Page 62 of Under the Lights
She was telling him about a rumor going around that there was a potential buyer for the old mill, when he caught himself wondering what she’d think of New Jersey. It wasn’t too bad an area, where he lived, and it was close to the ocean.
But just as quickly, he discarded the idea. Stewart Mills was her home and not in the place-of-residence sense, but the place where her roots ran deep, and it was a part of who she was. Besides, what would he say to her?Hey, I’m barely employed and technically don’t have any place to live, but you wanna go to Jersey with me?
There was no way she would walk away from everything she had here just because they’d had great sex, and he wasn’t going to ask her to. Her trying to turn him down without wounding his pride would just be painful and awkward for both of them.
“Are you even listening to me?”
He gave her a sheepish grin, totally busted. “Sorry. I know you were talking about a potential buyer for the mill. I hope that works out, for the town’s sake.”
“Me, too. I think the rumor’s a little flimsy and people are making it a bigger deal than it is in order to grasp at straws, but you never know. But where did your thoughts go?”
“Where my thoughts usually go when I’m with you,” he lied.
“Aren’t you supposed to abstain from sex before a big game?”
“I think that’s before you go into battle. And if you’d seen us on the practice field, you’d know there’s a good chance I won’t be able to have sexafterthe big game.”
She laughed, shaking her head. “By the time we get everybody off school property, clean up and then lock the gates,nobodywill want to have sex.”
The server brought their burgers and they dug in. When she was done, Chase finished the last quarter of her burger and all of her fries, too. He wouldn’t eat right before going on the field, so he’d fuel up while he had the chance.
“Tell me about your sister’s kids,” she said while watching him polish off the rest of her meal. “Three girls, right? Do you see them a lot?”
“Not a lot, but regularly. They love me.” He grinned and told her about his three nieces, who were quite a handful, just as he and Kathy had probably been.
There were a lot of stories, but he shared the best ones. Like the incident with the teddy bear and the toilet. And the inevitable run-in with Mom’s makeup bag. Or the time they’d tried to convince their uncle Chase, who volunteered for babysitting at times, that fast food was medically necessary, because if they didn’t eat fast, they got sick. He’d taken them through the drive-thru just because their story was so beautifully crafted, and he felt as though they’d earned it. Kathy had disagreed, of course, but those were the risks you took with a free sitter.
Then he showed her the photo his sister had texted him of the girls dressed up for a birthday party, and Kelly smiled. “They’re beautiful. I like watching you talk about them, and I’ve seen you with the boys from the team. It’s too bad you don’t have kids, because you’d be a great dad.”
The compliment was like a punch to the gut. He’d wanted kids, but lately he’d been grateful he didn’t have any, because they’d just be caught up in the mess the end of the building boom and Seth Poole had helped bring about. And if he had a wife and kids and a mortgage, he might not have been able to juggle enough to keep himself out of bankruptcy.
“Maybe someday,” he said. “Once I’ve got my life back on track. How about you?”
She shrugged. “I had planned to have kids, but I guess I wasn’t married long enough. I was starting to think it might be time to start a family, when it all blew up in my face, so I’m glad now, of course. As much as I’d like to have children, I’m glad I don’t have to maintain a relationship with my ex for the rest of my life for their sake. He’s just gone from my life and I never have to see him again.”
“I know what you mean.” He’d dragged the conversation down, and he didn’t like it when she talked about her ex-husband. Her eyes grew sad, and it made him want to find the guy and punch him in the face. “Do you want dessert?”
She smiled. “I didn’t even finish my lunch. Do you want something?”
“Since I ate my lunch and then yours, hell no.” With his stomach full, he leaned back in the booth and failed to stifle a yawn. “I can’t believe I have to play football tonight.”
“Maybe you should come home and take a nap with me,” she said in a low, suggestive voice.
And just like that the tiredness was gone, and he wanted her so badly it hurt. But he remembered the story she told him and tried to force it down. “After what you told me about your day at work, I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
Her stubborn face was almost a carbon copy of her mother’s, which he’d seen often enough during the time he spent at the McDonnell house. “My private life is just that. Private. Plus, you can park out back in the town lot and it’s only a few feet to the door. There are a dozen trucks just like yours in town.”
So she might claim her private life was nobody’s business, but it was obvious she wanted to minimize the chances of anybody seeing him at her apartment. No matter how much he wanted her, he wasn’t willing to risk her job. “Kelly, I...”
Her calf brushed the inside of his, and she reached across the table to run her thumb over his palm in a way she knew drove him crazy. “Kelly what?”
“I don’t suppose it’s legal for you to give me a lights-and-sirens escort to the town lot?”
“No, but I know a shortcut that’ll shave five minutes off the drive.”
He signaled for the check. “That’s five minutes more fornapping.”
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