For the majority of the day, Evie had managed to put her troubles out of her mind long enough to get lost in her work. She even found herself smiling and laughing with customers as if her life wasn’t totally falling apart around her.

By the time she locked up the shop and headed home, she was in a much better mood, but that good feeling evaporated the moment she saw Tony’s car parked out front of her house.

She was going to need to let those feelings go, and learn to accept the fact that Tony was going to be a part of their lives. She took a deep breath and went to greet him.

“You’re a little early,” she said. “As you can see, I just got home. But I’ll go get Jonah for you and make sure he’s ready to go.”

“No.” Tony stopped her. “I came early because I was hoping to talk to you.”

“Me?” She looked instinctively to the car, but Tony was alone. “Where’s Lauren?”

“She’s at home. I wanted to talk to you.”

Warning bells went off in Evie’s head. “I don’t think we should talk about the custody case,” she said. “I think it’s a better idea to let Russ and your lawyer handle all the negotiations.” She turned to leave again. “Really, it’s hard enough to do this without—”

“I’m sorry.” His hand shot out and gripped her arm. Not hard, but firm enough to make her turn around again.

“You’re what?”

“I’m sorry, Evie,” he said again. “I know all of this has been hard and it really wasn’t my intention. The last thing in the world I want to do is come in here and make things rough on you when you’ve been doing such a good job with Jonah for the last eight years.”

She tried not to laugh, afraid she would choke or worse, cry. “If you’re not trying to make it hard…then why are you making it hard?”

Dammit. She blinked hard, but it was no use. The tears were coming. She swiped at her cheeks. “I can’t cry. Not where Jonah can see me.”

Tony, his hand still on her arm, led her toward his car and opened the door for her. “Sit, please. At least then no one can see.”

She nodded and got in.

Tony slipped inside the driver’s side door and immediately she was hit with a sense of deja vu from nine years ago when they sat just like that, the night he took her up to the hot springs and they’d made love. The night that Jonah was conceived. She could still remember the way her heart skipped when he came close, the way her breath caught in her throat when his arm brushed hers. And when they’d kissed, well, she would have done anything for him.

Things were different now. None of those feelings existed. Instead, as she sat next to him, there was only an overwhelming sense of defeat that came over her.

“I meant what I said, Evie,” he said after a moment. “I know it’s hard to believe and you don’t have any reason to believe me, but I hope you can try. I really wasn’t trying to hurt you when I came to Cedar Springs. I only want to know Jonah and be part of his life.”

“Why now?”

He took a deep breath and chuckled a little but Evie didn’t find anything funny. “I know it sounds terrible, but it was Lauren. The minute she found out I had a son, she insisted on meeting him. She’s always wanted a family and then after we got married, we tried for a bit but…anyway, we’re still trying but it was her idea for me to reconnect with Jonah. And I’m so glad I did.”

Reconnect? Wouldn’t he have had to be connected in the first place for that to happen?

Evie bit her tongue.

“And it only started out that way, with Lauren asking about him. But it’s changed now. I can’t believe I waited so long,” he said. “I can’t believe how much I’ve missed and how old he is. I’m really glad Lauren pushed me on it.”

She nodded numbly and looked away.

“I know what you’re going to say.”

“You do?”

Tony nodded. “I do. You’re going to say that it shouldn’t have taken my new wife asking about him for me to want Jonah in my life.”

“You’re right.” Evie grinned a little bit. “You did know what I was going to say.”

“I know, I know. And you have every right to say that because it’s true.”

“So why then?” She asked. “Why did it take so long?”

“Because I was scared.”

Evie’s first response was to assume it was a cop-out answer, but the look on Tony’s face was genuine so she asked, “Scared of what?”

He chuckled again, and ran his hands through his hair. For the first time since coming back into her life, Evie was reminded of the young man he used to be. The one she’d been completely smitten with.

“Don’t tell me you were scared of a little boy?” she teased, surprising herself with the ease of it. “Diapers aren’t all that bad, you know, and that stage only lasted a few years. So if you were going to be scared of that, I could understand a little.”

He smiled at her joke for a moment before it faded again. “I wasn’t scared of diapers, although…I can imagine they’d be pretty scary.”

“They can be.”

“Seriously,” he said. “I was scared of screwing up. I mean, a child, Evie. A little boy. That’s a lot.”

“I know.”

