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Joe raised a brow. “And who do we say wins?”
His mouth quirked up. “Are you good with calling our sessions a draw?” He wondered just how competitive she was, even in the abstract.
“I can agree to fifty-fifty,” she immediately gave in.
Well, lookie there. Joelle thought she was a ball-buster, but she absolutely knew how to play nice.
“My kids will be impressed with that.”
“Let’s go meet them, then.” Joe squared her shoulders, but by the lack of color in her cheeks, Mike saw that she was anything but confident.
He took her arm, then…
Screw that. He draped his tricep over her shoulder instead and drew her close. “Girlfriend, right?” he asked, leaning down to brush her ear with his lips.
“Yup.” She lost some of her stiffness. “That’s me.”
“Good.”
Before they got to the door, it opened, and Dilly stood there with Tim just behind her, studying Joe before stepping back. “We didn’t expect you so soon,” Dill quipped.
Mike responded with a straight face. “I tried to get her to make out with me in the parking lot of the restaurant, but she declined.”
How would Joe react to that?
She blinked once, then…
“Gossip being what it is,” Joe picked up, unhesitatingly to his curious daughter, “I wanted to meet you two first and get your approval.” She gave her short speech with sincere aplomb.
If Mike hadn’t known better—if he hadn’t been on the receiving end of her wanton attack earlier—he would have utterly and wholeheartedly believed her.
Mike cleared his throat, guiding Joe through the door before closing it behind them. “I guess it’s time for introductions then. Elle…” his tongue tripped.
Goddammit. He didn’t know Joe’s last name. He tried again; a truncated version. “Elle, this is my daughter, Addilynn, more commonly known as Dilly, and my son Timothy, who goes by Tim.”
Joe immediately stuck out her hand, giving them a huge, sincere smile. “I’ve heard a lot about you,” she stated. “You guys are the light of your dad’s life.”
Dilly looked amused as she took Joe’s hand and rolled her eyes. “Then it’s a good thing he’s finally expanding his horizons. Nothing says loser more than a middle-aged guy who has nothing going on except his kids.”
“Middle-aged?” Mike responded with shock. “Is that how you see me?”
“If the shoe fits, Dad,” Tim added, shaking Joe’s hand, then turning to walk away toward the kitchen, followed by Dilly.
Joe clearly couldn’t help laughing as she looked up at him. “Uh, Mike? How old are you, anyway?”
Mike growled. “Not so old I can’t make you weak in the knees. After I ground that pair for a month.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Joe had been anticipating another date with Mike on Monday night, but as it turned out, his son had a basketball game. Mike had been torn. He’d invited Joe, but she’d declined.
Spending an hour with his kids on Sunday, even though it had gone well, didn’t mean she knew them well enough to intrude on a family sports night. She’d told Mike in no uncertain terms to go to the game, even though—secretly—she pouted. Joe had kind of thought they’d move their agenda on to sex-after-dinner tonight, but now that had been put on hold. She was scheduled for shifts at the bar for the next five nights, and Mike worked days, so meeting up during that time would be extremely difficult.
The only thing they had planned was a well-chatted about, long hike for the following Saturday; one they hoped the kids would spill to their mother after Joe and Mike had expounded on it while they’d sat around talking.
Whether it worked or not, at least it was a known entity; a boring stake-out. Joe had spent the majority of her life laying under a bush or chewing stale food in her cold car while waiting for a perp, and this would be no different.
Well. Almost.