A rapping noise broke through the fog of sleep, and Krys blinked awake, her head pounding with each short click. She frowned. Why would anyone be knocking on her door so early in the morning? Squinting at the clock on the bedside table, she gasped. It was after eleven, and she couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept so late.

It took a moment to remember how she could have managed to stay in bed so long, but then the night came flooding back. The party, the freedom of adulthood without the responsibility of a child. And the bodily sensations. They coursed through her again in rapid succession, but the incessant knocking brought her back to reality.

She jumped out of bed, startling at the groan behind her.

Dex.

She’d nearly forgotten he’d spent the night, despite the feel of a warm body next to her through the night being so foreign. Blushing as she thought about the way he’d touched and tasted her, the way he’d looked at her, she quickly donned her robe and padded quickly to the living room.

She opened the door and forced a smile at Stella, who stood there with Amy on one side with her backpack and her daughter, Renee, on the other. “Good morning, Stella. I’m so sorry. I had a long night and overslept.”

Stella gave her a genuine smile in return. “Don’t worry about it. I do it every time Renee stays the night somewhere. If you want, I can take Amy with us. We’re just going to the store and then to Renee’s piano lesson.”

"No, that's alright." Krys held out her hand to her daughter, who took it and drew her into a hug. "Thank you so much, Stella. I'll return the favor anytime."

An odd look came over Stella’s face, and her eyes focused somewhere over Krys’ shoulder. Turning, she felt her entire body flush as Dex wandered into the room, his hair mussed and his chest bare, only a towel slung low around his waist covering him. He looked amazing, but she knew instantly from Stella’s reaction how shocking – and perhaps inappropriate – it was.

He smiled at them and came forward, holding out his hand. “I’m Dex. Nice to meet you.”

“Dex, this is Stella, and her daughter, Renee,” Krys introduced, mumbling and flustered.

Stella shook his hand but pulled her daughter close against her side. “Same to you. Listen, Krys, it’s no problem. Let me know if you need some time to yourself again. Have a good weekend, and I’ll see you on Monday.” Quickly, she turned and hustled Renee down the hall toward the elevator.

Krys shut the door and groaned, mortified. And how was she going to explain this to Amy? “Did you have a good time?” she asked the girl, hoping to avoid the conversation till she had her wits about her.

“Excellent,” Amy said, practically bouncing up and down. “Can I go make a sandwich? We had eggs and sausage for breakfast, so I didn’t really eat.” Amy wasn’t a big fan of either.

Relieved at the distraction, Krys nodded, and the girl darted toward the kitchen. As soon as she was out of earshot, she hissed at Dex, “Couldn’t you have waited to come out?”

He smirked. “Are you embarrassed by me?”

“No, but the situation is a bit out of the ordinary. I’d rather not have other mothers seeing a man parading around in my house in just a towel in front of my daughter. It’s not exactly appropriate.”

Dex frowned. “Wait, are you telling me you haven’t had a man over with her here before?”

Krys winced. This wasn’t a conversation she wanted to have, and her mortification grew exponentially. “Not that my private life is any of your business, but no, I haven’t. I don’t need her asking questions or getting the wrong idea.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “And what is this ‘wrong idea’ you want to avoid?”

“That it’s alright to sleep around.” She shook her head and glanced toward the kitchen, assuring Amy was still occupied. “Listen, Dex, I really enjoyed last night, but I intended to be up and alone when Amy came home. It’s not like this thing between us is any sort of relationship. We had sex, and it was great. our

Narrowing his eyes, he assessed her and stepped closer. “So, just like that, you’re going to kick me out and put me out of your mind. I don’t buy it.” He took another step closer, so she could smell that amazing scent of his and feel his body heat radiating toward her. “Your body said otherwise last night. I think you’ve got a lot left in you, and I want to bleed it out of you. Admit it, Krys. We’re good together.”

"I agree," she conceded, the space between her legs warm and moist as she thought back to how deeply he'd been buried there. Her heart pounded, fast and hard, and she swallowed down the urge to kiss him and lock them both back in her bedroom for the next hour. "But the point is, I have responsibilities. I have a daughter, and she comes first. I don't have time for a drawn-out fling, and I doubt there's anything else you want out of this."

Dex scoffed. “Is that what you think of me? Boy, I knew the guys had it out for me, calling me a playboy and a womanizer. But I didn’t think Jordan could get to you so fast and spread that nasty shit.” Krys tilted her head, confused, and Dex sighed. “I like you, Krys. I don’t do ‘flings’ or one-nighters. When I came home with you last night, I had every intention of seeing through an opportunity for something more. And I’m not so shallow to let a kid get in the way of that. Are you?”

