followed Cody into the house, but not without a lingering glance for Brianna. A glance that said his thoughts were very much in line with Brianna’s. She bit back a frustrated shriek. Why did she get the feeling he’d been about to say something momentous?
Or had that just been wishful thinking?
With a groan, she followed her boys inside. “When is your sister coming?”
“Uh…tomorrow.”
“Oh God. That’s not enough time to prepare.” She’d have to call the housekeeper and have her deep clean the entire house. And dust, and Windex all of the windows. Then she would find out Erica’s favorite meal and cook it. She could top it off with Jeremy’s favorite dessert, followed by—
“I see that look on your face. Take a deep breath. And stop worrying. She’s just a lawyer. She might put you up on the stand but she won’t put you through a polygraph. And don’t worry about her Marine husband.” He flashed her an impish look. “I don’t think he knows much about waterboarding. Much.”