Page 34 of Catching Our Moment

Kelcie

Shaw went back to his place, giving me time with Aaron.

How the hell did all this happen? I slid onto the sofa, and my head fell into my hands.

James probably suspected long ago that I felt more for Shaw than just friendship.

And even though we were married, James had had to live with that, though I hadn’t realized it myself.

Still, his acrimony toward Shaw had been one of the reasons Shaw and I had been estranged for so many years.

James just couldn’t stand him, and I, in order to keep the peace, had let my best friend drift away.

I remember that time as if it was yesterday.

James had called me on the day of the football draft.

He’d said he’d spoken to his parents and changed his mind.

Through their network of friends, his parents had helped him find a job, and he had a clear vision of his future.

He’d said that future wouldn’t be complete without our baby and me.

It was the first time he’d said, “Our baby.” At the same time, I’d been intimidated by the whirlwind surrounding Shaw and all the attention he was receiving.

My father had been in my head, telling me I should be with the baby’s father, not with a man destined to be a major figure in a top professional football league.

Dad convinced me James would be more stable, and I wouldn’t ruin Shaw’s bright future.

I never understood why Shaw was willing to help me, support me, even agreeing to be my baby’s father.

I couldn’t help feeling it was out of obligation.

Maybe something he felt he owed to my father and me for our support over the years. I just couldn’t do that to him.

I figured if James and I were together, maybe we could make things work. We could be happy. And at first, when Aaron was born, James was the proud dad, showing off photos of him, talking about all the things they would do together as he got older. But that pride didn’t last long.

After twelve years of marriage, I knew James. And I knew he hated my friendship with Shaw and was very jealous of his success. So he got back at Shaw by pulling me out of Shaw’s life almost completely.

Crap. I saw the resentment and anger stirring in his eyes today with every glare he threw at both of us.

And now he was going to put things together…me in a man’s shirt and little else. Shaw was living next door and interfering with Aaron. Shaw’s willingness to go toe-to-toe today was the only thing that stopped him from laying into me, but I knew it was coming.

Then there was us—me and Shaw.

God, I barely had the courage to admit to myself that there was an us. Shaw was going to leave and go back to Charlotte, and I couldn’t follow. James had had a fit when I moved less than an hour north and settled with Aaron here. If I took him anywhere else…

“Mom,” Aaron said from the stairs.

I popped up but kept my back to him as I wiped away the tears I had just realized were forming. “Yeah, buddy.”

He was curled up, bent over his knees, and staring at his toes—something he used to do when he was younger. With a voice to match his body language, he mumbled, “I don’t want Shaw to leave.”

And my heart broke again.

I walked up the stairs and went on my knees in front of him. I sighed. “He will eventually. He has a team waiting for him.”

He shrugged. “I know.” Then he looked at me. “Was Shaw going to be my dad?”

Dammit.

“No, darling. You already had a father. Dad is your father. He always was and always will be.”

He tilted his head toward me, his brow furrowed in contemplation. “Could he be like another father?”

Crap.

“Well, he’s a good, dear friend to you—to both of us.”

He shrugged. “Okay. That will do…for now.” He stretched out his legs. “But if he’s my friend, you shouldn’t be fighting with him. You should go apologize.”

“I didn’t?—”

Aaron stood and looked down at me. “Mom, you hurt Shaw’s feelings.

I bet he’s upset he’s not your husband, and I’m not his son.

You shouldn’t make him feel worse.” He began walking back to his room.

“Go see Shaw. I want to watch football this afternoon, and I don’t want him sad.

” He stopped and turned as an afterthought.

“Put on some pants first, and give him his shirt back.”

It took me a moment to register what he’d said. “What? I mean…”

“Mom, I know it’s Shaw’s shirt. I also know he ran out the back door earlier.”

Stunned, I said, “Um, okay.”

“Super hearing, remember? That and I’m super smart,” my son added and then continued to his room. “But Mom, go talk to him, because that wasn’t any way to treat someone you love.”

Love? I wasn’t going to respond to that comment. But Aaron was right. I shouldn’t have treated Shaw like a dirty secret. If nothing else, I valued Shaw’s role in my life—whatever it was—and I didn’t want it to be like this between us. I didn’t want James to come between us again.

A few moments later, I stood in front of his door—fully dressed now—and knocked. I clasped my hands, raking my bottom lip with my teeth, which was sure to leave a mark.

Nothing.

No response.

I knocked again. A little louder, a little longer, in case he was in the bathroom or bedroom.

Nothing.

I knocked again. My thoughts were racing, and my courage was equally waning.

Before I could talk myself into abandoning the mission, I banged on the door. My fist was descending when the door finally opened, and I was inches away from pounding on a naked chest. Shaw’s naked chest.

Oh. My.

I’d seen his chest before. Many, many times.

And if James hadn’t come home early, I would’ve had a chance to explore that chest more thoroughly with my lips and tongue.

I raked my bottom lip through my teeth and tried to tear my eyes off it and upward to a more appropriate visual field for this conversation.

That beautiful chest was at my eye level, and my eyes drifted down…to the trail of hair that disappeared under a towel around his waist all the way to his large, adorable bare feet, pausing a few breathtaking moments in between.

