Page 44 of Miss Trust

She smiled. “You good with a grill?”

Nope, not at all. But I refused to admit it. “I’m a man, aren’t I?”

Her giggle was infectious. “You are. Okay. Let me season the patties, then they’re all yours.”

Aside from a near miss where I nearly lost my eyebrows to the gas flame on the unfamiliar barbeque, dinner went well. Although I didn’t consider myself comfortable around children, Penelope was easy to talk to. She mostly chatted about her favorite nurses in the hospital and how they brought in magic shows and clowns to cheer up the kids.

After dinner, I walked out onto my master bedroom patio and spotted a figure on the lawn towards the end of the property, closer to the view of the ocean. There was no question who it was.

I should leave her alone, but thoughts of turning back faded with each step I took towards her.

“I want to be alone,” she said, refusing to face me when I approached.

I was familiar with the sentiment. But I couldn’t leave without confirmation she was okay. “Can you please turn around.”

“Why?” she asked, staring out towards the ocean.

“Because I need to ensure you’re okay.”

The moment she pivoted around, my stomach dropped. I’d seen plenty of tears in my lifetime. It had been my experience to associate them with the art of manipulation. But there was nothing manipulative about Tory crying. No, these were tears of helplessness. She was a mother who couldn’t do anything to keep her child from suffering.

“Is this your intention? To see me at my moment of weakness?” Her arms folded around her midsection.

“No.” My voice was gruff with inexplicable emotion.

“Do you believe in God?”

Her question completely threw me. “Yes. I wouldn’t say I’m religious, but I believe there’s a higher power.”

“Half the time I’m praying, and the other half I’m cursing him.”

“I would imagine any parent of a sick child has warring emotions like yours. Why are you out here?”

“I’m restless and couldn’t sleep.”

Her voice was husky, laced with a touch of need. But even I wasn’t asshole enough to take advantage of it. “I’ll leave you be.”

She moved closer, putting her hand on my chest. My body shuddered. Shuddered like a prepubescent teenage boy who’d never felt a woman’s touch.

I wanted her, and yet my seldom-present conscience wouldn’t allow me to act on my attraction to her. Not while she was this vulnerable. Guess there was a first time for everything. “This isn’t a good idea.”

She didn’t pretend to misunderstand me. “No, it isn’t.”

I should have walked away. A better man would have. I leaned in, my lips inches from her ear. I could practically feel the buzz coming off of her. “I should leave, before we do something you’ll hate me for tomorrow.”

“What if I hate you now? Would another reason matter?”

My chuckle filled the air. “You wish you still hated me.”

“True. It was easier before you were thoughtful.”

I searched her face. “If I kiss you, will you kiss me back or bite off my tongue?”

She smirked. “Only one way to find out.”

I crashed my lips to hers, groaning like a man who’d been starved too long and was getting his first taste of the finest meal. Tory didn’t disappoint, meeting my needy kiss with one of her own.

Fuck. When was the last time I’d actually taken the time to kiss a woman? Slide my tongue inside of her mouth and taste her? The answer was as empty as my aptitude for giving a shit about most people.