Her Kind of Trouble (Harlequin Superromance) (23 page)

“Better than an alarm clock,” he said, moving to the end of the bed and scouting around for his underwear.

He slipped out once he was decent, and she listened to the sounds of him talking to Daisy. There was a special tone that came into his voice when he spoke to his daughter. Soft and gentle and patient.

Sitting up, she swiveled onto her knees and snagged the frame from where it was in danger of sliding off the bed. She couldn’t look at her framed panties without grinning. Acting on impulse, she went to the wall next to the door, where a black-and-white shot of the New York City skyline hung in a black frame. Unhooking it, she rested it on the floor and replaced it with her panties.

“Now, that’s art,” she murmured as she stepped back to admire the effect.

Seth would have to take it down tomorrow, in case anyone else saw it and thought he really was the kind of desperate pervert who preserved sexual trophies, but for tonight, she figured her panties had found the perfect home.

Rescuing the pillows, she returned them to the bed, then pulled up the sheet and slid beneath it. Seth would be a while, she knew from experience, so she turned off the lamp.

It wasn’t until she was drifting off that it occurred to her that Seth hadn’t asked if she was staying the night, and she hadn’t offered.

They’d both assumed she would be.

CHAPTER THIRTEEEN

S
ETH
WOKE
TO
sunshine streaming across the sheets and an empty bed. It wasn’t until he glanced at the clock that he saw it was nearly ten.

“Whoa.” He bolted upright, flinging back the sheet and racing out of his room to Daisy’s.

He pulled up hard on the threshold, blinking stupidly at the empty crib. Then his brain caught up with the rest of him. Returning to the bedroom to pull on a pair of boxers, he walked to the kitchen. Sure enough, Vivian was sitting at the table feeding Daisy.

“Did I sleep through the monitor?” he asked.

“Nope. I woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep so I brought it in here with me. I figured you wouldn’t turn up your nose at more than three consecutive hours of sleep.”

She was wearing last night’s shirt and her panties, her hair all sticky-outy on one side. Her face was devoid of makeup, the freckles in clear evidence on her nose. She’d never looked better to him.

“You look like you just won the lottery,” she said with a grin.

“Kind of feels that way. I forgot what it feels like to have enough sleep.”

He came closer, peering over her shoulder to check on Daisy. His daughter stared at him, her mouth busy sucking on the bottle Vivian held for her, clenching and unclenching her hands rhythmically.

“Thanks,” he said quietly, and when Vivian glanced at him he dropped a kiss onto her lips.

Her smile was almost shy, and he had to bite back the impulse to kiss her again.

“You hungry? I’ve got eggs, bacon, English muffins if you’re up for it.”

She didn’t respond straight away, glancing at Daisy before looking at him. “That sounds great, thanks.”

He realized he’d been holding his breath, waiting for Vivian’s reply, and he told himself to relax as he turned toward the fridge.

He’d never been this edgy, this uncertain with a woman before—but he’d never been as invested before, either, and it was past time he admitted that to himself. This thing with Vivian had moved a long way beyond sex, very quickly. A long way.

He’d recognized that she was special—important—the moment he set eyes on her all those years ago, and he’d spent most of the past decade trying to pretend otherwise. She’d always been in the back of his mind, though, a tantalizing possibility that he’d been a little afraid to explore.

Despite that—despite all his posturing and all their mutual game-playing—they’d somehow still wound up here, both of them half-naked in his kitchen on a Saturday morning. And it felt pretty good. In fact, it felt better than good.

It felt right. Like the most right thing that had ever happened to him.

He stared at the contents of his refrigerator, aware that he was in danger of getting wildly ahead of himself. As vibrant and fun and sexy as Vivian was, she could also be incredibly hard to read. There were times when he was completely clueless as to what was going on behind her blue-green eyes.

He knew she’d had a good time last night and that she enjoyed his company, but beyond that, he had no idea how she viewed what was happening between them. She’d referred to them as a “disaster waiting to happen,” and the night she’d climbed into his bed she’d told him not to say too much in case she realized what a big mistake she was making.

Not exactly encouraging words.

But then there had been other times that she’d looked at him and he’d seen the world in her eyes. And she was still here, wasn’t she? She hadn’t rolled out of bed, dressed and gone on her merry way. She was having breakfast with him and Daisy. He figured that was an encouraging sign.

The fridge started to beep and he realized he’d been staring into it far too long. He grabbed the egg carton and the bacon, then shut the door.

“Scrambled, poached or fried?” he asked.

