Page 102 of Nothing to This

“If I am, I’m sorry.If work and the kids are all you want to talk about, we’ll stick to them.Can I at least tell you that I miss you?”

And damn him, but that didn’t feel like a line.“I miss you too.”

Why was she getting herself so deliberately wound up?Was she looking for an excuse to pull away?Whatever the reason, he’d done nothing wrong.It wouldn’t be fair to paint him as the bad guy just to give herself an out.

“That’s something.”

Such patience and understanding.The man from the bar all those years ago had matured, just as she had.

“It’s stupid, I know,” she admitted.“I’m freaking out.”

She flopped forward onto her face, the phone bounced closer to her ear.

“You’re being smart.What you said about serious is right.If we do this, there’s no going back.”Not without leaving carnage in their wake.“It’s tough being so far away.”

At home, she had work and the kids to give her stability.JD was the one working away from his family, going home to an empty hotel room every night.

She rolled onto her back.“You’re not dating down there, are you?”

“If you want to hop a jet, we can do date night any time you want.”

“One good thing about dating the father of my children, finding a babysitter will be as much your responsibility as mine.”He didn’t respond, now who was freaking?“You remember we have kids, right?”Had they been disconnected?“Short, cute, a boy and a girl, there’s two of them.We did paternity.Any of this ringing a bell?”

“Just doing a quick internet search.I’ll find some stranger to sit with them while we have adult time.”

“Uh huh,” she said, not buying any sincerity in him being so glib.

His snicker proved her right.“I want to be responsible for all of you, Ry.”

“I don’t need a babysitter.”

“Sure we’ll find another way I can play Daddy for you.”

“No daddy fetish here.Didn’t we cover that the night we met?Although…”

“Although?”he prompted.

“You were right about it being a turn on.”

“Ha!Playing daddy does turn you on.”

“Not in a sex dom kind of way.I… love the way you love them.”For lack of a better way to put it.“Other people love our kids and find them adorable, but they don’t get it, get it.These last few weeks, seeing you interact with them daily.Now you get it like I get it… don’t you?”

“Truth?”Always.“I regret ever spending a second away from them.”

“Ah!”she teased.“So my heart’s just collateral damage in this.You’re seducing me to get close to them.”

“Is it working?The seducing?”

Boy, he had no idea.“Maybe.”

“How about your heart?It in deep enough to get hurt?”

Angling the phone, she focused on the screen, on him in the dark, sitting up, the phone obviously lying at his side.

“Look at me, JD.”

He picked up the phone to do as she asked.“Hey, babe.”