she said, cuddling against him.
“This is great, but I don’t want us to have to make excuses to my family,” he said.
A sliver of self-consciousness slid through her eyes. “Oh, good point,” she said and bit her lip. She moved off of him, and he immediately regretted the absence of her body and sweetness.
Stacey quickly pulled on her clothes. “I should leave.”
“Let me walk you to your car,” he said, still full of questions and regrets. He pulled on his jeans and shirt.
Stacey grabbed her coat that had been left on the foyer floor. “I’m glad your mother didn’t discover that,” she said.
“We’re talking about building a separate house, soon,” he said.
“I understand the need for privacy,” she said. “I don’t have it. But I’m lucky to be able to live with my parents.”
“I feel as if I should drive you home,” he said, still upset with himself and overwhelmed by his feelings.
“I’m okay,” she said, but she looked uncertain. The mood between them suddenly seemed awkward.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
She pressed her lips together in a closed-mouth smile. “Yes, I am,” she said and shrugged. “I guess I’ll see you around.”
“Right.” He nodded, thinking they had moved way too fast. Stacey had big responsibilities, and he might not be the right man to help her with them. He hadn’t considered his previous experience with Piper a rousing success. “We’ll talk later,” he said, and helped her into her car.
“Yeah,” she said, but didn’t meet his gaze. She started her car and tore out of his driveway faster than a race car. He wondered if she regretted going to bed with him. He couldn’t blame her. His parents’ ranch wasn’t exactly the most romantic environment.
Colton struggled with his own emotions over what they’d just done. They were friends, weren’t they? If that was true, why had he wanted her so much? Why did he still want her? Whatever was happening between him and Stacey was complicated as hell.
* * *
Stacey forced herself not to look in her rearview mirror as she pulled away from the Foster ranch. She had clearly lost her mind, rushing back to tell Colton that she wanted him, too. Even though he’d said she’d been on his mind, it wasn’t as if he’d said he wanted her in a forever way. She’d better not forget that. She’d been through a similar situation with Joe, although he’d given her an engagement ring. With Colton, he’d made no promises. He’d just taken what she’d eagerly offered, but afterward the expression on his face had been one of discomfort.
Buyer’s remorse, she thought. He’d taken the goods, but now he wasn’t sure he wanted them.
Pain twisted through her. She felt like a fool. Why had she believed Colton was different? She was all too familiar with this scenario. She’d been through it and lived to regret it during the past year of her life. When would she learn? she castigated herself. When would she stop throwing herself at men only to learn they only wanted her for a little while? Not forever. She wondered if she and Colton had just made a big mistake.
How could they go back to being friends now? Was that what he wanted? Humiliation flamed so hot it was as if a hole burned in her stomach. She pulled to a stop in front of her parents’ home and shook her head at herself.
Glancing in the mirror, she saw that her hair was a mess, her lipstick smudged halfway across her face. If her mother caught sight of her, she would know that Stacey hadn’t just been running errands. Jeanne Fortune Jones was one of the most intuitive women on the earth, especially when it came to her children.
Stacey searched through her purse and found an elastic band but no brush. She raked her fingers through her hair and pulled it into the low messy bun she frequently wore. She pulled out a tissue and wiped the gloss off her face, then reapplied just a little to her lips. She checked the buttons on her coat, making sure they were properly fastened.
Holding her breath, she decided to make a dash through the foyer. “Well, there you are,” her mother said from the kitchen. “I was starting to wonder where you’d gone so long.”
“Sorry, Mom,” Stacey said, pulling at the buttons on her coat. “I’ve got to use the bathroom or I’m going to burst. I’ll be out in just a few,” she said, and ran down the hall. She took her time, then hid out in her bedroom a little longer.
“Stacey, dinner’s ready,” her mother called.
Stacey cringed, then stiffened her spine. She could and should focus on Piper. As she stepped into the kitchen, she was relieved to see her brothers Liam and Jude sitting down to the table along with her father and mother. Her father and her brothers were too busy talking about the ranch to notice her. Her mother had put Piper in her high chair. As soon as Piper spotted Stacey, she lifted her hands and smiled in joy.
Even though the baby wasn’t speaking yet, her nonverbal language soothed Stacey’s heart, and she immediately picked up her baby. “Well, hello to you, Sweet Pea,” she said, and sat down with Piper in her lap.
“She’s never going to learn to be happy in her high chair if you don’t leave her in there,” Jeanne said.
“I’ll put her in her seat in a couple minutes. How could I resist that smile?” Stacey asked.
“Your food will get cold,” her mother warned.
Stacey shrugged. “I’m not that hungry.”
Her brother Liam glanced at her. “In that case, I’ll take Stacey’s share.”
Her mother shook her head. “You will not,” she said. “Besides, there’s plenty to go around. Stacey made this meat loaf yesterday, so she deserves a few bites.”
“I hope you didn’t mind putting it in the oven,” Stacey said, rising to get some dry cereal for Piper.
“Not at all. You were just gone longer than I expected, so I started getting a little worried,” she said, and Stacey felt the unasked question in her mother’s voice.
She sighed, knowing she would have to fib, and heaven knew she wasn’t any good at deception. “I ordered something for Piper, and I wanted to see if it had been delivered to the P.O. box yet. No luck, and there was a long line at the post office,” she said. Part of her tale was true. She had ordered something for Piper, but it wasn’t due for days. “Then I stopped by to visit Rachel, but she wasn’t there. She had saved a recipe for homemade baby food I thought I might try. I guess the whole trip was a washout. Was Piper okay while I was gone?” Stacey sprinkled some cereal on the top of Piper’s high chair, then set her child in the seat.
“An angel. She took a long nap and woke up in a quiet mood,” her mother said, and finally took a bite of her own food. Her mother was usually the last to eat. “You need to sit down and eat,” she told Stacey.
“I am,” Stacey said and took her seat. She forced herself to take a bite.
“Did you happen to see Colton when you stopped by the Fosters’?” her mother asked as she took