Vivian thought about it for a moment, her brow furrowed, then shrugged. “Surprise me. I used up all my decisions yesterday.”

The sound of the doorbell echoed, cutting off the tail end of Vivian’s answer.

“Hold that thought,” he said.

He didn’t think to check who it might be before he swung open the door, assuming it would simply be someone selling raffle tickets or one of his neighbors asking if he’d seen their lost cat.

Instead, he faced his brother and sister-in-law.

“Hey. We need to grab the coffee urn. Got a dozen coffee-guzzling parents coming to our place tonight,” Jason said, brushing past Seth into the house.

Seth was so thrown that for a full second his mind was a complete blank. Then it hit him what was about to happen and he spun on his heel.

“I’ll get it,” he said, abandoning Jodie at the door to follow his brother.

But it was too late. Jason was already halfway to the kitchen. Short of taking his brother down in a running tackle, there was no way to stop him from—

“Viv. What are you doing here?”

Damn.

* * *

V
IVIAN
TOOK
AN
involuntary step backward as Jason stopped in the doorway, a stunned expression on his face. The moment she’d heard his voice she’d shot to her feet and headed for the hallway. Not quickly enough, obviously.

His gaze raked her bare legs, taking in her rumpled shirt and bed hair, along with the baby in her arms.

Seth appeared at his brother’s shoulder, his eyes apologetic when they met hers.

Jodie’s voice filtered in. “Is Viv here? I thought I recognized her car in the street, but then I thought ‘what would she be doing here at ten in the morning?’” Jodie joined the two men in the doorway, her expression morphing from interested to comically surprised as she took in Vivian’s dishabille.

“Oh.”

“Fancy meeting you here,” Vivian said lamely.

“We needed to pick up the coffee urn,” Jodie said after a too-long silence.

“Sure. For your parents committee meeting. You mentioned it was your turn to host when we spoke this week.” Vivian’s face was hot. Not just warm, blistering, painfully hot.

“You should have called. I would have brought it to your place this afternoon,” Seth said.

Vivian had to steel herself to meet her sister’s gaze. She was expecting judgment, maybe even disappointment, but Jodie’s face was creased with concern, her eyes full of questions. As though she was worried for Vivian, deeply so.

Vivian looked away. She almost would have preferred judgment. Her sister’s concern made her feel decidedly...exposed.

“I might go get dressed,” she said.

A coward’s move, leaving Seth to take the heat, but where was it written that a woman had to take on every dragon that crossed her path?

“I’ll come help you,” Jodie said almost instantly.

Vivian wanted to object, but she knew that nothing short of a major extinction event would divert her sister from her course.

Still cradling Daisy, Vivian slipped from the room. She was very aware of her sister’s steady tread as Jodie followed. Jodie stopped in the doorway when they arrived at Daisy’s room, watching from a distance as Vivian leaned over the crib and nestled the baby amongst the covers. Her sister didn’t say a word, but Vivian could feel Jodie noting her every move as she smoothed a hand over Daisy’s soft hair.

Jodie moved out of the way to let Vivian pass, then followed her to Seth’s bedroom. The heat in Vivian’s cheeks burned hotter when she saw the very rumpled bed. Not much doubt about what had been going on in
that
last night.

Vivian cleared her throat. “I might just—”

“What are you
doing,
Viv?” Jodie’s voice vibrated with concern as she finally broke her silence.

“Because I know Seth, you mean?” His history. His appalling track record.

“Yes, Viv, because you know him. The man is charming but unreliable. He’s had more girlfriends than you’ve had hot dinners. He’s the human equivalent of white bread—delicious, tasty and completely lacking in nutritional value. You know this, yet you still slept with him? Why?”

“Seth isn’t white bread,” Vivian said, unable to stop herself from defending him. “He’s closer to that new stuff they make these days, the bread that looks like white bread but has hidden fiber you can’t see.”

“Seth has no hidden fiber, Viv. You of all people should know that.”

“That’s not true. He’s a successful businessman. He’s been wonderful with Dennis and Melissa. He’s a great dad. If that’s not fiber, I don’t know what is.”

Jodie waved off her words with the bat of a hand. “Fine. Awesome. I’m talking about Seth’s capacity to be a good partner to one woman for a period of more than a few weeks, though. And in that department, the man is white bread, pure and simple.”

“You’re wrong,” Vivian said stubbornly.

“Viv, you’re not thinking straight. He’s worked his magic on you. But believe me, Seth is white bread.”