“To be responsible for an entire life,” he continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “I mean, what if I screwed up? What if I didn’t know how to hold him? And then when he was older, if I left him in a car somewhere? You hear of that type of thing happening, you know?” She nodded, but he wasn’t paying attention. “It was too much. I was just a kid myself. I couldn’t be responsible for an entire life. I was completely terrified that I’d ruin everything. And you seemed to have it all under control.”

“I had to.” Because you weren’t there, she wanted to say, but didn’t. “Don’t you think I was scared, too?” she added. “All of those things you just said? I felt them too. Only I was on my own. It really was only me. But I did it. And you would have too.”

He dropped his head and nodded slowly before he looked up again. “I missed a lot.”

“You did.”

“I missed his first steps, his first word, his first Little League game, his first—”

“Stop.” She slipped her hand over his in an effort to comfort him. As crazy as it was, it also felt kind of natural. After all, he was the father of her child. “You can’t change that.”

Tony looked up, his eyes wide with wonder. She watched as he looked down to their hands and back up to her face. Something had changed in his eyes. They were softer somehow, more—she yanked her hand away as she realized what the shift in Tony was.

“No,” he said. “Don’t do that. I really think we need to—”

“We don’t need to be doing anything.” Evie shook her head hard. He was crazy if he thought that her gesture was anything more than just that. A gesture. That was it.

“Evie, please.” He turned in his seat and took her hand in his, holding it tight. “Hear me out.” She shook her head, but he squeezed her hand again. “Please?”

She got the distinct impression that he wasn’t going to leave her alone unless she agreed to listen to him so finally she nodded. “Okay.”

Tony didn’t waste any time. “I don’t want to miss anything else,” he said quickly. “I’ve missed too much and I feel terrible about it but like you said, I can’t change that. But I can change the future. I can change what things look like for Jonah going forward. He needs a father and a mother.”

“He has a mother,” she said. “The father thing is kind of new, but he seems to like it.”

“Well, what if he had us together? What if we were a family again?”

She snorted a little. “We were never a family.”

“Okay. What if we could be a family? Together.”

The reality of what he was saying hit her. “You mean, you and me?” She used her free hand to gesture wildly between them. “Together? Like a couple?”

“Yes.”

“You’re married!” Out of all of the objections that came to mind, that was the most obvious one, although she could back it up with a dozen more reasons why it was the stupidest idea ever.

“I know.” His voice grew quiet. “And that’s hard obviously.”

“Obviously.”

“But Lauren would understand,” he said. “I know it would hurt and it would be hard for her, but she would understand. She’s a very reasonable woman and she knows the best thing for a child is for his parents to be together.”

“But you don’t love me.” It was such a stupid thing to say, and what she should have said was something about Declan and her engagement, but she couldn’t bring herself to mention him, not now that she knew how he didn’t share the same feelings for her that she had for him.

“Remember how much fun we used to have together?” Tony’s face lit up. “Maybe it wasn’t love back then, but it could be. And if we were together, for Jonah, it would grow. It makes sense, Evie.”

It didn’t. It didn’t make sense. Not at all.

A flash of movement caught her eye and she turned to see Jonah coming down the walk. “Jonah’s coming.” She moved to open the car door.

“Wait.”

She looked at Tony, pleading with her eyes for him not to make it weird in front of Jonah.

“Don’t answer me right now,” he said. “Think about it. I know it’s a big decision. But it wouldn’t be all bad. We could all be together. All the time. And we wouldn’t have to share—hey, buddy.” He changed tracks so smoothly when Jonah opened the car door that it took Evie a moment to catch up.

“What are you guys doing in here?”

“Your mom and I were just talking about a few things,” Tony answered smoothly. “We thought we might as well sit down while we discussed.”

“In the car?”

“It was closer than the couch.” Tony laughed, and soon Jonah did too. The resemblance between father and son, and the easygoing manner they both shared, was uncanny.

“How was your day, kiddo?” Evie opened the door a bit wider and stood, immediately pulling her son into a hug. “I’m sorry I didn’t see you this morning.”

“It’s okay. Declan said you were crazy tired.” Her heart squeezed a bit at the mention of his name. Only yesterday, it had done a little flip. She had to ignore the hurt. “And then Brandon’s mom said we could go to the beach.”

Evie gave him a hug. “I’m glad you had a fun day. I’m sorry I’ve been so busy working lately.”

