Page 64 of Trick or Treat

His face was grim when he explained, “You’re the one who wanted to end things. Not me. You were worried about losing your job, so I did what you asked and left you alone. Did you expect me to sit at home and hope and pray you’d change your mind someday? Maybe years from now? Because from what you were saying last night, you weren’t sitting at home waiting on me.”

He had a point and it really pissed her off. “Trick,” she said in a plea.

“Lindsey. How about we forget everything that either of us has done between the weekend we spent together and now and move forward. Let’s start over and see where this could lead.” He reached out and took her hand, gently squeezing it where they lay on the table.

“I don’t know.” She wanted to do exactly as he said, move on and start over, but she wasn’t sure how to do that.

“Babe, since the moment I met you I’ve known there was something different about you. Even when we weren’t together, all I could think about was you.” Her brow rose and her lips pursed, clearly not believing him.

“I miss you. My kids miss you. What do you say? Can we give this a shot?”

“Oh, that’s dirty.” She pulled back, giving him the stink eye. “Bringing your kids into it.”

The jerk had the nerve to smile wide. “I’ll use anything I have to if it means you’ll give me a chance to show you how much you mean to me.” He came around the table so that he was kneeling between her legs and cupped both sides of her face in his big hands. “You know, after Michelle, I never saw myself sticking with just one woman ever again. But then you came along and blew that thought right out of the water. You can’t just turn my life upside down and then walk away. You’ve already tried that and I won’t let you do it again.”

Damn it. She could feel her stomach twist and her heart skipped a beat. Was she really going to do this? Was she really going to take a chance on Trick again? Did she have any right to hold it against him that he’d slept with other women after she’d tossed him aside? For all intents and purposes, there would never be a chance of them getting back together again. She took a deep breath and prayed she wasn’t making a huge mistake. “All right. We’ll try again, but so help me, you go near another woman and I won’t be responsible for what I do.”

14

Trick leaned in and placed a kiss on Lindsey’s forehead before getting up and moving back to his chair. “I guess you need to get ready for work?” He picked up his mug of coffee and watched her over the rim. He really didn’t want to end their conversation. They were in a good place and he wanted to try and build on it. He didn’t want to give her a chance to think and regroup or worse, shut him out again. She needed to understand that they were together and accept it. If she had to work today, would he have to start all over again tonight? It would suck, but he’d do it.

“No. I’m off today. They gave us an extra day for Thanksgiving break this year.” The sound of Lindsey’s toast popping up had her getting up again. She pulled the butter from the refrigerator and a plate from the cabinet. She slathered just enough butter on the toast to cover it and took a seat.

“Huh. I didn’t know that.” He never got the note. He was sure if Keegan had brought a note home it was on a day that Trick didn’t have him and of course, why would Michelle mention it to the father of her children? “Yeah, I never got the note. I’m sure Michelle did. Whether or not she read it is another story.” Something else he needed to note for his lawyer. Her complete lack of communication was driving him nuts.

“You should sign up for my newsletter.” She took a bite of her toast and followed it with a drink of coffee. “I try to send it out at the beginning of each month so the parents will know what to look forward to for the month. Some kids can’t manage to get the actual note home to their parents so the newsletter helps.”

He would definitely be doing that. “Since you’re not working today, what are your plans?” If he had his way, he would be spending the whole day with her, digging his way in deep. He smiled behind his mug as he took a drink, thinking how adorable Lindsey looked this morning after a hard night of drinking. Her hair was in messy waves around her face and she had dark smudges under her eyes from where her makeup had rubbed off. She wore leggings with a slouchy long-sleeved shirt that kept slipping off her shoulder.

Damn. The fight not to run his tongue along her shoulder to her neck, nibbling as he went, was real. He adjusted the way he was sitting, giving his growing erection a little room.

“What are you smiling about?” Lindsey frowned and started on her second piece of toast. She had a crumb on her bottom lip, near the corner. Her tongue slipped out and swiped it off. If he didn’t know better, he’d say she was deliberately messing with him. The fact that she wasn’t looking at him when she did it and was reaching for her coffee led him to believe that she had no clue what she was doing or the kind of reaction it was causing. She took another bite of her toast before raising her eyes to him.

“Just thinking how adorable you look with a hangover.” And how much he wanted that tongue on his cock.

“What?” she squawked. “There’s nothing adorable about a killer headache.”

“I’m also remembering how feisty you were last night when you were talking to Race. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone give him a look that clearly stated they thought he wasn’t all that bright.”

She dropped her head in her hand, closed her eyes and moaned. “How mad was he?”

“He wasn’t mad. He actually thought you were cute being all sassy and giving me hell.”

One of Lindsey’s brows arched. “Yeah, right.”

“Seriously. He wasn’t mad. He thought it was funny how you immediately passed out as soon as your ass hit the seat in your car.”

“All right. Enough of that. Change the subject.” She got up to put her dirty plate in the dishwasher. She bent over to toss in a detergent pod, closed it and set it to clean the dishes. If he wasn’t mistaken, he didn’t see any panty lines under the smooth, clingy material. Was she naked under her leggings? Fuck. That was so unfair. He was trying really damn hard not to throw her on the kitchen table and fuck her silly, but she was making it difficult. Even he knew fucking Lindsey, today, the day after she’d seen him with Tori would be the worst possible thing he could do right now. It was a sure way to get his balls handed to him.

“What are your plans for today?” he tried again.

“I planned to put up my Christmas tree and decorations.” She got a gleam in her eye right before she said, “I usually have my dad come over and help me haul it in from the garage, but since you’re here, maybe you can help me get it.”

If she thought that was going to scare him off, she was sadly mistaken. Something she should learn about him was that he wasn’t easily dissuaded from his path once he’d made up his mind. He could be stubborn as a mule if the need called for it. “Okay. Show me where it’s at and I’ll bring it inside.”

Trick went to the living room where he’d taken his boots off last night. He sat on the edge of the couch and slipped on his socks, then his boots. He didn’t bother tying them, just shoved his laces in his boots. Lindsey’s puzzled expression told him that she didn’t think he’d stick around and do something so mundane as put up a Christmas tree and hang a few decorations. “Are you going to put on some shoes? The concrete floor will be cold on your feet.”

She jerked to attention and wandered down the hall, mumbling something under her breath. “Huh. Didn’t expect that.”

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