“No, he’s a doughnut. And I’ll tell you why. He doesn’t for a second pretend that he’s good for you.” Vivian counted her points off on her fingers. “He knows he’s irresistible. He’s all about gratification in the now, and the moment you’re done, remorse kicks in with a vengeance. All of which doesn’t stop you from wanting another one almost immediately. That is indisputably doughnut territory.”

“Really? You regretted it the moment it was over?” Jodie asked, her gaze shooting to the rumpled bed.

Vivian realized how bound up they’d both become in a stupid metaphor. Or analogy. Whatever.

“I will never regret Seth,” she said, because it was the truth and she couldn’t not say it.

“Oh, Viv,” Jodie said heavily.

“Don’t get all mopey on me. I’m fine,” Vivian said. “Seth and I both know what this is.”

“Do you? So how does the fact that you’ve fallen in love with that little girl fit into all of this?”

Vivian stepped to the bed and started straightening the sheets, suddenly needing to be busy. “Does it need to? Are you telling me that you
don’t
love Daisy?”

“Are you in love with him, too?”

Vivian concentrated on folding down the top sheet, making sure the crease was straight before pulling up the duvet. “I’m not sure. Maybe.”

“Oh, Viv.”

She shot her sister a look. “It’s not a terminal diagnosis. No need to break out the black armbands.”

“Does he know how you feel?”

Vivian plumped the pillows with more vigor than was strictly necessary. “What do you think? And if you’re about to ‘Oh, Viv’ me again, I’m going to throw one of these in your face.”

Jodie took a wary step backward. “Okay. Has he said anything about how he feels?”

“This is Seth we’re talking about.”

“I’ll take that as a no, then.”

“It’s three days old. Did you and Jason send each other valentines after three days?”

“No. But we hadn’t spent the previous ten years circling each other, either. And there wasn’t a baby in the mix to turn up the temperature on everything. And I wasn’t maybe in love with him.”

Vivian stared at her sister, stripped bare by her simple, clean summary of the situation.

“I can’t believe I’m going to say this, given the whole white-bread conversation, but you need to talk to him, Viv.”

“No.”

Jodie frowned. “Why not?”

Vivian threw her hands in the air. “He’s just lost the mother of his child. He’s been thrown into single-parenthood literally overnight. I don’t want to become one more thing he doesn’t know what to do with.”

Her words echoed in the room. Jodie didn’t say a word, and Vivian sank onto the bed. Talk about hoist on her own petard. It took a moment to gather her scattered thoughts.

“Honestly? I thought I could control it. I thought that we could keep it to just great sex,” she confessed. “When it became clear that wasn’t happening, I told myself not to overthink everything, to go with the flow. Talk about self-delusional, huh?”

“I think you should talk to him,” Jodie said with quiet certainty. “Tell him how you feel. Find out how he feels. What do you have to lose at this point? And you never know, he might surprise all of us.”

Jodie made it sound so easy, but she had no idea how many years Vivian had invested in Seth. How many fantasies. It felt as though she’d been resisting the pull of her attraction to him since she first drew breath. Seth, on the other hand...

Seth was all about having a good time. She could still remember with painful clarity the relief that had radiated off him when she’d made it clear she didn’t expect anything from him after their limo session. He’d since grown up—given up the band, bought a house and a business—but he’d said it himself, hadn’t he? He’d never met a woman it felt right with, and he was quite happy to remain single if the alternative was settling for something less than amazing.

A pretty high standard for any woman to live up to. Especially a woman he’d had ample opportunities to categorize as amazing over the years and never had.

The thought brought the sting of tears and she blinked rapidly. Now was
not
the time to cry.

“I know it’s scary, Viv, but how else are you going to know?”

“I already know.” She’d always known. It was why she’d been so quick to be the one to reject Seth first years ago, and it was why she’d always been so careful to let him only so close. Until the night Lola died, when she’d been unable to stop herself from going to him.

Because she was a pain-seeking, self-sabotaging idiot, apparently.

“I still think you should give him a chance to surprise you.”

“And when he doesn’t, I get to spend the next forty years or so avoiding him at Sam’s and Max’s birthdays, just in case he gets the wrong idea? No, thanks.”

The reality was, Seth had had plenty of opportunities to tell her how he felt. And not once had he so much as hinted that he saw her as anything more than a smokin’ good time in bed.

She caught Jodie glancing at the clock while wincing apologetically.

“Sorry. We need to go. Sam and Max are with our neighbors, but we said we’d only be an hour or so....”

“It’s okay. I’m not going to spontaneously combust or anything.”

Jodie stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her. “If you need to talk, I’m here, okay? If you need to watch bad movies and eat chocolate and drink wine, I am so your girl. Whatever you need.”