“It’s okay, Mom.”

“We’ll spend some time together soon, okay?”

He nodded and slipped past her to get into the car with his dad. She waved as they drove away. Father and son. Together.

Evie’s stomach twisted. She hated watching him drive away.

But she wouldn’t have to if she accepted Tony’s proposal.

No. It was crazy.

Or was it? Maybe he didn’t love her, but Declan didn’t either. And at least this way, she wouldn’t have to be apart from her son. And there were worse arrangements.

Like being in love with someone who didn’t love you back.

She looked to the house, where Declan was waiting for her to have a movie night. No matter what she thought about Tony’s proposal, she was going to have to end the charade with Declan. There was no point in continuing with it any longer.

The idea of not ever having his arms around her again or his lips on hers made her immeasurably sad.

One more night.

She’d pretend for one more night and in the morning, she’d tell him it was over.

Yes. In the morning.

---

“Are you ready for popcorn?” Declan called from the kitchen to the living room where he’d already moved the couches around to create a theater type of atmosphere. He’d cued up the latest romantic comedy on Netflix, even though he would’ve preferred an action adventure. But more than watching the latest Tom Cruise film, he wanted to make Evie smile.

There was something going on with her. She definitely wasn’t her usual happy self, but that was probably understandable considering all the stress she’d been under for the last few weeks. It must be incredibly hard. Declan couldn’t even begin to imagine what it must be like. And if he could make her relax for a little bit and not think about any of the stress in her life, then he’d be happy. Because that’s exactly what he planned to do himself.

He’d had two more conversations with Wes throughout the day, and it was looking more and more like he couldn’t put off his trip down south. He didn’t want to think about leaving Evie, especially when she was clearly so stressed, but he might not have a choice. He had a plan, though. While he was gone, he was going to groom Wes to take over the official business and move out of his current role.

If he set everything up just right, he’d be able to phase himself into more of a director role that handled things from afar and Wes could be the face of DAR. He’d been doing more and more of the work anyway, and maybe that would give Declan a chance to focus on some local project and start a branch of DAR that worked on smaller projects that were closer to home.

After all, there was a lot of good to be done all over the world. Maybe it was time to diversify.

“You don’t have to make popcorn.” Evie appeared in the door of the kitchen, distracting him from his thoughts. “I’m not really all that hungry.”

“It’s not about being hungry.” He laughed. “It’s about tasting the gourmet flavors of my specialty popcorn.”

“Gourmet?”

That got a little smile out of her.

“Absolutely,” he said. “You’re probably used to regular ol’ boring popcorn with butter and salt.”

She nodded.

“Well, prepare yourself for this.” With his spoon in hand, he drizzled the final touch on top of the bowl, gave it a toss and held it out to her. “Your taste buds are going to explode.”

She raised her eyebrows and rolled her eyes at him. Declan didn’t care whether she thought he was a little over the top, or even if he was way over the top. He just wanted her to smile and laugh and not think about anything else for a few hours. Evie reached forward and took a piece of popcorn from the bowl. She popped it in her mouth and he waited.

She made a big production of chewing slowly, savoring the piece, but finally after what seemed like forever, she swallowed and smiled. “It’s delicious.”

Declan did an exaggerated fist pump. “I knew it.”

“What’s on it?” She helped herself to a handful. “It’s sweet, but salty and a little spicy at the same time.”

“Kind of like you.” Declan put the bowl on the counter and closed the distance between them. He ran a hand down her cheek and cupped it gently before he kissed her.

“Does that mean you’re not going to tell me your secret recipe?”

He kissed her again, this time harder and more thoroughly as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her body to his. “That’s exactly what it means. But I have other secrets for you.”

“Oh really?”

“Absolutely.” He kissed her neck, trailing his lips down toward the dip of her shirt. “Like this.” He kissed her deeply between her breasts. The sound that slipped out only encouraged him to keep going. “I have another secret, too.”

“Oh yeah?” Her voice was husky, her breath barely contained. “What’s that?”

“I’ll need to take you into the bedroom to show you.” He kissed her again, while his hands traveled down her front. He was only barely containing himself. What he really wanted to do was rip her clothes off and take her right there in the kitchen.

No.

What he really wanted to do was lay her out on the kitchen table, kiss his way down her body until he got to that sweet apex between her legs where he could bury his face and taste every inch of her.

