“Thanks. It means a lot to hear you say that.”
“Why? You have to know you’re great with kids.”
“I don’t know about that,” he said.
“Of course you are,” she insisted. “You know what surprises me, though?”
“What?”
“As much as you obviously love children, I can’t believe you don’t have some of your own.”
His expression promptly shut down. “Not going to happen,” he said tightly.
“Why on earth not?”
“You know why,” he said. “What the hell does a man with my background know about raising a family?”
Deanna met his tormented gaze directly. “It seems to me if anyone knows what not to do when it comes to raising kids, it’s you,” she said, gently but with complete conviction.
He seemed startled by her statement. “Doesn’t mean I could stick it out, any more than my folks could.”
“You’re not giving yourself much credit,” she accused.
“For good reason. Those are the genes I’ve got running through me.”
“You said you’ve been in touch with one brother recently. Does he feel the same way?”
“Pretty much,” he said, then hesitated. “Or at least he did.”
“What changed his mind?”
“He met someone, fell in love.”
“And got married?” Deanna guessed.
Sean nodded.
“And he’s braver than you are? I doubt that,” she scoffed.
“It’s not about being brave,” he retorted.
“Sure it is. Every marriage requires a leap of faith, even for people who don’t have lousy examples all around them. The same holds true for having kids. They don’t come with instruction manuals. Even the best baby books don’t really prepare you for the day-in, day-out realities. But thousands—probably even millions—of people have babies for the first time every year. These parents survive, and so do the kids.”
He grinned. “All this talk about bravery from a woman who didn’t even want to go out on a date because the prospect scared her,” he teased.
Deanna winced at the accurate accusation. “I’m not scared of dating,” she muttered.
“Oh? Must be me, then. Are you scared of me, Deanna?” He stepped closer as he spoke, then reached out and traced the curve of her jaw, sending a shudder through her.
“No,” she whispered, but it was evident to both of them that it was a lie. She was sure he could feel her trembling, feel the heat climbing into her cheeks.
“I want to kiss you again,” he said, as if he weren’t especially happy about it.
Because she had something to prove, she faced him with her jauntiest expression. “Then why don’t you?” she dared him.
He rubbed his thumb across her lower lip. “You mean that?”
The truth was, she thought she might die if she didn’t feel his lips on hers in the next ten seconds. She nodded.
“Well then, I suppose it would be wrong of me to let a lady down,” he said, slowly lowering his head until his mouth was a scant fraction of an inch above hers.
“Very wrong,” she agreed as his lips met hers.
The explosion of need was every bit as violent and overwhelming as it had been the first time he’d kissed her. Deanna lost herself in the swirl of dark, tempting sensations, letting herself rock forward until she was crushed against him. Heat from his body surrounded her, pulling her in, making her crave more.
What on earth was she doing? This was exactly what she’d told herself to avoid at all costs. Her senses were swimming, filled with the taste and feel of Sean as he devoured her with that kiss. He shifted, and she felt the edge of the counter at her back, the hard press of his arousal against her hip. There was an odd sense of comfort in knowing that he wanted her as desperately as she wanted him, that he had as little control over his responses as she did.
“Mom! Sean!”
The sound of Kevin’s shouts and the thunder of footsteps on the stairs tore them apart. Deanna barely resisted the urge to turn and splash cold water on her face before her son ran into the room. She noted that Sean deliberately turned his back to the room, dragging in deep gulps of air to steady himself before facing Kevin.
“In here,” she called, her voice shaky.
Kevin raced through the door, then skidded to a stop. He studied her worriedly, then looked at Sean. “You guys aren’t fighting, are you?”
“No, of course not. Why would you think that?”
“’Cause you look all funny, kinda like Hank and Ruby when they’re fighting.”
Now wasn’t that telling? Deanna thought, resolving to ask Ruby just how much fighting she and Hank were doing lately. “Everything’s fine,” she reassured Kevin. “Did you come up here for a reason?”
“I’m starving. The other guys had to go in for dinner, so I came up to see if the burgers are ready.”
“Not just yet,” Sean said.
Deanna barely contained a chuckle at the gross exaggeration.
Kevin looked around the kitchen, clearly noting that the table wasn’t set and that there was no evidence that dinner had even been started. “What have you guys been doing?” he asked.
“Talking,” Deanna said at once. “We lost track of time.”
“Oh,” Kevin said, apparently placated. “Can I have a soda?”
“Sure,” Sean said eagerly, reaching inside the fridge to retrieve one, then glancing at Deanna. “Okay?”
“Sure,” she said. She would have given Kevin anything he’d asked for at that point, if it would have gotten him off the embarrassing topic of what she and Sean had been up to.
Kevin took his can of pop and climbed onto a chair. “What have you been talking about?” he asked, clearly settling in.
“Grown-up stuff. Nothing that would interest you, kiddo,” Sean said, when Deanna remained completely mute, unable to think of a single response.
“Oh,” Kevin said again, a bored expression crossing his face. Finally he asked, “Can I watch TV?”
Sean again glanced at Deanna. She nodded. “Just until dinner’s ready,” she told him. “You turn it off and come when we call,
