Her Sexiest Mistake

'Hey,' came Hope's Southern drawl.

'Hey,' Mia said quickly. 'I'm on my way, I'll be there-'

'Sorry, I can't answer right now, but you all be sure to leave me a message and I'll get back to you.'

Damn it! The kid's voice mail. What did a sixteen-year-old have going on that she couldn't answer her phone?

The possibilities, none of them good, goaded her into speeding as she called information for the teen center. She got directly connected, then waited impatiently while that phone rang.

And rang.

' 'Lo,' came a low, annoyed voice of a male teen. 'Teen center.'

'Yes, this is Mia Appleby. I'd like to speak to Hope Appleby, please.'

'Not here.'

'What? What do you mean she's not there?'

'She's not here.'

'Look, I thought you people aren't supposed to leave until your adult signs you out!'

No answer.

'Hello?'

'Hold on.'

She grated her teeth and got stuck behind a truck. She tapped her fingers on the steering wheel while she thought of all the things that Hope could be doing: smoking, rewiring the entire teen center, cavorting with boys.

She really hated holding.

She hated waiting.

She hated-

'Mia.'

Just the sound of Kevin's voice, low and a little rough, made her belly do a little quiver. Too much cookie dough, she told herself. 'Yeah. Hi. I'm trying to get ahold of Hope.'

'Ah.'

She heard the quick flash of disappointment in his voice as he realized she wasn't calling for him, which brought a flash of shame to her cheeks, because she tended to show up in his world only when she needed him. When had she gotten so selfish? 'I'm sorry, it's just that she didn't answer her cell-'

'I sent her on an errand to my classroom. She'll be right back.'

'Oh. Okay, thank you.'

'Want me to leave her a message?'

So formal. He'd been buried inside her to the hilt, holding her face for his deep, hot, wet kiss as he decimated her with achingly slow thrusts designed to drive her right out of her mind, and here they were saying please and thank you like strangers. She hated this. She opened her mouth to say so, to say she was sorry she was so stubborn in her ways, to say she didn't know how to be anything other than what she was but that she wanted him to like that woman. She really, really wanted that.

But the words stuck like straw in her throat. Damn pride. It wouldn't be the first time she'd choked on it. 'No,' she finally managed. 'Thank you,' she said again, inanely, and clicked off.

Drove.

Swore.

Yeah, the power had shifted, from herself to another.

To a man.

That was a first, an uncomfortable one, and she didn't like it. Not one bit.

Chapter 19

A few minutes later, Mia came to a standstill in traffic and felt her brain matter begin to boil. Never going to get there in time.

Why hadn't she just told Kevin? Now she had to call again.

The same sullen teen answered the teen center as before, and she strove for casual. 'Hi. Can I talk to Kevin again, please?'

She waited longer this time. Finally he picked up. 'McKnight.'

She let out a low breath and tried not to react to the way he said his name, as if he had all the confidence in the world, as if everything was as it should be, no doubts, no stress, nothing. 'It's me.'

He said nothing and she let out a breath. 'Again.' She winced. 'I, um…' Lost in the desire to get him to soften toward her, she actually forgot what she'd wanted to say.

'You lose your nerve?' he asked.

'No. I just…'

'Just what? Why can't you say it? That you hated the way we got off the phone just now. That you care about what I think. That you want us to be more than fuck buddies.'

'Actually, I called to tell you I'm running late.' At his silence, she pressed the phone to her forehead, then brought it back to her ear. 'Okay, yes. And I hated the way we got off the phone just now. All right? Happy?'

'Jumping for joy.'

'Look, I really am going to be a few minutes late. I didn't know the protocol.'

'I can take Hope home so you don't worry about it while you're navigating traffic.'

'I can multitask. Worrying and navigating are no problem fine.'

'Then multitask this-drive carefully while thinking about what I'm going to do to you tonight.'

Her thighs quivered at the threat/promise, so silkily uttered she got goose bumps. 'There's, uh, going to be a tonight?'

'Oh, there's going to be a tonight. My way.'

She swallowed hard.

'Drive safe,' he said again.

It wasn't often someone wanted to do something for her, and she squirmed for a moment, fighting with that age-old nemesis-her pride.

'This is where you say, 'Okay, Kevin, thanks.''

In spite of herself, she had to smile. 'Yeah. Thanks.'

'Well, look at that,' he said softly. 'You didn't choke on it.' Before she could process that, he said, 'You can bring dinner. Pizza? The works would be great.'

'I hadn't been planning on-' But she was talking to herself, because he'd disconnected. He had no idea, of course, that she didn't have time for that.

She had work to do, a teen to watch, a house to pack up, a hotel to find-

Ah, hell. She dialed information for the number of the local pizza joint.

And then did as he asked: drove while thinking about what he was going to do to her tonight.

***

Mia arrived at home half an hour later still wondering about what Kevin intended. She hadn't even gotten out of her car before she heard the wild cheering and screaming. Hoisting two pizzas and her briefcase, she followed the noise to the basketball court and stopped in surprise. From what she could gather, it was Kevin and Hope against Mike and Tess.

Tess, who'd never followed, much less played, a competitive game or sport in her life. Unlike the others, Tess