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“As long as he doesn’t lift his leg on the furniture,” came the hushed reply.
She leveled a look at the dog, who cocked his head at her. “Keep it together,” she told him, and his stubby tail wagged again.
“I should get Charlie home and to bed,” she said as she walked into the family room then stopped short. Sam sat on the couch, Charlie nestled into the crook of his arm, their attention riveted to the television. An IndyCar race was on the big set, and Sam was quietly explaining the details of the scene to Charlie.
“Lubock thinks he’s got this one in the bag. He’s in the blue-and-yellow car out front.”
“Blue,” Charlie said, his fist popping out of his mouth to point to the screen.
“That’s right, but watch out for Eckhard in the red and white. See where he’s coming around the outside?”
Charlie nodded drowsily then snuggled in deeper.
“I thought you didn’t like kids,” Julia said quietly, as Charlie’s eyes drifted shut.
Sam glanced at the boy then tucked a blanket from the back of the couch around him. “I like kids. Everyone likes kids.”
Julia scoffed. “Hardly. Most people like dogs. You don’t.”
“That’s different.”
She watched the pair for several seconds then added, “Charlie’s father doesn’t like kids.”
Sam met her gaze. “His loss.”
“You’ve never even said hello to Charlie before this week.”
“He and I don’t run in the same circles,” he countered.
“You know what I mean.”
Sam picked up the remote and hit the mute button. He knew what she meant. Ever since he’d found Julia after her car crashed, he’d avoided both her and her son. That moment had terrified him more than it should someone in his position. He didn’t know whether it was the memory of losing his mother, or the strange way his body reacted to the woman sitting across from him. Or a combination of both. But when he’d lifted her out of that car and carried her to his cruiser, his instinct for danger had been on high alert.
Sam was used to saving people from mishaps. It was part of the job. But she’d looked at him as if she’d put all her faith in him. That had made it feel different. More real, and scary as hell. Charlie had been born that same day, and Sam had decided it was better for both of them if he stayed away. He had nothing to offer a single mom and her child. His heart had shut down a long time ago.
Holding Charlie in his arms, he felt something fierce and protective roar to life inside him. If he wasn’t careful, he could easily fall for this boy and his mother. He had to keep his distance but still play the part. His dad had spent most of the evening fawning over Julia and her son, leaving Sam blessedly alone.
He wanted to keep up the charade long enough for his father to leave town satisfied. When the eventual breakup came, Sam was sure he’d have a better chance of convincing Joe how heartbroken he was over the phone than in person.
“We should go over a few things before you leave,” he said, trying to make his tone all business but soft enough that he didn’t wake Charlie.
Julia nodded. “I can take him from you first.”
Sam shook his head and adjusted the blanket. “He’s fine. Thanks for bringing him. You saw how happy it made my dad.”
“He’s going to be devastated when this doesn’t work out.”
Sam shrugged. “He’ll get over it. You’ve given him hope that I’m not a total lost cause in the commitment department. That should hold him over for a while.”
Julia adjusted in her chair as the dog settled at her feet with a contented sigh. Sam had heard a lot about Vera Morgan’s exceptional skills with animals. It appeared the gift was genetic.
“He mentioned your ex-girlfriend.”
Sam flinched. If he didn’t have Charlie sleeping against him, he would have gotten up to pace the room. “Leave it to dear old dad to knock the skeleton from my closet.”
“We’re engaged. He assumed I already knew.”
“And you thought knowing my favorite color was going to be a big deal.”
“We need to understand the details about each other if this is going to work. Otherwise, no one is going to believe we’re legitimate.”
“Why not?” he countered. “People run off to Vegas all the time. Maybe you fell so head over heels for me that you didn’t care about the details.”
“Highly unlikely. You’re not that irresistible.”
Her comeback made him smile, which he realized was her intention. It was strange that this woman he knew so little could read him so well. “I was engaged for six months. She cheated on me a month before the wedding.”
“That’s awful.”
“I caught her with my brother.”
Julia’s jaw dropped. “Wow.”
“That’s an understatement.”
“What happened? Do you still speak to your brother? Are they together? What kind of awful people would do that to someone they both loved?”
“The way Scott explained it, before I kicked him out of my house, was that she was bad news and he was saving me from making a mistake. The way Jenny spun it before she followed him out the door was that he’d seduced her.” He expected to feel the familiar pain of betrayal but only emptiness washed over him. “They aren’t together and weren’t again as far as I know. Turns out he was right. I found out later it wasn’t the first time she’d cheated. She’d also been with one of the guys on the squad. Made me look like a fool.”
“She’s the fool.” Julia came to stand before him. She lifted Charlie from his arms and sat down, laying her son beside her on the soft leather. “And your brother?”
“Scott was in the army for several years. Now he works out of D.C. for the U.S. Marshals.”
She squeezed his arm and the warmth of her hand relaxed him a little. “I’m not interested in his job. What about your relationship?”
“My dad had a health scare almost two years ago. I passed my brother in the hall at the hospital. That’s the extent of it.”
“Oh, Sam.”
“We were never close. My dad didn’t encourage family bonding.”
