Southern Heartbreaker (Charleston Heat 4)

“Just—pull your shirt down or something. I’ll take a Coke, by the way.”

My brother thumbs a bunch of quarters into the machine. “So what’s up with Eva and why does she have you all bent out of shape?”

“That’s just it.” The machine thumps, and I bend down to retrieve our Cokes, handing one to Grey. “I feel like she’s bending me back into shape. If that makes, like, any sense at all.”

“It does.” Grey cracks his can open with a hiss. “Still need you to explain.”

“It’s like she’s reconnecting me to parts of myself that have fallen by the wayside over the past few years. Parts of me that I’ve missed.”

He arches a brow. “One part in particular?”

“I don’t kiss and tell.”

“Right. You obviously don’t have to tell me, but…yeah, you’re blushing. Which means y’all are definitely bumping uglies. Aw, I’m happy for you. You’re using condoms, though, right?”

Rolling my eyes, I take a long pull of Coke. Please God let the caffeine take effect soon.

“Didn’t seem to work for y’all,” I say. “Then again—maybe it did.”

Baby Parker was a big surprise for Julia and Grey. He claims they were using condoms at the time the baby was conceived, which I actually believe. The two of them weren’t exactly getting along back then; I’d even go so far as to say they were kind of sworn enemies on the Rodgers’ Farms job site.

“I like my life, but with a kid, a full time job, and a house to run all on my own, I’ve kind of forgotten how to have fun. I haven’t taken time for myself. To, you know, blow off some steam or whatever. And that’s what I do with Eva. I don’t have to be daddy or the boss when I’m with her.”

Grey cocks a brow, gaze flicking to the tattoo that peeks out from my cuffed sleeve. “You sure Eva doesn’t call you daddy?”

My lips twitch. “Haven’t gotten there yet.”

“You have time,” he says with a nod.

“But I can just be myself with her. Grey, we have the best time together. It’s like I never want our dates to end—they go by way too quickly. We dance, we talk. She makes me laugh.” I make her come. Lord, was that satisfying. “I fucking adore this girl.”

“So what’s the rub?”

I tug a hand across my face. “In a nutshell? I have a daughter. And Eva doesn’t want kids at all. She said she’d give it some thought, but…I mean, that would be a pretty big change of heart. And it’s not my place to sway her mind either way.”

I haven’t really processed that thought until I said it out loud just now. It’s true. It’s not like Eva is considering a compromise on, say, whether or not she would date a “suit and tie” like me—someone corporate. She wouldn’t be compromising on what we do on our dates, or where we go to dinner.

She’d be compromising on a major life decision. Stuff like that doesn’t happen overnight.

A lot of the time, it doesn’t happen at all.

The thought makes my chest deflate.

“Wow. Y’all got pretty serious pretty fast there for an afternoon out on the water.”

“The conversation did, yeah. She’s being open and upfront, which is cool. Part of me knows I’m playing with fire here. But two dates with her—two freaking dates, Grey—and I think I’m addicted. What we have…it feels too rare and too good to give up on. My head is telling me to be smart, but my gut is telling me that Eva and I have something special. That maybe we’re meant to be, despite our differences.”

“I like Eva. A lot. But are you sure this isn’t just you, I don’t know, wanting to relive your carefree days as a college kid? No worries, no responsibilities? Even for a night? That can’t last, Ford.”

I shake my head. “It’s not like that. She’s more than just a flash in the pan. I can feel it. I just don’t know what to do about this enormous chasm between us. We connect on everything else. Literally everything else, except this one big issue.”

“Not gonna lie, brother, that’s a bummer.” Grey puts a hand on my shoulder. “The kid thing is big. I don’t think it’s something you should have to bend on, either. Whether or not you want kids, that’s fine—no explanation needed.”

I nod, something sticking in my throat. I gulp my Coke.

“I’m no expert when it comes to love. But I did luck out with Julia. She taught me that keeping an open mind and being patient with myself—with her, too—leads to good things. So be patient. Keep doing whatever y’all are doing that’s making you blush and putting such a big smile on your face. Follow that and see where it leads. No need to be this, like, bleeding heart Romeo—”