What was he saying? Krys had never been great at communicating with men, always felt they spoke two different languages. So, she didn't dare try to interpret what Dex said without a full, honest, basic.

“A date.” His eyes sparked, and this time, it wasn’t the ravenous look of arousal. “I want to spend more time with you, get to know you. I think we might be a good fit, and I don’t just mean in bed. Don’t take it lightly, Krys. I don’t feel this comfortable with a lot of women. I put on a good show, flirt with the big dogs. But I rarely follow through. You’re a special case, and I think there could be something worth pursuing here.”

Well, that was blatant enough. And Krys had no idea how to respond. Part of her was exuberant. A man was truly interested in her and not afraid to say it out loud. But another part was hesitant and cautious. She could easily get hurt. And she had to think about Amy, too. She couldn’t bring just any man into her daughter’s life. Dex seemed like a great guy, on the surface, but how did he really feel about children? About a single mother? About responsibility?

And with that thought, Krys realized she was getting ahead of herself. If she really thought this through, it wouldn’t hurt to go out with Dex a couple of times. Dating could be casual, just getting to know each other. She wasn’t committing to a trip down the aisle. And when it came to balancing her motherhood with a chance at romance, she didn’t have the same problem here she had in Australia. Jordan and Kylie would be thrilled to spend a little more time with Amy. They would gladly take her for a couple of evenings, and that would open the door to getting back out in the field and trying Dex on for size.

She would just have to keep Dex and Amy separate until she knew Dex wasn’t going anywhere.

Taking a deep breath, she lowered her voice and spoke at a volume barely audible. “I like you, too, Dex, but I have to tread lightly. I’m sure you can understand. So, if you want to explore whatever there might be here, I’ll agree to a date. And we’ll take it from there. But today, you should leave.”

With a look of triumph, he held his hands up in surrender. “I’ll take it.” He leaned in and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. “I’ll go get dressed and be on my way. Just give me your phone number so we can schedule a date. Preferably sooner than later.”

Krys nodded vigorously, excitement making her forget her wariness. She’d spent years feeling guilty for wanting more, and she was done with that. She could provide Amy everything she needed and still manage an attempt at personal fulfillment outside of motherhood. The best part was, she hadn’t emotionally invested in Dex, and if things went south, she could easily walk away without any damage.

She waited while he dressed and gathered his things, and when he came out of the bedroom looking almost as clean pressed as he had the night before, she gave him her phone number and saw him out with one last, short kiss. Then, she headed into the kitchen to find her daughter devouring a sandwich bigger than her own head, the mess on the counter painful to look at.

“Did Dex spend the night?”

Krys nearly winced at the question. “We had a sleepover, too, sweetheart.” It was the best she could do. She wasn’t going to lie to her daughter; that would look guiltier than anything.

Amy rolled her eyes. “Come on, Mom. I know what adults do when they spend the night.” Krys’ jaw dropped, and Amy giggled. “I’m eight years old, not five.” Well, there was a smart mouth. “I know they do things that make babies, things children can’t do. Am I going to have a little brother or sister soon?”

If Krys thought she had been embarrassed earlier, she hadn’t known the meaning of the word. She wanted to dive into a corner and pull a blanket over her head at the implication of Amy’s question, even though – or maybe especially because – it was valid and spot on. Instead, she swallowed her pride and shook her head. “No, love. Just because adults do things that can make a baby doesn’t mean they make one every time.”

Amy frowned and seemed to consider the words. “Then why do it? I mean, that’s like if I take out all this stuff to make a sandwich and then never make it.”

Krys burst out laughing. So young and innocent. “Well, you know how a chef cooks for other people because they enjoy it, but they don’t always eat their own food? Sometimes, adults enjoy doing certain things together, and it doesn’t matter if they get anything out of it.”

“Adults are silly.” It was a definitive statement, and then Amy dove back into the massive sandwich.

Relieved the conversation had been so quick and easy, Krys ruffled her hair and walked out of the kitchen. “Well, if you don’t mind, I’m going to shower, and then we’ll go do something fun.”

“Okay.”

And that was it. Crisis avoided, Krys thought as she ran the water in the shower and waited for it to warm up. As she stepped under the hot spray, she sighed, the tender spots on her body from last night’s escapade igniting and sparking her arousal all over again. She probably would have taken care of the growing ache between her legs herself, but she had to consider that Amy waited just around the corner for her and could walk into the bathroom at any time. Besides, she didn’t want to put off the day any longer. She’d already slept far too late and wasted hours.

Today, she was going to take Amy to Times Square and just enjoy the sights and smells of New York. After all, this city was magic, and everyone needed to take the time out to remember that once in a while. And she would make sure that every moment spent with Amy was quality time. She never wanted to regret a moment away from her daughter because she didn’t make the most of their time together.