Susan Mallery - Lip Service

“Go ahead,” she told him. “Make fun of the rich bitch playing at saving the world.”

“Why would I do that? You’re doing a good thing. Kids shouldn’t go hungry.”

She opened her mouth, then closed it. “Okay. I thought there would be something more than that.”

The waitress arrived with their milk shakes. Skye pulled out the whole cookie on top and took a bite, then drank some of the creamy milk shake.

The ice cream slid down her throat and sugar flowed into her bloodstream. She would swear she could feel it lifting her mood already.

“Better?” he asked when she’d swallowed.

“Some.”

“What’s Izzy doing with her half of the inheritance? I can’t see her running anything.”

“She’s not the type.” Skye hesitated. “Pru didn’t put Izzy in her will. I don’t know why. Maybe she didn’t think to change it.” There hadn’t been any hint of the reasoning. When their mother died, she left her considerable fortune only to Skye. “I gave Izzy half in a trust fund. She can’t touch it until she’s thirty.”

“But you got yours at twenty?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.

“I’m very responsible.”

“Izzy must hate your guts.”

Skye thought about their recent fight over T. J. Boone and Izzy’s claims that he wasn’t actually interested in Skye as a person. “We’ve had our moments. She wasn’t happy about the trust. But she’s totally wild and crazy. I didn’t want her blowing through the money. I wanted it there to keep her safe.”

“Does she see it that way?”

“She didn’t at first, but she does now. She knows I love her.”

“As long as you get to be in control.”

The dig hurt, although she did her best not to show it. “You don’t know me anymore, Mitch. It’s been a long time.”

“You’re right. There have been a lot of other relationships between then and now.”

Something she didn’t want to talk about. The other women in his life. He would have attracted plenty of attention wherever he went. He was just that kind of guy.

“Did you enjoy being a SEAL?” she asked. “Taking on the world with a Q-tip.”

He frowned. “What?”

“I thought you had all kinds of specialized training. Like how to kill someone with a Q-tip.”

He grinned. “I didn’t take the Q-tip killing class, but I learned a few things along the way. And yeah, I liked it. I liked working with my team, making a difference.”

“Erin thinks you’re personally responsible for saving the world.”

“She mentioned that. I think Fidela talks too much.”

“She loves you and is proud of you. Why wouldn’t she talk?”

He shifted in his chair, almost as if he was uncomfortable. Good. He’d earned a little squirm time.

“What’s it like being back?” she asked.

“Different. Arturo made a lot changes I didn’t expect.”

She felt her lips twitch. “Are we talking about the certified organic beef or the free-range poultry.”

“Damn chickens.”

She tried not to laugh. “On your family’s grazing land. How the ancestors must be feeling.”

“I know. It’s humiliating. I’m sure there’s good money in it, but still. What’s worth that? Chickens.” He swore under his breath. “Do you know there’s documentation on every cow. From conception to their last breath, he has to keep track of every single thing that happens to them. And if they get sick or hurt and need antibiotics, they’re no longer organic. They get pulled from the herd. It’s insane.”

“Welcome to the new organic world.”

“I told Fidela if I found tofu in our refrigerator, I was throwing her out of the house. Or soy milk. I’m not drinking soy milk.”

Skye laughed. “Big, tough, old cowboy. That’s what you are.”

He glared at her. “Very funny.”

Their gazes locked. The room seemed to fade away until there was just the two of them. Her heart pounded so fast, she thought it might jump out onto the table and flop around. The image was enough to break the spell. She looked away.

“So, um, you’re adjusting to being back,” she said, feeling awkward. “If you hadn’t gotten hurt, would you have come home?”

“No.”

“Don’t you want to think about the question?”

“There’s nothing to think about. I didn’t miss the ranch. There was nothing keeping me here.”

Not even her? Which was a stupid question. Of course he hadn’t missed her. It had been years. She’d broken his heart and that wasn’t something he would easily forgive.

“Why don’t you ask what you mean?” Mitch pushed away his milk shake. “How long it took me to get over you. Because that’s what you want to know, isn’t it? Fine. I’ll answer that question but first you answer mine. How long did it take for you to stop thinking about me when you screwed your husband?”

Skye had had a really bad week already. Despite her need for sugar, she stood, grabbed her milk shake and threw it directly at Mitch. It hit him in the center of the chest and splashed up onto his face.

“You want to hear that my late husband was a total bastard and that I cried for you every day because that gives you the right to punish me? Well, I didn’t. I loved him. Ray was a good man. A decent man. You know what? You would have liked him. That’s just the kind of guy he was.”

She grabbed her purse and stalked out, leaving Mitch alone at the table, ice cream dripping onto his lap.

THE RESTAURANT WAS trendy-an upscale Tex-Mex with comfortable seating and great margaritas. Skye clutched hers in an effort to keep from downing it in a single gulp.

“You all right?” T.J. asked.

“Not really,” she admitted. “I don’t think this was a good idea.”

“The restaurant?”

“The date.”

“Oh. Because I’ve already bored you so much you’re ready to chew your arm off in an effort to escape?”

Three hours ago, she’d had the hideous run-in with Mitch. She was dealing with her half brother trying to destroy her life’s work, her ex-boyfriend thinking he was the father of her child, and lots of unresolved feelings for said ex-boyfriend. While a perfectly nice man had asked her to dinner, all she could think was that she wanted him to be someone else.

“You haven’t bored me.”

“Give it time.”

She tried to smile. “It’s not you. I’m not ready for this. The whole boy-girl thing.”

“Dating?”

“Yeah. Dating.”

