Miranda scowled at him. “Wipe that grin of your face, Masterson. I’m not in the mood.”
“Mom has crazy eyes,” Sophie spoke up.
He laughed despite himself.
Both kids’ eyes widened in surprise.
Ignoring the resulting wave of discomfort, he focused on Miranda, who had crazy eyes indeed.
“I hate this,” she said dully. “If I could just manage to get those lugs off, I could totally change that tire.”
“Of course you could.” He wasn’t being sarcastic. He had absolute faith that Miranda Breslin could accomplish anything she set her sights on.
Seth rolled up the sleeves of his black button-down and appraised the tire. “No fixing that, I’m afraid. You’ll need to spring for a new one.”
“I know,” she said glumly.
“Tire iron?”
She handed it to him. He squatted down and tackled the first wheel lug. The amount of resistance he encountered made him grunt, but he managed to loosen the lug.
“Jesus, these are tight,” he admitted as he went to work on the next one.
Miranda’s voice rang with triumph. “Ha! I knew it wasn’t just me. They’re insanely tight, right?”
“Or maybe you’re insanely weak,” he teased.
“My mom’s not weak!” Jason fiercely protested.
Seth rolled his eyes. “That was a joke, kid.”
“Oh.”
He finished up and reached for the jack, but Miranda gave him that stubborn head shake he’d grown accustomed to. “I want to do it,” she announced. “That way I’ll be prepared if I ever get another flat. Talk me through it?”
When she looked at him with those earnest hazel eyes, he couldn’t deny her a damn thing.
He spent the next fifteen minutes talking her through the rest of the process, enjoying the way she bit her lip in concentration and the little fist pumps she did every time she successfully completed a task. When the spare tire successfully made it on the car, Seth and the twins broke out in applause.
Miranda took a bow before wagging a finger at her children. “I told you I could do it. Now get in the car and buckle up. We still have a pizza place to go to.”
“Is Sef gonna come?” Jason’s jubilant expression revealed precisely how he felt about that possibility
“He’s not gonna come,” Sophie told her brother. “You know he won’t.”
Maybe it was the alpha male in him, but Seth didn’t take kindly to challenges, and that little girl’s eyes? Chock full of challenge.
“I could go for some pizza,” he said smugly. “That is, if it’s all right with your mom.”
Miranda looked as shocked as her children. “Uh, sure, you’re welcome to join us.”
“Great.” He picked up the punctured tire. “Let me just throw this in the trunk. Like I said, I don’t think you’ll be able to patch it up, but your mechanic might say something different.”
She helped her kids into the backseat, then followed him to the trunk. With the trunk door up, neither child could see them through the back windshield, and Seth took full advantage of that.
His mouth was on Miranda’s before she could blink. Tongue sliding into her mouth, hands cupping her firm ass, pelvis rocking into hers. Oh sweet Jesus. He rubbed his aching erection in the cradle of her thighs, desperate to be inside her.
She whimpered. Clutched the front of his shirt with both hands as she hungrily kissed him back. His head was spinning by the time their mouths broke free.
There was a smudge of motor oil on her cheek, which made him smile. “You’ve got oil on your face,” he said gruffly.
Moistening the pad of his thumb with his tongue, he wiped the dark spot away, then ran his fingers over the tiny freckles that looked so out of place against the backdrop of her olive-tinted skin.
“Thanks,” she murmured when his hand dropped from her face.
“You’re welcome.” His mouth tingled with the urge to kiss her again. So he did. Pressing his lips to the hollow of her throat, enjoying the way she shivered. “I missed you, babe.”
“I missed you too.” Her tone was a tad reluctant, as if making the admission was difficult.
He kissed her again, the sweet minty taste of her setting his blood on fire. He wanted to take her right here, right now, against the back of the damn car. He was seriously debating whether they could pull it off when a loud “Mo-om!” wafted from the open window.
Miranda flew out of his embrace, nearly banging her head against the trunk. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes glazed as she looked at him. “Pizza,” she said firmly. “We’re going for pizza.”
