I remember that part,” his voice dropping a notch.
Heat crept into her face.
“But I’m telling you, honey, I can’t have kids.”
“Well, I’m telling you that you can, and you have,” she snapped.
He watched her for a good long time, those piercing eyes doing their best to unnerve her. “I can’t figure out the angle. Best I can come up with is that you had someone shortly after me, got pregnant, he took off and you told everyone the kids were mine since I was dead and I couldn’t argue. Was he married?”
Anger progressed to cold fury. She strode into the kitchen for a glass of water. “Go to hell,” she called back.
He came after her, turned her around by the shoulders, held her gaze and pulled up his T-shirt all the way to his neck.
Her throat went dry. She wanted to look away. She couldn’t.
“Been there.” His voice rasped. “And got the burn marks to prove it.”
She swallowed a gasp at the sight of his mangled flesh. Blinked hard when she thought of the pure male perfection that he’d been the last time she’d seen his chest. All of that was gone now, angry, violent welts crisscrossing his skin.
For a moment, she forgot how mad she was at him for faking his death, for leaving her alone to deal with everything that came after, for denying their children. Her gaze slipped higher. “What’s that on your shoulder?”
“This?” He flicked his thumb over the scar. “This is where my collarbone came through. The bastards broke a couple of bones before they set me on fire.” He pulled his shirt down, covering it all.
And yes, he was still an unfair jerk for questioning her word about the twins, but the fight went out of her all of a sudden. This day and age, if he really wanted to know, paternity could be easily proven. But from what she’d seen of him so far, she didn’t think she would want him in her life, in her babies’ lives. She wanted safe and normal.
The good news was, he didn’t look like he wanted to be part of her life either. He wouldn’t even acknowledge their babies. One second she felt disappointment in that, the next she felt relief. She suspected she’d settle into relief once her mind calmed a little.
“The boys should be fine for a couple of days,” she said. “I packed enough food and diapers for them. How long do you think we have to stay here? Tomorrow’s Sunday so the shop isn’t open, but if I can’t come in Monday, I’ll have to make arrangements.” She had two part-time employees who could hold down the fort until her return.
“Make arrangements.”
The unfairness of it all slammed into her. She’d done nothing wrong here. And yet, suddenly, her carefully built life was being ripped away. “So this is what you do?” she asked, full of resentment.
He nodded.
“Maybe you should have stuck with popovers and country bread. Couldn’t you go back to something like that?”
“No.”
Too bad. “You were better at that than this.” She knew she sounded bitchy, and she didn’t care.
He looked at her with interest. “How so?”
“Back in Hopeville, your cover got broken and you were nearly killed. The same thing happened tonight.” And both times, her life had changed as a result.
He gave a rueful smile. “Believe it or not, that’s the only two times this ever happened to me. When you show up, everything falls apart. Maybe you’re my personal bad luck charm.” He gave a lopsided smile. “In fact, in the future, I’m planning on running in the opposite direction if you appear.”
That stung. She stuck her chin out. “How about you start now?”
“Would be the smartest thing to do.” He leaned closer, reached out and rubbed his thumb along the line of her jaw. “In fact, I’m planning on it as soon as backup gets here.”
When he pulled away, she took a few nervous gulps of water. “Maybe you’re my bad luck charm,” she said as she set her glass down on the counter. “The first time you showed up in my life, my business burned down. Tonight I was shot at, and I had to go on the run with the boys because my home is no longer safe. I should run when I see you coming.”
The way his gaze was focused on her lips made her warm all over. He moved back into her personal space again. “Run.” His voice was a raspy whisper.
She couldn’t have moved to save her life.
He grabbed her by the hips, lifted her onto the countertop effortlessly, settled his lean body between her legs. The sharp bolt of desire that shot through her took her breath away. What was it with them and food preparation surfaces?
“I’m not a sentimental person,” he started, “but damn if memories aren’t washing all over me. I can’t say I like it.”
“You could, uh, think about something else.” She tried to get a grip on her hormones, which suddenly came awake after two long, exhausting, celibate years. “We were—that was so long ago, I already forgot all about it.”
“I don’t think so. I was your first,” he whispered against her lips.
Awareness skittered across her skin.
“You must have had others since,” he murmured, his lips a fraction of an inch from hers.
She turned her head, looked away.
He reached a finger under her chin and turned her back to him. “Allen?”
She shook her head. “Just you.” How embarrassing. It wasn’t as if she’d been pining for him all this time, but between the twins and the shop she’d had no time for torrid affairs.
“Liar,” he said softly. His gaze darkened, something ferocious crossing his face, and then he claimed her lips with a passion that left her hanging on to his shoulders for dear life. Memories that had never fully faded came to life. But this wasn’t like last time. This time, she didn’t want this. She wasn’t looking for any sort of adventure, especially with a man whose middle name was Bad News, a man who’d just called her a liar.
She put her hands between them, against his chest, and pushed weakly, her body warring with her mind. She didn’t think he would even feel her, but he stopped immediately and pulled back. Dark fires burned in his eyes.
His fingers loosened on her hips, then tightened again. He opened his mouth, but she didn’t find out what he wanted to say. His ringing cell phone cut him off.
He answered it. “Hey.” He listened, then closed it and slipped it back into his pocket. “Time for the changing of the guard.”
She couldn’t tell if the quick flash in his eyes was disappointment or relief.
REID WANTED TO USE the bathroom before he left, and on the way back out, he passed by the kids’ room. A soft squeak came from inside. Sounded like they might be awake.
“Lara?”
