Tessa’s eyes squeezed closed a second before she said, “Out here.”
Zach sat on the edge of a chair and leaned forward on his thighs to hide the bulge in his jeans.
Abby strolled across the living room and paused in the doorway, looking at each of them in turn. “Looks like someone got spoiled tonight.”
Zach smiled a little and looked down at his hands. Abby’s tone made it clear she didn’t approve, but Abby’s opinion didn’t matter to him. “Guilty,” he said, then glanced at Tessa. “I like to spoil my girls.”
“You’re back early,” Tessa said.
Abby turned her gaze on Tessa, who was tucking her hair behind her ears. “I was going to try to be home for Sophia’s bedtime.”
“She hasn’t been asleep long. Go give her a kiss.”
“I’ll get out of your way,” Zach said, pushing to his feet. “But, Tessa, we need to find some time to sit down and figure this out.”
The subject change was enough to get Abby to move. She wandered toward the bedroom and peeked in, then slipped through the door and disappeared.
Tessa pressed a hand to her forehead and closed her eyes. “Zach—”
He pulled his room key from his pocket and slipped it into her free hand. “Come over later. Tell her we’re talking about Sophia.”
“We do need to talk about Sophia.”
“I know.” He snuck a quick kiss and stroked his hand across her cheek. “So come over. We’ll get around to talking. Eventually.”
13
Tessa splashed water on her face at the kitchen sink, trying to get her mind to work. She had to get ahold of this situation with Zach. She didn’t know if he had chemistry like this with all women, but Tessa had never known a sexual draw so strong. Regardless, she had to put up some walls, because things between them couldn’t interfere with her custody of Sophia.
She was drying her hands when Abby came in. “So? What happened?”
Tessa turned, rested her hips against the counter, and crossed her arms. “We just hung out. He put her dollhouse together with her, asked her questions, got to know her. He’s very easygoing and patient. He’s got a great sense of humor and Sophia likes him—”
“Sophia likes everyone,” Abby said, still snippy over the subject.
“That may be the only thing going for us all in this situation.” Tessa needed some control, and she’d had enough of Abby’s stonewalling. She also needed a swift kick in her own ass. “Zach and I aren’t seeing eye to eye on a solution, but we’ll get there.”
“When?” Abby said, clearly stricken. “I’m leaving tomorrow, and I’d like to know she’s going to be home where she belongs when I get back.”
Oh, shit.
“Tomorrow? Already?” Tessa pressed her hand to her eyes. “Oh God.” Urgency made her think about the key card in her pocket. “I have to go talk to him. I couldn’t talk about anything with Sophia here, and it’s going to be much harder to have this conversation when you’re not here to watch her.”
“Just talk, Tessa,” Abby said as Tessa grabbed a sweat jacket hanging on a dining room chair. “He may be the hottest thing on two legs, but that doesn’t make him fit to be a father.”
Tessa exhaled and stopped at the door. She turned and met Abby’s disapproving stare. “I know you love Sophia, and I know you want what’s best for her, but you’re still only twenty-one years old, Abby. Life is complicated and messy in ways you can’t understand yet. Just because we want something and we think it’s right doesn’t mean we get it. Sometimes we have to deal with things that life shoves toward us the best way we know how. I know the law, and I know Sophia. You’re going to have to trust that I’m going to do everything possible to give Sophia everything she deserves in life.”
“Sophia deserves a competent adult as a parent,” Abby said. “Not some playboy who knows more about getting a woman naked than putting a toddler to bed.”
“Oh my God, Abby.”
“Okay, let’s just go over a few of everyday Sophia blips,” she said, crossing her arms. “For example, what if Sophia sneaks too many blueberries? Even when we’re both watching her, that can happen. Who knows how well he’ll watch her? What’s he going to do when she gets that horrible belly ache that makes her writhe and groan like she’s dying? At best, he’d subject her to a horribly long ER stay where the doctors poked and prodded her with test after test, only to discover she’d eaten too many blueberries.”
“There are ways to prevent that from happening,” Tessa argued, even though the very real scenario—including an ER visit and potential needle sticks and scary machines and strangers—disturbed her. “And it’s also why I need a good relationship with Zach, so the lines of communication between us remain open.”
“You can form a good relationship that doesn’t include sex.”
Tessa clenched her teeth to control a flare of anger. “Abby, you’re really—”