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“Did you accept?”
“Internally, yes.”
“How about some words then, sweetness?”
“Why does it matter?”
His thumb moved over my knuckles as his eyes scanned my face. “I’m not sure. All I know is I don’t like the idea of hurting you how I did, and I need to know you’re okay now.”
I raised my chin. Haughty, as Jake called it. “Of course I’m okay.”
He shook his head. “I know you are. You’ve got that spine of steel. No one could topple you. What I mean is you’re okay with me. That you get why I said what I did, know it wasn’t about you, and those words aren’t spinning around and around in your head. That you know my opinion of you is a hell of a lot higher than I let on. That how I treated you isn’t going to be a setback. I know you’re still trying to move on from whatever it was Nellie’s dad did to you, and I would hate thinking I had any part of kicking you off the path to healing the hurt he left behind.”
My lips parted, and a soft gasp passed between them.
“I don’t know,” I said with as much honesty as I could muster since he’d just given me all…that.
“All right. Then we’ll get you there.”
“How?”
His nostrils flared as he inhaled. “This was supposed to be over.”
“It is,” I replied, though it didn’t feel nearly as honest as what I’d said before.
He gave me a long look that made my head fuzzy and my body list toward his. What was it about this man? I had never understood “like a moth to a flame” until him. His brightness and heat attracted me, but I refused to burn. I couldn’t. I had Nellie. What good would I be to her if I allowed myself to fly into what I already knew had the potential to ruin me?
He brought his hand up to cup the side of my neck. “Go on a date with me.”
“What?” My eyes flicked to his, and the surprise I felt reflected back at me. Had he not meant to say that?
“Yeah.” His brow furrowed as he nodded to himself. He was coming up with this idea on the fly. “Have dinner with me. Take a walk with me. Go see a movie. It’s your choice. So long as you give me some time. If you want me to make the choice, I can do that. I’d like to see you in candlelight again. When you’re not flirting with another man.”
“Date?” We didn’t do that.
“Yes, Clara. We’re going to date. You and me. We’ll see where this goes.”
“But…”
“It’s complicated. We both have kids we need to protect. But I think we could understand each other and this could be good. I feel that.”
He was barreling on about the complications of us…together, and I was stuck on him wanting to date at all. This was the last thing I’d expected him to say.
“I’ll have to think about it,” I replied. “I don’t have a lot of spare time and give what I have to Nellie—”
“What time does she go to bed?”
I frowned. “Seven thirty, usually.”
“Fine. We go out at eight, after you put her to bed. You’re not missing any time with her, and I get your undivided attention without you feeling guilty.”
“What about you? Won’t you be missing time with…Sage?”
His mouth hitched. “She’s with her mom every other week. I can fit you into my life away from her if this works out. And, sweetness, I think it could.”
“I don’t know...”
The car slowed. Outside the tinted window was familiar. Relief unfurled in my belly. This ride was almost over. Soon, I’d be able to breathe air that didn’t remind me of danger and hot, hot nights. Maybe then I could think properly.