A growl escaped his throat and it was all he could do not to throw her over his shoulder.

“What are you going to show me in the bedroom that you can’t show me here?” She was teasing him, but she had no idea how on the edge he was.

“Oh baby. You’re right, I don’t need to take you anywhere.” He bit her neck, just enough to make her squeal. “I’m fully prepared to show you my secrets right here, right now.”

She groaned, and that was all the encouragement he needed.

In an instant, Evie was in his arms. He glanced at the table, but there was too much stuff, and as much as he wanted her, he wasn’t prepared for that kind of mess.

Besides, he had plans for her and it involved getting her into that big bed of hers, where he’d been spending far too many nights being far too well-behaved.

“So what are you waiting for?” Evie leaned forward and kissed the soft spot at the base of his neck. Declan had no idea that was an erogenous zone for him, but the second her lips touched his skin, his dick twitched in his pants.

“Not a thing. But I changed my mind. These secrets are definitely for the bedroom.” Without wasting another second, Declan carried her down the hall to the bedroom.

He tossed her on the bed and took a step back. She was a sight to behold. Never had he been with someone who made his heart throb as hard as his cock. Her legs were bent at the knee; her arms propped her up on the quilt, which gave him a much better view of her lush breasts heaving beneath her t-shirt.

“Now what are you going to do with me?”

He groaned in response. She was killing him with her flirting and teasing tonight. It was different for her, but he liked this side of her too. Hell, he liked all the sides of Evie. But just for the night, he was going to focus on only one of those sides.

“Too. Many. Clothes.” He pulled his shirt over his head and quickly shucked his pants, not once taking his eyes off her. She waited until he was completely naked before she started working on the button of her shorts.

Too slow. It was taking too long.

In two steps, Declan was in front of her, his hands over hers, relieving her of the task of undressing her. A moment later, her shorts were on the floor. Her shirt was next. He needed to see those luscious breasts. They needed to be free of the confines of that t-shirt.

“You still have too many clothes on, Evie.” He kneeled on the mattress in front of her and she sat up, letting him tug the shirt gently over her head.

Damn. She was perfect. Everything about her, down to the lacy pink matching bra and panty set that she wore, was simply perfect. Her nipples were hard, jutting from the lace, begging for his attention. As much as he enjoyed her lingerie, he was going to enjoy her natural state even more.

---

She should have told him the truth as soon as Jonah had left and they were alone. She should have told him that they didn’t need to pretend anymore and the deception could end.

But the minute she walked into the kitchen and saw him standing there with a bowl of popcorn in his hand, looking so damned sexy and eager to please her, she knew she’d made the right decision to wait until morning to say anything.

One more night wouldn’t hurt.

Besides, the way Declan was looking at her, with so much fire and heat in his eyes, it sure as hell didn’t feel as though anyone was pretending anything. And maybe they weren’t. Maybe it was real.

Could she even allow herself to think that?

Of course she could. No one was around. No one was watching them to see whether they were really engaged or whether they could catch them in a lie. No one was checking up on them.

Yet, still he was undressing her as if she were a precious package that needed a tender touch. Never mind the way he was looking at her, or the thick, hard erection that currently stood between them. There certainly was nothing pretend about that. What was happening between them was real.

At least, it was for the moment, and that was all Evie needed to completely push reality from her mind and focus on the incredibly sexy man in front of her.

And really, what would one more night of flirting and fun and some of the best sex she’d ever had in her life hurt?

It wouldn’t.

She shut her mind off to the little voice that was trying to tell her to do the right thing, and focused on Declan’s hands on her skin as he worked her bra closure around her back.

He was so tender, despite his obvious urgency, as he undid the clasps before sliding each strap down her shoulder and freeing her breasts. But the bra was soon replaced by the touch of his lips, teasing and pulling each nipple in turn. Sucking them into hard, throbbing peaks, driving her need for him even higher.

Feeling wanton and emboldened, Evie grabbed his head and pulled him closer to her, greedily wanting as much as she could take from him. But Declan wasn’t having it.

“No, sweetheart.” He took her hands over her head and laid her back.

She made a sound somewhere between a moan and a groan as he pressed his chest to hers and kissed her fully on the lips. “I know you’re impatient, but remember, this is about me showing you my secrets. So let me show you.”

