The Single Dad (Red's Tavern 4)

I wanted to taste like his favorite thing.

I felt like I was in high school again. Like I was new to everything. Luke Warren had that effect on me.

When his pickup pulled up outside my house a few minutes after seven, my heart was kicking inside me like a damned rabbit.

I went outside. Locked my door. Started making my way down the front path, trying to seem cool and collected, focused only on his truck. He got out, and when I saw what he was wearing my heart melted right down into the ground.

He was dressed up again, in a Luke sort of dressed-up way. A simple collared shirt, black, with the sleeves cuffed, and dark denim jeans that fit him snug in all the right places.

“Are you doing what I think you’re doing?” I asked him as I walked up.

“I don’t know, am I?” he asked, going over to the passenger side door and swinging it open for me.

“Fuck, you are stunning,” I said as I approached him.

“You look… good as hell,” he said.

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“I know I’m not great with words,” he said, his bedroom eyes traveling up and down my body. “But Christ, you do, Cam.”

I was in a cornflower blue henley shirt, one I knew fit me nice and snug. I was pretty sure my black tight jeans made my ass look good, too.

I wanted him to like what he saw. Very badly. And having his eyes on me was already making me harden under my pants.

“Cam!” a voice rang out from the opposite side of the yard. Instantly tension filled my body as I turned and saw Gary hobbling over from the next yard. “Heading out?”

“I am heading out,” I said, squinting over toward Gary as he approached.

“Wanted to ask if one of your kids had thrown this Frisbee into my yard. Hello there, what was your name again?” he asked, peering at Luke.

“Luke,” he said, reaching out to shake Gary’s hand.

“Well, my, my,” Gary said, looking between the two of us. “You two look like you’re about ready for a night on the town.”

I cleared my throat, a surge of adrenaline coursing through me. “Actually, Luke’s taking me out on a—”

“A little trip,” Luke interjected, glancing at me.

“That sounds nice,” Gary said. “Nice night for it. So I guess this Frisbee isn’t from your lot?”

I bit on the inside of my cheek, pausing a moment. “Nope, it isn’t ours,” I said.

“See you later, Gary,” Luke said, nodding at him Finally he walked off, and I hopped into the passenger side of the truck. When Luke got in on the other side, I was staring at him.

“You want to explain what that was about?” I asked.

Luke raised an eyebrow at me. “That was me saving your ass.”

“I’m tired of the rules,” I said. “I was going to tell him the truth. That we’re going on a date.”

“I know that was what you were about to say,” Luke told me, buckling his seatbelt. “And I also know that you were going to regret it if you did.”

I furrowed my brow. “You can’t know that. I wanted to tell him. He’s just a nosy neighbor anyway, why the hell should I care what he thinks?”

“You feel that way right now, but imagine a few days from now, when Rachel’s dropping off your kids, and Gary comes up and talks about the lovely date you went on with a strange man,” Luke said, looking me in the eye. “It’s good that you’re breaking some of your rules, Cam. It’s good that you feel free. But I don’t want you to feel like you have to explode your whole life just to prove something to me.”

My chest tightened. “I’m not trying to prove anything,” I said, trying to keep my voice gentle. “I just have to stop giving a fuck what people think.”

“In general, I’d agree with you completely, but I think we both know you do give a fuck what your kids think, and you definitely should.”

I let out a heavy sigh, shaking my head as I turned to look out the window. “You’re right,” I said feebly.

“You’re having fun with your new sense of freedom, but I promise you, Cam, you don’t have to rush things just because you wish your life was different,” Luke said. He reached over, putting a hand on my shoulder. “It is a big deal for your kids to hear about their dad dating a new person.”

My heart ached. “But I want you,” I said, turning back to him. “I know it’s too quick, and probably very stupid, but I feel it. I know I’m not going to regret it.”

“You can still have me, even if we are still discreet,” Luke said.

“I feel awful,” I said, my voice coming out weak. “I don’t want to drag you into that kind of life. Secrets and sneaking around for my sake. You deserve so much more than that.”