“So what can we do for you?” Eric stood there with his arms crossed as if he lived there.
“He’s here to see me. Not that it’s any of your business. I believe you were about to leave.”
Eric let out a quick disgusted snort before shoving his hands into his pockets and turning away. He lowered his head and Corra thought she witnessed all the fight drain out of him.
Chris stared at Corra with a “what the hell’s going on” look on his face.
“Yeah, I’m going, but I’ll be back tomorrow.” His mouth curled into a sneer as he looked at Chris. “To see my kids.”
Chris cleared his throat. “Later, man,” he said, before joining Corra in the doorway.
“Yeah, much,” Eric mumbled on his way down the steps.
Corra stood back to let Chris in. Her heart was pounding in her chest. She closed the door and followed him up the steps and into the kitchen; the center of gravity for Corra. Everything happened in her kitchen.
The only thing she knew to say was, “I’m sorry.”
“What did he do, just show up out of the blue?”
She glanced up at Chris who leaned against the counter. He looked irritated.
“Have a seat, Chris.”
He pulled out a chair and sat down.
She took a deep breath. “I heard Eric was back in town so when I ran into his sister, Cookie, a couple of weeks ago I asked about him. Since then, he’s come by a couple of times to see the kids.” Too nervous to sit down, she fixed herself a glass of water and offered him some, but he shook his head.
“So you went looking for him?”
She shook her head. “Not actually, but yes. If I hadn’t ran into Cookie I might not have. Asshole or not, my kids need him in their lives. Especially Jamie. Once upon a time he was a good father.” She leaned against the sink and sipped her water.
“Come sit down.” Chris pushed a chair out and motioned for her to sit next to him.
Corra was a little nervous about how Chris would take Eric’s presence in her life again. But, she also wasn’t about to let him come before what was best for her kids. She hoped he understood.
He turned her chair to face him and reached out and caressed her thigh. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I know how you feel about him.”
“Corra, regardless of how I feel about him, he’s the father of your children. You should have told me. Tonight I didn’t know whether you wanted me to leave or stay.”
“Stay, of course. I don’t want him back after what he’s done to me.” She lowered her voice. “His gambling and depleting of our finances wasn’t the only thing that broke us up. The infidelity with multiple women, coupled with the verbal abuse was the main reason I divorced him.”
Chris leaned closer and ran both hands up Corra’s thighs. He took a breath, and then let out a loud sigh. “Well, I’m glad I stayed. But, let’s not start off by keeping things from each other, okay?”
She smiled. “Okay. And thanks for being so understanding.”
He placed his hand behind her neck, leaned in and gave her a kiss. All of Corra’s nervousness dissolved when Chris parted her lips with his tongue and slowly set her body ablaze.
Chris released her and leaned back in his seat. “I actually stopped by to see if you had any plans for the weekend.”
She shrugged. “No, why?”
“I need a weekend getaway. How would you like to go to Las Vegas with me?”
Corra sat straight up. “I don’t know... I, uh, I have to work and I don’t have any vacation planned and—”
“And you need a babysitter, and I’m sure you can come up with plenty more excuses. But, I want to take you to Vegas for the weekend.”
Corra tried to hide her excitement, but a Las Vegas getaway sounded wonderful. “Well, I am part owner of the establishment, and I can give myself a few days off. Providing I can get a sitter.”
“Great. Work on it and let me know.”
“Mom! I’m ready,” Jamie yelled, from the top of the stairs.
Chris released her and they backed away from each other, both expecting the kids to run into the room.
Corra laughed and yelled back. “I’m on my way.”
Chris scooted his chair back. “I’d better go. I wanted to see you before I went home. How was the game today?”
“It was great. Jamie had two home runs.” She stopped short of telling him Eric was at the game. Then felt guilty that she was keeping something else from him. This was no way to start a relationship.
Chapter 17
Tuesday night, Chris joined Corra and the kids for dinner. Corra got the biggest laugh at Chris’s face as he tried to keep up with both Jamie and Katie’s conversations at the same time. They were like two little people starved for attention. You would have thought they hadn’t spoken to anyone in weeks. And Chris ping-ponged from one to the other before stealing a glance at Corra.