He released her hands, trusting her to leave them there and resumed his kisses.

She squirmed as he moved down her body. Each kiss sent a spark through her body, landing directly in her core, where the need for him burned hotter with each second.

He stopped at her breasts, but only briefly this time before he continued his kisses down her belly. His tongue swirled in her belly button, eliciting a squeal from her before he moved on.

It took her longer than it should have to realize where he was heading next with his hot mouth, but as soon as the realization hit, she tried to pull herself back up the bed. “Declan, no. You…just…wait…”

His hands clamped down on her hips, pinning her in place, but he stopped. His head lifted and he looked at her, questions in his eyes. “You want me to stop?”

She started to nod, but stopped herself. She didn’t. Not really. But at the same time…no one had ever kissed her there before. She’d never before had a man’s attention on her the way Declan’s was. The way he wanted to be.

“Do you want me to stop, Evie?”

He looked straight in her eyes and she knew he’d stop if she said the word. When she hesitated, he grinned wickedly and kissed her once, slow and purposefully on the top of her mound, through the lace of her panties.

The kiss was as chaste as a kiss between the legs could get, but she almost exploded with the touch. Wetness seeped from her, soaking the pink lace.

No.

The answer was no. She did not want him to stop.

“How about now?” he asked, his grip on her hips never faltering. “Do you want me to stop now?”

She didn’t answer right away, so Declan took the opportunity to run his tongue down the front of her. He moved so slowly, the heat and wetness of his tongue mingling with her own wet heat. She threw her head back and a strangled moan escaped.

There was no way she wanted him to stop what he was doing. Not ever.

“Well?” he asked. “One more chance, darling. Should I stop?”

She thrashed her head back and forth on the pillow.

“What was that? I need you to tell me, Evie. Tell me if I should stop.”

“No.” Her voice was unrecognizable even to her own ears, it was so thick with need. “Don’t stop,” she said. “Don’t ever stop.”

Declan groaned his approval. “That’s what I needed to hear.” And before she could say another word, his mouth was back on her pussy, licking and kissing her through the lace of her panties until she was dripping with need for him. His hands pinned her in place until finally they moved long enough to yank her panties down over her legs where they, too, disappeared somewhere on the floor.

This time when Declan kissed her, there was nothing between them. His tongue slipped through her folds, and the sensations were electric as he licked and sucked her intimately. She thrashed against him, the need in her building to an almost excruciating ache until finally she exploded in an orgasm that left her limp against the bedsheets.

---

Watching Evie come completely undone like that was one of the sexiest things he’d ever seen. Declan waited while the effects from her orgasm faded. When she finally opened her eyes and saw him watching her, she looked stunned, as if she couldn’t believe what had just happened.

“I told you, you didn’t want me to stop.” He grinned and bent to give her a kiss.

“That was one of your secrets?”

“It’s not much of a secret.” He laid down next to her and pulled her against him and his still pulsing erection. “But I’m glad you liked it. Watching you come apart like that is, without a doubt, the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.” He nuzzled into her neck and kissed her gently while he stroked his hand over her hip, coming to rest on her ass.

She groaned and wiggled back into him. “But you—oh.” She flipped around in his arms before he could stop her, and looked down between them. Her hand slipped down and when she wrapped it around his shaft, he couldn’t stifle his groan.

“Be careful what you get started there, darling.”

The glint in her eyes was wicked and her tongue darted out between her lips. “Oh, I don’t think I’ve started anything, actually.” She crawled up and pushed him back against the bed until she straddled him.

Damn this woman. She just got sexier and sexier all the time.

Declan had other plans for her and the rest of the night, but they all went out the window as soon as she was on top of him. Whatever Evie had in mind would be just fine with him. And when she raised herself up and sank down onto his cock, he was pretty sure there wasn’t anything better than that.

His hands went to her breasts, and her head dropped back in pleasure when he squeezed her nipples. There was so much he wanted to show her, so much he wanted to do with her. She deserved all of the pleasure in the world. She deserved everything. And more than anything, he wanted to give it to her. But he wasn’t falling in love with her because dammit, he already was in love. Deeply. Fully. Completely.

He took his own pleasure as she tightened around him and he could feel her own, second orgasm was imminent. She looked down into his eyes and in that instant, he was sure he saw the same love he was feeling reflected back at him. But then her eyes closed as her climax crested and the moment was lost.