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I was up and out of my seat, reaching for her, before the thought had entirely formed in my brain. Nora’s eyes widened and she gave a small, nearly frantic shake of her head.
Oh, shit. What was I doing?
Instantly, I course corrected and swooped Carly up in a hug instead. “How’s my favorite two-year-old?”
She gave me a look of patent disbelief, as though she knew she was my second choice. I tried not to confirm her suspicions, but it was hard to look away from Nora. She was wearing another dress that showed off her throat and shoulders, a denim jacket thrown over her forearm. How was I supposed to resist that?
“What are you doing here?” I asked happily.
“Kate, Emma, and Nora decided to surprise me for lunch,” Suzie said.
I nodded, but I was still looking at Nora. And she was looking right back at me. Except…she didn’t look anywhere near as happy to see me as I was to see her. She looked upset. Not angry, exactly. More like she was unhappy and trying not to show it.
And there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it. I couldn’t touch her. I couldn’t pull her aside for a private conversation without raising suspicions. I rubbed the back of my neck, frustrated. Why had we decided keeping a secret was a good idea? I couldn’t remember. All I knew now was that anything that kept me from touching her was a terrible, awful plan.
“We should find a table,” Nora said. “It’s getting crowded, and I have to be back at work in an hour.”
And thenshe walked away from me, taking my niece with her. Suzie, Kate, and Emma trooped after them.
I growled.
“Did you…did you just growl?” Sofia asked.
“No,” I lied.
Her cheeks hollowed, like she was biting the insides to keep from laughing. “Sure, okay. I mean, it sounded like a growl, though. And it definitely looked like you were aiming that hug at Nora before she warned you off.”
Nothing got by Sofia. She was annoying like that. Might as well put her to good use. “Did Nora seem weird to you? Like, upset or something?”
“Couldn’t say. I don’t know her, although I’ve seen glimpses of her around town.” She shrugged. “Maybe she doesn’t know I’m gay.”
I frowned. “You think she’s jealous?”
I didn’t like that. Jealousy was never a fun experience, in my opinion. We had never talked about whether our fling was exclusive, but I had assumed we were on the same page with short-term monogamy. But maybe she thought I was seeing other women? I hated to think of her sitting there, trying to enjoy her lunch, wondering if I was on a date. If it were me, I’d be slowly losing my mind right now, watching her with another guy, not knowing what was going down.
“Maybe I’ll text her and explain.” I reached for my phone.
“Or you could just talk to her.”
“Can’t right now. Suzie doesn’t know.”
Sofia rolled her eyes. “Yes, I figured that out, subtle as y’all were. I meant that she’s heading toward the bathroom. Alone. Now’s your chance.”
I bolted from my chair.
Nora disappeared into the bathroom before I could reach her, but I was waiting for her when she got out. Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Michael—”
I put a hand to her belly, gently urging her deeper into the alcove until her back touched the wall. Then I kissed her, because that came first. Everything else could wait a damn minute.
Her hands went to my shoulders and for a truly terrible moment, I thought she was going to push me away. But instead she looped her arms around my neck and made a soft sound of pleasure as she melted against me.
I took the kiss further than I meant to. In my defense, so did she. We were in a restaurant with my sister sitting around the corner, but I couldn’t get enough of the way Nora felt in my arms. The shit with my dad, worrying about my mom—none of that disappeared, but it was a lot more bearable with Nora making those little sounds.
When I reluctantly pulled away, she looked as dazed as I felt.
I tucked a strand of her silky dark hair behind her ear. “I’m not on a date. And Sofia—Sofia Alvarez, that’s her name. We used to work together. She has a wife. Plus a baby on the way.”
“I wasn’t going to ask,” she said quickly. Then she grimaced. “I mean, you can have lunch with whoever you want. It’s not my business.”