“And later?”
Wicked promise flashed across her face. “Later I put the kids to bed and you and I have ourselves some dessert.”
Ten minutes later, he wanted to kick himself for rising to Sophie’s bait and agreeing to have dinner with the Breslin clan.
The restaurant was one of those family-type joints with red-and-white checkered tablecloths and huge vinyl booths. It was jam-packed with families. So many families that the noise level was on par with that wave of machine guns the team had encountered in the desert last year.
But he ordered himself to make the best of it. If he could survive a crazy Middle Eastern gunfight, surely he could survive dinner in the restaurant equivalent of hell.
“We usually get a large pepperoni for the three of us,” Miranda said after the waitress came by with their drinks. “But we’ll definitely need to order two today. What do you like on your pizza?”
Seth reached for his plastic cup of Coke. “I usually load up on the veggies.”
“Veggies?” Jason gawked at him. “Gross!”
“See, I told you vegetables are yummy,” Miranda said. “Even Seth agrees with me.”
Suspicion flickered in the little boy’s brown eyes. “You really think they’re yummy?”
Seth nodded and tried not to smile.
Jason didn’t respond after that, but he grew very quiet, as if Seth’s revelation had completely blown his mind. When the waitress returned to take their orders, Jason was the first to speak.
“Two pizzas with veggies,” he announced.
The waitress laughed. “What kind of veggies, little man?”
Perplexed, Jason turned to Miranda, who seemed to be fighting back laughter. “How about green peppers, mushrooms and tomatoes?” she said graciously.
Jason mulled it over, then turned to his sister, who nodded. “’Kay,” the boy told the waitress. “What my mom said.”
After the waitress left, Miranda offered Seth a wry look. “Clearly I need to bring you along more often. I’ve never seen either of them so enthusiastic about vegetables before.”
His chest tightened in discomfort. Christ. Miranda’s son wouldn’t quit staring at him. He felt like a specimen under a microscope, even more so when Sophie also turned that brown-eyed gaze on him. With him and Miranda sitting on one side of the booth, and the twins on the other, there was at least some distance between him and the kidlets. But those stares were burning a hole in him. And the restaurant only seemed to get louder. Childish shrieks and giggles mingled with scolding parents and “stop that!” and shrill wails.
A throb was actually beginning to form in his temples. Which spoke volumes about the noise levels, because he’d grown up in Vegas, the noisiest place on earth.
For the next ten minutes, he did his best to make small talk with both Miranda and the kids. When the waitress finally slid two pizza dishes on the table, Seth was overcome with relief, eagerly shoveling food in his mouth so he wouldn’t have to talk anymore.
Christ. This was not his scene. He wasn’t cut out for all this domestic stuff.
To make matters worse, the quieter and more aloof he became, the more eager Miranda’s son was to engage him. There was no denying that Jason was a cute kid. Smart, funny, sweet. But Seth didn’t want to bond with him. He’d only end up hurting the boy in the end, and that was the last thing he wanted
.
So better to keep his distance. Draw a clear line in the sand and pray that Jason didn’t cross it. At least he didn’t have to worry about Sophie. The pigtailed imp had decided ages ago that she didn’t like him, and she seemed content to stick with her original impression of him.
“You okay?”
He lifted his head and found Miranda’s concerned eyes on him. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
“You got really quiet all of a sudden.”
“Just thinking, that’s all.”
“Mom,” Sophie piped up. “Can me and Jase have quarters for the gumball machine?”
Miranda glanced at her children’s empty plates and gave a pleased nod. “Sure, but only one gumball each, okay?” She reached into her purse and pulled out her wallet.
After the kids dashed off toward the bright red candy machine across the room, she turned back to Seth. “You didn’t have to come, you know,” she said quietly.
His voice was gruff. “I know.”
“So why did you?”
“Honestly? I have no idea.”
Evidently that wasn’t the answer she’d hoped for, because a wrinkle appeared in her forehead and she seemed to be chewing on the inside of her cheek.
