Be My Hero(46)

I yawned and ran my hand through my wet hair. "'Morning." After I padded  barefoot across the kitchen to the table, I plopped into a chair and  pulled on my socks. Though I'd gotten more sleep than usual since I  hadn't needed to pace the floor with Julian at all, I felt stiff and  sore from bunking on the couch.

I jumped when Eva set one of the bowls of cereal in front of me. About  to tell her she hadn't needed to do that, because it seemed to be my  catch phrase these past twenty-four hours, I paused, wondering if she  was getting sick of me constantly repeating it. So I settled for a  sincere, "Thanks."

She sat across from me and rocked Skylar in her arms as she ate with one  hand. "So how many days do you work from nine in the morning until two  the next morning?" she asked between bites.

I smiled through my munching, amazed by how well she multitasked. When a  drop of milked dripped down her chin, making her scramble with both  hands full to wipe it up, I smiled even wider and leaned over to mop it  up for her.

"A couple," I answered, licking the droplet of milk off my thumb. I worked that much most weekdays, actually.

She shook her head, staring at my thumb as I pulled it away from my  tongue. "I don't know how you do it without tumbling dead from  exhaustion."

I motioned to her with my spoon before I took a big bite. "You just  worked the same hours as I did yesterday. More, actually. How're you  still going?"         

     



 

She shook her head to disagree. "But I had plenty of down time."

I snorted. "When? When you were watching not just mine, but your own  kid, cleaning my house or cooking me supper? Oh, and don't think I  didn't notice you gave Fighter a bath last night. He smelled all clean  and fresh when I leaned in to kiss his head just now."

"Okay, fine," she relented on a sigh. "I'm secretly Wonder Woman. I just  hid my bracelets, tiara, and lasso in Skylar's diaper bag so you  wouldn't find out."

I grinned. "Wonder Woman was always my favorite superhero."

"And I'm sure her breast size, tiny waist, and incredible thighs had nothing to do with it either."

I snorted out a laugh and nearly choked on the last of the milk I was  drinking from my bowl. "You know me too well." Rising to my feet, I went  to rinse it in the sink, only to realize how freaking spotless the sink  was. Not only had she done dishes, she'd scrubbed the sink as well.

Shaking my head and thinking she really must be Wonder Woman, I turned  to say, "I can drive you back to Lowe's whenever you're ready."

She looked up in surprise. "Aren't I watching Julian again today?"

I drew in a quick, pleased breath. "You were serious about that?"

"Of course." She frowned as if I was crazy for asking. "You still need help watching him, don't you?"

"Yeah, but . . . " I shrugged, suddenly self-conscious. "I was kind of  an asshole to you the last time we saw each other. I don't get why  you're being so amazing and helping me like this."

She shook her head, her confusion blatant. "How were you an asshole to me?"

I glanced away, ashamed. "I basically told you I didn't want you knowing  I didn't have a real marriage because I didn't want you tempting me  into something I knew you could very easily tempt me into doing. And  then I walked out on you and never talked to you again."

"Okay, first of all, that was three days ago, not decades like you're  making it sound. And your hands were full, Pick. That's totally  understandable. Besides, you weren't obligated to ever talk to me again,  though not calling when your wife left you hanging with a  four-month-old to take care of by yourself stung a little. I thought  we'd become friends. Why didn't you think I'd help you watch him?"

"I . . . " I gave a small laugh. "Actually, the idea didn't even occur  to me. I'm not used to asking anyone for help. Usually, it's the other  way around and people come to me when they need something."

"Then it sounds as if you need new friends. If you never get anything in  return from them, they're not your friends. They're just people who use  you." Before I could respond to her statement, she continued, "And  besides, I totally understand why you didn't tell me about the true  nature of your wedding vows. I only had to spend five minutes with  Julian to know how amazing he is and how much he needs you in his life. I  would never do anything to jeopardize that." A line between her brows  formed. "How is that going to work out, anyway? Now that she's gone. I  mean, it's okay for you to keep him, right?"

