footrest up on her recliner and relaxed. Mark draped his arm on the back of the sofa.
I felt like a teenager again, waiting, anticipating, longing. He subtly dropped his arm to my shoulder, caressing me with those clever fingers. Fire raced through my gut—that giddy warm feeling that you get when something excites you and reaches you on a visceral level.
After the movie, I asked for directions to a bathroom. As I walked away, I saw Mark talking quietly to Carly. She was nodding her head in response to his whispered words.
When I returned to the family room, she’d disappeared.
Mark stared at me with that little boy I-did-something-naughty twinkle in his eyes. He finally answered my unasked question. “Carly wanted to go...um...surf the net for a while.”
I wasn’t going to let him think I didn’t know what he was doing, even if I did find it both flattering and exciting. “Oh. I see. And she wanted to do this because?”
“I asked her to let us have some alone time.”
Got to love a man who’s honest.
I walked back to the coffee table and began to pick up the plates and glasses. He came over to help me. We carried everything into the kitchen. It felt downright domestic to stand side-by-side and wash and dry the dishes together. It was so comfortable. So like a real couple. So...
Stop it, Jackie. Just because your family is gone doesn’t mean you can adopt this one.
“Want to watch another flick?” Mark asked as I finished wiping the counter with the damp cloth.
“I should probably go. We lost our chaperone after all. People will talk.”
He grabbed my arm and turned me to face him. He reached out and caressed my cheek. “Stay. We can...talk.”
I turned my face toward his warm palm. The man was a magnet and I was metal. “Talk?”
“I barely know anything about you. Let me play detective.” He took the dishrag out of my hand and tossed it next to the sink before he wrapped his hand around mine and led me back to the sofa.
As we settled in, we turned to face each other. He casually rested his bent knee against mine. It was so relaxed and entirely too comfortable. I knew it. I’d let him in already.
Damn it all anyway.
“Tell me about you.” Mark laid his hand over mine where it rested on the back of the couch.
I shrugged. “I’m a teacher. I’ve got two boys away at college.”
He shook his head as he stroked my hand and wrist with his warm fingertips. The touch was so gentle it sent shivers running up my arm. “Tell me about you .”
I had to take a minute to think about that. For most of my life, I’d been either a child or caregiver. I’d been my parents’ daughter, then I was suddenly David’s wife. We’d married so stinking early in life, barely out of our adolescence. It still embarrassed me that I’d had to get married. And then I became Patrick and Nate’s mother. The hardest transition for me had been changing my name back to Delgado when David and I divorced because I’d been “Mrs. Ryan” for so long to all my students.
Hell, I’d been that identity so long to me .
So exactly who is Jacqueline Marie Delgado?
Mark loudly cleared his throat.
I came back from my reverie, blushing all the way. “Sorry,” I offered. “Thinking too hard again?”
He tossed me a nod. “Since telling me about you seems to be a difficult topic, let’s just start with the simple stuff. Where were you born?”
“Georgia. Fort Benning. My dad was assigned to dishing out basic training.”
“Army brat. I remember.” He began to stroke my hand again.
We started to play a chase with our fingers.
I let him win.
“I suppose Suzanne told you I’m divorced.”
A slant of his head and a raised eyebrow told me he was confused. “That’s quite a leap. Born in Georgia, then divorced. Child bride?”
The guy made me laugh at myself. Aloud. That was a gift from God if I ever knew of one. “Not that young, but young enough. Nineteen.”
A low whistle spilled from his lips.
I felt like a teenager again, waiting, anticipating, longing. He subtly dropped his arm to my shoulder, caressing me with those clever fingers. Fire raced through my gut—that giddy warm feeling that you get when something excites you and reaches you on a visceral level.
After the movie, I asked for directions to a bathroom. As I walked away, I saw Mark talking quietly to Carly. She was nodding her head in response to his whispered words.
When I returned to the family room, she’d disappeared.
Mark stared at me with that little boy I-did-something-naughty twinkle in his eyes. He finally answered my unasked question. “Carly wanted to go...um...surf the net for a while.”
I wasn’t going to let him think I didn’t know what he was doing, even if I did find it both flattering and exciting. “Oh. I see. And she wanted to do this because?”
“I asked her to let us have some alone time.”
Got to love a man who’s honest.
I walked back to the coffee table and began to pick up the plates and glasses. He came over to help me. We carried everything into the kitchen. It felt downright domestic to stand side-by-side and wash and dry the dishes together. It was so comfortable. So like a real couple. So...
Stop it, Jackie. Just because your family is gone doesn’t mean you can adopt this one.
“Want to watch another flick?” Mark asked as I finished wiping the counter with the damp cloth.
“I should probably go. We lost our chaperone after all. People will talk.”
He grabbed my arm and turned me to face him. He reached out and caressed my cheek. “Stay. We can...talk.”
I turned my face toward his warm palm. The man was a magnet and I was metal. “Talk?”
“I barely know anything about you. Let me play detective.” He took the dishrag out of my hand and tossed it next to the sink before he wrapped his hand around mine and led me back to the sofa.
As we settled in, we turned to face each other. He casually rested his bent knee against mine. It was so relaxed and entirely too comfortable. I knew it. I’d let him in already.
Damn it all anyway.
“Tell me about you.” Mark laid his hand over mine where it rested on the back of the couch.
I shrugged. “I’m a teacher. I’ve got two boys away at college.”
He shook his head as he stroked my hand and wrist with his warm fingertips. The touch was so gentle it sent shivers running up my arm. “Tell me about you .”
I had to take a minute to think about that. For most of my life, I’d been either a child or caregiver. I’d been my parents’ daughter, then I was suddenly David’s wife. We’d married so stinking early in life, barely out of our adolescence. It still embarrassed me that I’d had to get married. And then I became Patrick and Nate’s mother. The hardest transition for me had been changing my name back to Delgado when David and I divorced because I’d been “Mrs. Ryan” for so long to all my students.
Hell, I’d been that identity so long to me .
So exactly who is Jacqueline Marie Delgado?
Mark loudly cleared his throat.
I came back from my reverie, blushing all the way. “Sorry,” I offered. “Thinking too hard again?”
He tossed me a nod. “Since telling me about you seems to be a difficult topic, let’s just start with the simple stuff. Where were you born?”
“Georgia. Fort Benning. My dad was assigned to dishing out basic training.”
“Army brat. I remember.” He began to stroke my hand again.
We started to play a chase with our fingers.
I let him win.
“I suppose Suzanne told you I’m divorced.”
A slant of his head and a raised eyebrow told me he was confused. “That’s quite a leap. Born in Georgia, then divorced. Child bride?”
The guy made me laugh at myself. Aloud. That was a gift from God if I ever knew of one. “Not that young, but young enough. Nineteen.”
A low whistle spilled from his lips.
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