He shifted, leaning against his door before clearing his throat and studying me with a cocked eyebrow. When I remained unable to form a cohesive sentence, he said, “Is everything okay?”

“Um...I’m sorry.” I swallowed, trying to regain my composure. “This divorce, treading these waters…it's hard. I have heard so many horror stories about divorce and how the kids suffer, and I don’t want to do that to Aaron. I want to try to keep things amicable.”

A cold November wind blew my disheveled ponytail into my face, further loosening its bond and reminding me that, while I’d put on some clothes, I’d neglected a coat or shoes.

My lack of bra—okay, I wasn’t fully dressed—was screamingly obvious as well.

His eyes darkened as he pulled me inside. “Come in.” He stepped aside, and I brushed against him while walking through the entrance. “Does Aaron know you’re over here?”

“Yes.” I hesitantly walked to his sofa, turning to him for permission before I sat. He gestured to the corner, and I curled into it.

He sat next to me and took my hand. “Kelce, hon, you aren’t alone. That’s all I meant to do—to back you up. I’m here.”

I shook my head. “I need to deal with James alone. Even just you being there ramps up his resentment. Then he starts to throw his weight around.”

“I’m sorry, but—” He went to sit on the coffee table in front of me, only to be reminded of the towel that was already being stretched to its limits.

Not that I was about to complain, but it was more than a little distracting.

“Give me a minute,” he said, disappearing up the stairs.

Soon, he was back in gray sweatpants. Pulling a t-shirt over his head, he sat on the table in front of me, letting out a deep breath.

“Listen. This is becoming more complicated…” Here it was, the gentle letdown.

He was cutting off any possibility of us.

“More complicated than it needs to be,” he finished.

He leaned forward, taking my hands and pulling me toward him, so I had no choice but to stare into his eyes.

“All I know is that you have always been one of the most important people in my life. All I want is to spend time with you and Aaron.” He caressed the backs of my hands with his thumbs, and my mind wandered to other parts of my body where those thumbs could be rubbing.

Get your mind out of the bedroom, Kelcie. Jeez.

His voice dropped an octave or two as he added, “But now that I know what it is like to touch you, hold you.” He ran his tongue over his bottom lip as he stared at mine. “Taste you…”

Realizing I wasn’t breathing, I let out a breath.

“I need to kiss you some more.” He lifted a hand and kissed the underside of my wrist slowly. “And to hear you say my name in that breathy way you do.”

“Shaw.” It came out more seductive than I ever thought I was capable of.

He growled, “Yes, like that.” He kissed my wrist again.

“We have a lot to figure out, things to discuss, and maybe some boundaries to decide on, but I’m not letting you walk away from me again—and certainly not because of him,” he said.

“We don’t have to figure it all out today.

Let’s get comfortable with each other—with us being us. Give me a chance to woo you.”

“Woo me? Seriously?”

“Seduce you? Romance you? Make you hot and bothered? Show you I’m irresistible so you can’t imagine your life without me in it.

You get the idea,” he said with the cockiest, self-assured smile, as if this was only a matter of time.

He leaned forward and gave me a chaste kiss.

“Because you already have wooed me, seduced me, romanced me, made me hot and bothered. You are irresistible, and I can’t imagine my life without you.

And the beautiful, amazing part of all of it is you haven’t even tried. It’s just because you are my Kelcie.

My Kelcie.

I’d never bought into the possessive type of guy, but…yeah, I wanted to be his Kelcie. Hearing those two words out of Shaw’s mouth had me ready to hand over my heart, my soul, and my future to him right now.

Instead, I claimed him. I grabbed him by the head and dragged him to me, kissing him the way I’d always wanted to kiss him. My hand fell on that amazing chest I so wanted to explore.

He let me take the lead for a hot few seconds before his hand dove into my hair and demanded control. He moved to the sofa, pulling him on top of me. It was slow and deep and unimaginably intense because it was so goddamn full of meaning.

This wasn’t us just trying on a relationship to see if it fit. This was us finding the courage to admit that being together was essential to both of us.

And with the blaring ring of Shaw’s phone on the table, the real world reminded us it was still there, waiting to be dealt with.

We slowly came back down to reality. I immediately thought of Aaron. Crap. He could walk in any minute and see us like this. That was not a good idea. We needed to get a better grip on what was happening before we introduced this idea to him.

I stood. Shaw’s phone continued to ring in a special ringtone I hadn’t heard often.

“Goddammit,” Shaw said, leaning over and reaching for the phone. He stared at it, then said, “Give me a moment. I have to get this.”

I began backing to the door. “That’s okay. I need to go back and check on Aaron before he decides to drop in on us.” I tossed a thumb signal over my shoulder. “Come over when you’re done, and we can watch the games with him.

He nodded then stood, answering as he walked into the kitchen, “Yeah, Yaz.”

Yaz. His agent.

And there was another hurdle for us. He had to get back to Charlotte. There wasn’t much keeping him here in town, and the team was going to want him back, regardless of whether he was starting. They were heading into the playoffs soon, and he needed to get back.

And when he left, we’d be right back where we were before. What would happen to us then?