“It’s been a couple of years since your husband died.”

“Meaning I should be ready to move on? I know. I am. Ray isn’t what makes this awkward. My life is…complicated.”

“You have a crush on a woman?”

She laughed. “No, but thanks for asking.”

He leaned forward. “Then what? I’ve told you I think you’re beautiful. God knows I’m a hell of a guy. Rich, handsome, charming. What’s not to like?”

“Modest. You left out modest.”

“I like to leave people with something to discover on their own.”

She looked into his blue eyes and wished she felt something. A spark. A whisper. Anything. He was as handsome as he’d claimed, so why couldn’t she seem to notice?

“If you’re worried about getting back into dating, don’t sweat it,” he said. “It’s like riding a bike. We ask each other questions, have a conversation, I pay for dinner, you let me kiss you, we call it a night.”

Kissing? She wasn’t ready for that. At least not with anyone who wasn’t Mitch. “You make it sound simple.”

“It is. Tell you what. If you start to lose your way, let me know and I’ll help you find it.”

Why couldn’t Mitch be like this? Fun. Easy to be with. He had been, all those years ago. Everything was different now.

“Stay,” he said, lightly touching the back of her hand. “At least through appetizers. I want to get the avocado egg rolls and if the plate comes with just me sitting here, everyone will feel sorry for me.”

“Okay. I’ll stay.”

“Good. Just so you know. No matter how much you pressure me, we’re not having sex tonight. I’m serious. Even if you beg, I’m not giving in. It’s just the kind of guy I am.”

Some of her tension eased. “I can live with that.”

He winced. “Couldn’t you at least pretend to be disappointed?”

“I am, on the inside.”

“I wish that were true. Now, let’s begin that conversation. We’ll talk about me because it’s one of my favorite topics.”

“I’m dying to know everything.”

“I grew up in the area. In fact I went to high school with your sister Lexi.”

“I think I knew that.”

“We dated. Twice. I tried to get to first base and she tried to make me a eunuch.”

Skye laughed. “She’s a Titan. You have to respect that.”

“I did. I played football where I was so good I was practically a god. We probably know a lot of the same people.” He named a few. She recognized some, not others.

“Oh, yeah, Mitch Cassidy. Isn’t his place next to Glory’s Gate? He was in my class.”

She did her best not to react to the words. “I knew Mitch. We, ah, dated for a while. Years ago. Before I got married. Obviously it was before. Dating during would have been so awkward.”

T.J. leaned back in his chair. “The ex, huh? Was it serious?”

Skye took a drink of her margarita and hoped she could pull off sounding casual. “At the time, but we were both really young.”

T.J.’s gaze didn’t waver. “It must have been right before he went into the navy.”

“It was.”

“You know he’s back.”

She forced a smile. “Yes. We’ve run into each other. He was wounded but he seems to be doing better now.”

“Anything I should know about you and Mitch?” he asked.

“Not at all. That was over a long time ago.”

“Good. Because I’d like you to give me a chance, Skye. I think we could have fun together.”

Her stomach lurched and not in a good way. The tequila sat uneasily and she couldn’t imagine keeping food down. Still, none of her reaction was T.J.’s fault. If Mitch hadn’t come back she would be enjoying her date. So she was going to fake it until it was real. Or something like that.

“I think we could, too,” she said, and raised her glass. “Here’s to finding out.”

MITCH HAD NEVER been inside Glory’s Gate before. He’d been in the barns-they’d been a favorite place for Skye and him to meet when they’d been dating. He knew how to ride in by darkness and escape undetected. But he’d never walked up the front steps like someone who had been invited.

Too little too late, he thought, pausing at the bottom of the stairs.

“Are you all right?” Fidela asked, hovering at his side. She held a brightly colored bag in one hand-a bag containing birthday gifts for Erin.

He could see Fidela wanted to offer help but didn’t dare. It hadn’t taken her long to figure out his temper was something to be avoided and all too close to the surface these days. There were moments, flashes in time, when he saw what he’d become and didn’t like the result. But mostly he was pissed at the world and didn’t care who knew.

“I’ll be fine,” he said, clenching his teeth and taking the first step.

The pain was manageable, but it promised to grow. He worked steadily, climbing the stairs, focusing only on the step in front of him, ignoring those left and those behind. By the time he reached the top, he’d broken out into a sweat and felt nauseous. He knew the latter was the result of the fire burning in his leg and that it would soon fade.

What mattered was showing up. His last encounter with Skye-when she’d thrown the milk shake at him-had reminded him of his purpose. To take her down in every way possible. Being at Erin’s birthday party was the next step in his plan.

They moved toward the big front door. Fidela stayed by his side, not touching, but willing him along. He could feel her love and concern and took strength from it. Then the door opened and Erin rushed out.

She wore jeans and a pink shirt. A tiara proclaiming Birthday Princess sat on her head. A purple boa was draped around her shoulders.

“You came!” she crowed in delight. “I knew you would and you did, you came!”

She rushed at Fidela and hugged her tight, then turned on him and did the same.

She was small and slight and possibly his child. Emotions rushed through him, moving too fast for him to identify them. Still, he knew having a daughter would change everything. It would define him and give him purpose. Being her father mattered.

But before he could get caught up in the moment, Erin stepped back and grinned.

“There’s lots of food. All my favorites and some stuff Mom said we had to have for the grown-ups. And the cake is so big!” She clapped her hands together. “Come see.” She hugged him again. “You came.”

“I wouldn’t have missed it.”

She gazed up at him. “You’re my hero.”

His throat tightened. “Yeah, well, um, happy birthday, kid.”