“Still—”
“This isn’t helping our arrangement.” Sam took her hand in his. “How long have we been dating?”
“Four months,” Julia answered automatically.
“Favorite color?”
“Blue.”
“Where we going on a honeymoon?”
“A Disney cruise.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“Because of Charlie.”
He laughed. “Fine.” Some of the tension eased out of his shoulders and he asked, “Big or small wedding?”
“Small, close friends and immediate family.”
“Who are your close friends?”
Her eyes darted away and she took several beats to answer. “The girls from the salon, I guess. A few of them, anyway. My sister.”
“What about your friends from high school?”
“I didn’t really have friends. Followers was more like it, and most of them have outgrown me.”
“Their loss,” he said, using his earlier phrase, and was rewarded with a smile. “What about your ex-boyfriend? Do you still have feelings for him? Should I be jealous?”
“Of Jeff? No. We were over long before he left me.”
An interesting way to phrase it. Sam couldn’t help but ask, “Could I kick his butt?”
She smiled. “Absolutely.”
“Good. When is your next court date?”
“Friday.”
“Do you want me to come?”
She shook her head and Sam felt a surprising rush of disappointment. “I might be able to help.”
“You already are.”
“You can’t believe the judge will award custody to Jeff and his family. Is he even going to be here?”
“I don’t know. But I can’t take any chances. Even if he gets joint custody, they could take Charlie from me for extended periods of time. I won’t risk it. Jeff made it clear he didn’t want to be a father, so I don’t understand why he’s letting this happen. He was never close to his family.”
“Have you talked to him directly?”
“I left a message on his cell phone right after the letter came. I might have sounded hysterical. He hasn’t returned my call.”
“You’re going to have to tell your family what’s going on before it goes too much further.”
She nodded. “I realized that tonight. If my mom finds out your dad knew before her... It’s all too much. I’m finally starting to get my life on track, with the salon and Charlie. For the first time in as long as I can remember, my mother isn’t looking at me with disappointment in her eyes. When she finds out...”
“Vera will want to help. This isn’t your fault.”
“It sure feels like it is.” She sank back against the couch and scrubbed her hands across her face. Sam saw pain and fear etched in her features. It gnawed away at him until he couldn’t stand it. Why was she so afraid of her mother’s judgment? Why did she think so little of herself, to believe her son was at risk of being taken away? Maybe she’d made some mistakes in her past but Sam didn’t know anyone who hadn’t. She couldn’t be punished forever.
He might not be willing to give his heart again, but he needed to give her some comfort. He wasn’t great with words and knew that if he got sentimental, she’d only use her dry wit to turn it into a joke. Instead, he placed a soft kiss on the inside of her palm.
She tugged on her hand but he didn’t let go. “You don’t need to do that now,” she whispered, her voice no more than a breath in the quiet. “There’s no one watching.”
One side of his mouth quirked. “It’s a good thing, too, because what I want to do to you is best kept in private.”
Her mouth formed a round oh and he lifted a finger to trace the soft flesh of her lips.
“Charlie.”
“I know.” He leaned closer. “You’re safe tonight. Almost.”
“We shouldn’t...”
“I know,” he repeated. “But I can’t think of anything I want more.”
“Me, too.” She sat up and brought both of her hands to the sides of his face, cupping his jaw. “This isn’t going to get complicated, right?”
“Other than planning a pretend wedding, a custody battle, my meddling father and a town filled with nosy neighbors? I think we can keep it fairly simple.”
She smoothed her thumbs along his cheeks and her scent filled his head again. “I mean you and me. We’re on the same page. It’s all part of the show, the time spent together, pretending like we’re in love. It ends when we both get what we want.”
He agreed in theory, but at the moment all Sam wanted was her. He knew telling her that would make her more skittish than she already was. He didn’t want this night to end quite yet, even if her sleeping son was going to keep the evening G-rated. So he answered, “That’s the plan.”
She nodded then licked her lips, and he suppressed a groan. “Then it won’t matter if I do this...” She brought her mouth to his and they melted together. When her tongue mixed with his, he did groan. Or maybe Julia did. Her fingers wound through his hair and down his neck, pressing him closer, right where he wanted to be.
He deepened the kiss as his hands found their way underneath her blouse, his palms spread across the smooth skin on her back.
“Stop.” Julia’s breathing sounded ragged.
His hands stilled and he drew back enough to look into her big gray eyes, now hazy with desire.
A small smile played on the corners of her mouth. “I want to make sure we both stay in control. No getting carried away.”
Like to his bedroom, Sam thought. All the wonderful, devilish, naked things he could do to her there ran through his brain. He wanted to know this woman—every inch of her—with a passion he hadn’t thought himself capable of feeling.
He didn’t answer, not sure his brain could manage a coherent sentence at the moment. They stared at each other and he wondered if Julia’s heart was pounding as hard as his.
He heard Charlie snore softly and let his eyes drift closed for a few seconds. He counted to ten in his head, thought about the pile of work waiting in his office and tried like hell to rein in his desire and emotions.
He withdrew his hands, smoothed her shirt back down and forced a casual smile.
“My middle name is control, sweetheart.”