Their waitress approached to collect their plates, sparing Seth from having to elaborate.
“You folks need anything else?” the curly-haired server asked with a smile.
“Just the bill, please,” Miranda replied.
“No problem.” The young woman took a step away, then stopped and looked from Seth to Miranda. “By the way, you have lovely children.” Her voice lowered to a conspiratorial pitch. “Much better behaved than a lot of the other kids that come in here.”
Miranda grinned. “You know, the twins have only ever thrown one tantrum in public.”
“I find that surprising.”
“It’s true. We were at McDonald’s when they had their meltdown. I threatened to throw their Happy Meal toys in the garbage, they kept screaming, and I proved that I don’t make idle threats. To this day, they haven’t acted out in public again.”
The waitress burst out laughing. “Good for you.” With another smile, she glanced at Seth. “That’s one tough broad you’ve got there. And your kids are adorable.”
Seth felt all the color drain from his face.
“Oh,” Miranda said quickly, “They’re not—”
“They’re not my kids,” he blurted out.
An embarrassed look washed over their server’s face. “Oh gosh. I’m sorry. I just assumed…”
“They’re not my kids,” he repeated, his tone much sharper than he’d intended.
Next to him, he felt Miranda stiffen.
“My mistake. Sorry about that,” the waitress said before flouncing off, red-faced.
Silence descended over the booth.
Seth cleared his throat. “Miranda…”
“Wow. Twice.” Bitterness lined her tone. “Did you really need to deny it twice, Seth?”
Fucking hell. That second round of “they’re not my kids” had definitely been unnecessary. He’d just gotten caught off-guard. To be mistaken for a father…the twins’ father…a shiver of fear ran through him.
“I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “I was just trying to make it clear that—”
“Oh, you made things very clear.”
“I’m sorry for saying it twice, okay? I shouldn’t have done that.”
“Is it so awful that we were mistaken for a family?”
He faltered. “No. It’s just…”
“It’s just what?”
Shit, he needed a cigarette. And his head was killing him—why was this restaurant so fucking loud?
She shook her head, her hazel eyes flickering with…with an expression he couldn’t for the life of him make out. “This was a bad idea,” she said softly.
“Miranda…”
“You know I’m right. It was a bad idea. We’re not a family, Seth. You’re not my children’s father. You’re the man I’m—” her voice became a whisper, “—fucking.”
If he weren’t already battling confusion, unease and a strange jolt of terror, he would’ve been offended by the tiny twinge of scorn that accompanied that last word.
“So let’s not fool ourselves into thinking this is anything more than what it is,” she said with a weary sigh. “Let’s just stick to what we’re good at, Seth. Sex, and nothing more.”
Before he could respond, Jason and Sophie raced back to the booth, holding up the gumballs they’d gotten.
“Mom, look, I got a pink one!” Sophie gushed.
“And mine was blue.” Jason’s bottom lip dropped out. “I wanted red but blue’s okay, I guess.”
Neither child picked up on the tension between Seth and their mother.
But it was there.
Boy, was it ever.
Chapter Fourteen
One week later
“God. That was nice. I needed that.” With a contented sigh, Miranda slipped out of bed and stalked naked toward the chair on which she’d left her clothes.
Seth watched from the bed, struggling with a wave of disappointment. She was getting dressed? Already? Well, maybe it wasn’t that fast, he amended when he saw the time on the clock. They’d been in his bedroom for nearly an hour.
But still.
Christ, she was the most graceful woman he’d ever met. She even made the act of putting on a bra and panties look like a sensual dance. Another disappointed burst went off in his chest. He didn’t want her to go. He never wanted her to go.
He just didn’t fucking know how to ask her to stay.
If he hadn’t blown it that evening at the pizza place, things wouldn’t have had to change. They’d still be doing the whole morning-sex-and-breakfast thing instead of these super-hurried quickies. Still be lying tangled in each other’s arms after recovering from their orgasms instead of Miranda jumping out of bed to find her clothes.