"I don't know," I confessed quietly as I leaned against the kitchen  counter to wipe the exhaustion from my eyes. "But I'm certainly not  going to call up a social worker to see if it's fine. No way in hell am I  doing anything that might land him in the foster care system."

Her eyes softened with sympathy. "You had a pretty bad experience with foster care, didn't you?"

I shrugged and glanced down into my cleaned cereal bowl before I cleared  my throat and set it on the counter. "Some places were okay. Others  were fucking hell. It's all a crapshoot. Most of those people take on  kids for the money. They don't care what happens to you as long as they  keep getting a check. You never feel like you belong. Anywhere." When a  cry came from my bedroom, I glanced toward the sound. "Julian doesn't  deserve that. Not when he's got me."

I left her in the kitchen to go get my boy out of his crib. When I  pulled him to my chest and kissed his head, he burrowed into me,  grabbing a handful of my shirt.

Eva and Skylar appeared in the doorway. When Tink smiled at me, her gaze  soft and understanding, something in my chest screwed in tight. It hurt  even more, knowing she completely understood why I couldn't pursue the  attraction between us.

"You sure you don't need to go back to your place to get anything this morning? Change of clothes, stuff for Skylar?"

She shook her head. "Already got it covered. Reese is on her summer  break from college and she doesn't have to watch Mason's sister today.  She can bring me anything I need. Besides she'll need to give me a ride  to the grocery store."         

     



 

My eyebrow shot up. "You were serious about that too?"

"Hell, yes. I'll starve if I don't get more food in your cabinets soon."

"You can take my car if you need to go anywhere. The garage where I work is only about twelve blocks from here."

She shuddered as if that was a horrible idea. "I kicked you out of your  own bed last night. I'm not taking your ride too. Especially in this  heat."

"Yeah, but you looked really hot all curled up in my sheets, so that was more of a bonus for me."

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "There it is. I was wondering where that flirty side of you had gone this morning."

I winked. "It just needed a little time to wake up and kick in."

"I don't know," she murmured, eyeing me as if she suddenly thought I was  shifty. "You were telling me my voice sounded hot last night when I  called you Patrick, and you were half out of it then."

"I did? Hmm, I must be better than I thought."

She laughed and laid Skylar in the crib. "You better get to work already, Rico Suave. Or you're going to be late."

"I'm always late. My boss would probably drop dead from shock if I actually showed up on time."

When she turned to me, I was tempted to lay Julian down too, so I could  scoop Eva up and just tackle her onto the bed and have my sexy way with  her.

"Well, Wonder Woman Eva is on the scene today," she said, completely  oblivious to my lusty thoughts. "So you don't have to be late. Now give  me that beautiful boy so I can spoil him rotten."

Sold. I handed Fighter over and waited until she had him settled in her  arms before I leaned in to kiss my kid one last time and told him to be  good for Tinker Bell. Then, I snuck to the bed to skim my fingers gently  over Skylar's forehead. She'd fallen asleep, so I whispered, "Take  care, princess."

When I straightened, Eva met my gaze, her awesome blue eyes expectant.

It felt wrong not to give her a special goodbye too. So, I said, "Thank  you," before pressing my lips to her forehead. I lingered for longer  than I should have. But she didn't push me away. She gazed up at me when  I pulled back, and her eyes mirrored all the yearning I felt deep  within my chest.

Turning away before I gave into temptation, I strode from the room.

After I left the apartment, the strangest fullness swirled in my chest. I  was sure I could damn near float off ground and drift in my  contentment. I could do anything. Because it felt as if I'd just wished  my family goodbye for the day.

It was the dirtiest tease ever; I knew that. When Eva returned to Mason  and Reese, I was probably going to feel more empty than I'd felt before  she'd come into my life. But I refused to regret her presence, because  it felt too good to have her here now.