“But she shouldn’t have done this, shouldn’t have made us barge in on your vacation like this.”
“She’s a really sweet kid.”
“I know that, but…” She shook her head. “Summer’s too young to understand the reasons why two people might not want to be together.”
“Do you think she’s hoping you and I will start dating?”
Megan felt her face grow terribly hot again. “I’m afraid so. She already thinks you’re the greatest thing since that firehouse girl and Dalmatian you sent her for her birthday. Even more than her Rapunzel doll with the long—”
“—hair,” he finished for her. “I had two little sisters, so I know way more about fairy tales than any guy is supposed to.”
He was so charming that she had to clear her throat to get back on track with the difficult—but necessary—conversation they were having, “Anyway, I’ll find a way to explain to her that you and I are just going to be friends. I just wanted to apologize to you for screwing up your vacation. I swear I had no idea you were going to be here and I’ve already decided that Summer is going to be grounded for life when we get back home.”
“Megan.”
She’d dropped her eyes to lap by the end of her apology, but the way he said her name had her lifting her eyes to his face.
“I’m glad you’re here.”
“That’s really nice of you to say, but—”
“Really glad.”
The really stopped her protests cold. He didn’t look like a man who was lying to preserve her feelings.
And, oh, she liked it too much, knowing he was glad they were in Lake Tahoe with him. It would have been so much easier if he had been upset with them, if he felt like they’d stalked him, or something. Then he’d steer clear of them, rather than give dinner invitations and offer to take them snowboarding in the morning.
“Still,” she had to say, “I wish Summer had been honest with me about what she was doing.”
“Would you have come in that case?”
Megan had to smile and admit, “No. We definitely wouldn’t have come.”
“You should have seen the stuff I pulled when I was seven.”
Glad for the shift away from the two of them, she took a sip of her drink and relaxed a bit. “I can’t even begin to imagine—a thrill-seeker like you surrounded by five older brothers that I’m guessing weren’t exactly angels.”
“You’d lock Summer in her room until she’s eighteen if I told you some of the things we would attempt.” He held up his bottle of beer. “How about a toast to a brilliant seven-year-old who knew just what she wanted and pulled it off without a hitch?”
Even though she was shaking her head, Megan couldn’t help but laugh, realizing just how right he was considering it was just the two of them having a “romantic” evening together.
She raised her glass. “She is pretty darn smart, isn’t she?”
They clinked their glasses together, still laughing as they both drank. The alcohol hit Megan’s bloodstream and sent warmth moving all through her limbs. Her skin felt extra sensitive as she shifted in her seat and the wool of her dress moved over her skin.
Gabe’s eyes on her only added to the heat. It had been a very long time since she hadn’t felt like a mother or a CPA.
Beneath his hungry blue eyes, with another couple of sips of her incredibly strong drink in her, she couldn’t help but feel like a woman. It didn’t help that she remembered only too clearly the feel of his strong arms around her, the press of his lips when his mouth came down over hers and he claimed the kisses she was desperate to give to him.
And yet, before she knew it, they were eating and laughing as he ended up telling her some of those stories about growing up as one of six brothers who acted first and thought last. Maybe she should have pretended she was okay with things, but she’d never been good at pretending. Had never understood the hows or whys of being someone she wasn’t.
“I shouldn’t be having this good a time with you.”
“I’ve heard I’m irresistible,” he teased.
Damn him for the way he always made her smile. Of course, if smiles had been all there was between them, everything would have been perfectly fine.
Knowing there was no point in arguing with his too-true statement, she said instead, “That must be why you don’t have a girlfriend or wife, right? So many women, so little time.”
She expected him to laugh at that, but instead his expression tightened down. “I’m no saint, Megan, but I’m not the devil, either.”
“I didn’t mean anything by it,” she quickly backtracked, “just that I can see why a guy like you would have fun playing the field.”
“A guy like me?” His eyebrows were raised in question and he’d put down his silverware to sit back in his seat and watch her as he waited for her to explain.
She tried to keep her voice light as she said, “Like you said, there’s a certain irresistibility about you and—”
“But you’re bound and determined to resist me, aren’t you?”
His statement stopped her in her tracks. “You’re bound and determined to resist me, too,” she reminded him. “And I certainly can’t remember anyone ever telling me I’m irresistible, so we both know who has the short end of the stick here.” She pointed her index finger at her chest. “Me.”
She was so caught up in her speech that it took a few seconds for her to realize she’d just made a complete idiot of herself. Thankfully, just then the alarm on her phone went off.
She shoved her chair back. “I’ve got to go get Summer.”
Gabe stood, too, and grabbed her hand before she could run away through the restaurant and catch her breath.
As he pulled her into him, she could almost taste his mouth, knew she was going to give in to his kiss. But when they were only a breath apart, instead of taking her mouth with his, he simply said, “I’m the one who’s trying like hell to resist you, Megan.”
Just another half an inch and he could be hers. She could blame the alcohol, could claim that it had all been out of her control. But just as she was teetering on the edge of letting her walls come down to take what she so desperately wanted, she heard Summer call out.
“Mommy! Gabe!”
She stepped away from Gabe so quickly, she bumped into another table.