Her eagerness to hurry off after he’d made her come brought a pang of unhappiness. He hated this new wham-bam-thank-you-Seth mentality of hers. He felt…used.
Aw, poor baby Seth bitching about how a woman wants no-strings sex from him.
“So this is really happening,” he said, feeling edgy as hell and unable to hide it.
Miranda pulled her tank top over her head. “What is?”
“You’re leaving.”
She shot him a duh look. “Yes, because I have to go to work.”
“Not for another hour.”
“I told you, I want to grab something to eat before I head over to the club.”
“And I offered to cook you dinner here.”
“And I said I appreciated that, but it’s not part of the deal.” She rolled her eyes. “Should we recap the conversation again, or is it going to stick this time?”
Swallowing the strange lump of misery that rose in his throat, Seth hopped off the bed and slipped into his boxers. “No, it’s fine. I forgot that dinner isn’t part of the, you know, deal.” He put on pants and a T-shirt, then marched to the door. “Come on, I’ll walk you out.”
Her voice stopped him before he could leave the room. “Seth.”
Turning around, he met her eyes. “Yeah.”
With a faint smile, she eliminated the distance between them and looped her arms around his neck. Her expression softened as she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. “I had fun tonight.”
“Did you?” he murmured.
She brushed those sexy lips over his in another fleeting kiss. “I did.” Her lips peppered kisses down the column of his neck. “I had a lot of fun.”
“I’m glad.” He shivered when she nibbled his earlobe, and his hands slid down to cup her ass.
“So please stop treating the word deal like it’s an expletive.” She skimmed her fingertips over his bottom lip. “This is a good deal, Seth. We’re making each other come almost every other night. No promises, no hassles, just a lot of awesome sex. How are you unsatisfied?”
&n
bsp; “I’m not. I am satisfied.” He forced a nonchalant shrug. “No promises, no hassles. That’s exactly how I like it, babe.”
To his displeasure, she nodded in agreement. “Me too. Well, in this case at least.” She planted a quick kiss on his cheek. “I’ve gotta go.”
Seth walked her to the front door, doing his best not to dwell on that last zinger she’d left him with. Well, in this case at least. What did that mean? Did she mean that if she were fucking some other man, she would want the promises? So it was just his promises she wasn’t interested in?
So many conflicting emotions raged in his gut that he didn’t even know which to focus on.
“Miranda, wait, before you go.” Dylan suddenly appeared in the hallway, his blond hair damp from the shower, a white towel draped around his trim hips.
“What’s up?” she asked as she slipped into her sneakers.
“Are the twins in school tomorrow?”
“Yes, until three. Why?”
Dylan’s expression turned sheepish. “What do you think about me hanging out with them tomorrow? Maybe going out for ice cream or something? I could pick them up from kindergarten if you want.”
Miranda looked incredibly confused by the request, and when she glanced at Seth, he gave her a fucked-if-I-know look. He had no idea what to make of it either. He studied his roommate’s face for signs of concussion or intoxication, and found none. But he couldn’t rule it out, either.
“You want to take my kids out for ice cream?” Miranda finally said.
“Yeah, if it’s cool with you.”
“Um. Well. Why?”
“What can I say? I miss the little dudes,” Dylan said, bestowing on her that boyish smile that Seth had seen him use to seduce countless of women.
Sure enough, some of Miranda’s hesitation melted in the face of that smile. “You miss my kids?” she echoed.
Dylan nodded. “I had a lot of fun with them when you guys stayed here. And I saw on the news today that the weather is supposed to be beautiful tomorrow, so I thought, hey, maybe the twins would enjoy hanging out.”
Seth didn’t bother masking his mistrust. He had no idea what his roommate was up to, but this was strange as hell. In fact, lately strange seemed to be the norm with Dylan. Dude was bitchier than usual, hardly ever left the house, and now he wanted to spend an afternoon with a couple of six-year-olds he wasn’t even related to?