Hands and knees shaking, he managed to pull out, but he didn’t let her go yet.
She put a hand over his on her hip. “That was not how I expected the evening to turn out.”
“Me neither.” He kissed the side of her neck. “Not complaining, though.”
“No, definitely not complaining.”
“Haven’t…haven’t made you come yet.”
She grinned. “Then maybe we should pick all this shit up and go somewhere where there’s a bed.”
“Your place or mine?”
“Yours is closer.”
He kissed beneath her ear. “My place, it is.”
Chapter Fourteen
By the time Monday rolled around, and Dara had to get back to work, every inch of her body ached. Between her hormones and her long-neglected libido, and his newly awakened hunger for sex, they were lucky they could walk.
Sitting at her desk, her body reminding her of every time—and every way—they’d fucked over the weekend, she couldn’t help grinning. There were certainly worse ways to de-stress in the middle of a divorce.
Her workload was slowly coming back down to a manageable level. Most of her clients had been beyond patient over the last couple of months, and one by one, she was finishing up the jobs. By next month, she’d be caught up, which both her mind and her bank account would appreciate.
Around ten, a crew her landlord had hired came by to take care of a few things—cleaning the gutters, cutting the grass, things like that. She took a break to talk to them briefly, then went back to wrapping up an analysis of a client’s inventory report.
Her good mood faltered a bit when Mom’s car appeared in the driveway. Damn. She’d promised to have lunch with her mother today, hadn’t she? Taking a long lunch was fine. She just wasn’t sure if she wanted to deal with the questions and commentary about her life today.
But, she’d promised…
On her way out the door, she let the guys know she’d be gone for a little while, that they could call her cell phone if they needed anything.
“I think we’ve got it all under control, ma’am.” The man smiled. “We should be done soon.”
“Great. Thanks!” She headed down the porch steps. “Hey, Mom.”
“Hello, sweetheart. Um, who are they?”
“They work for my landlord.”
“And you’re going to leave with them still here?”
Dara shrugged. “The house is locked up. And besides, they’re taking care of everything I don’t have time to do right now.”
Mom scowled. “This is why you need Jon, honey.”
Dara stopped at the end of the walk and glared at her mom. “Why? So he can fix the gutters and cut the grass in between cheating on me?”
Exasperated sigh, right on cue.
Dara released one of her own. “I don’t need anyone’s help. I can do these things just fine myself, and if I can’t do it, I can pay someone.” She gestured at the workmen. “The only reason they’re doing this now is my landlord offered, and—”
“And in a few months, you won’t be able to do those things.”
“But after the baby is here, I will.” She opened her car door. “Where do you want to go for lunch?”
“Oh, anywhere’s fine.” The vaguely passive-aggressive tone made Dara’s teeth clench, but she refused to let it show as they climbed into her car. They rode in silence for a little while, but she didn’t expect it to last long.
As they were heading down Main Street toward a diner they frequented, Mom spoke. “Honey, I know you hit a rough patch with Jon, but your baby needs a father.”
Dara bit her tongue. When she was sure she wouldn’t let fly with something that would make their lunch conversation unbearable, she calmly said, “We didn’t hit a rough patch. He cheated on me, and he left me. He filed for divorce and made it clear he didn’t want any rights or responsibilities toward this child.”
“But he didn’t—”
“Mom. Please.” Dara put up her hand. “It’s done. I told you before—we’re not discussing this any further. Jon made his decision. You’re going to have to learn to live with it just like I have.”
“What about—”
“Can we let this drop?”
“No, I really don’t think we can. I’m concerned about who’s going to take care of you and my grandchild.”
“The answer to both of those is me.”
Though Dara’s gaze was fixed on the road in front of her, she could feel her mother’s disapproving stare.
“It’s easy to say all that now,” Mom said. “But a baby is a lot of work, sweetheart.”