Page 46 of Her Summer Hope
Rob hadn’t been very kind or very selfless.
But they didn’t have that spark between them—the one that made her knees weak, her heart race, and her mouth go dry. He didn’t arouse her with just a single glance.
Was that so important, in the grand scheme of things? Weren’t her children more important than passion?
Yes, they were, and that was why she didn’t turn him down right away.
“I would like to think about it for a while,” she began, licking her dry lips. “I don’t know when I can give you an answer—”
“That’s fine. The offer is always open,” he assured her. “I just wanted you to know.”
She nodded. “Well, I’d better get outside.”
He nodded, and she went about her morning with a whole new set of things to think about.
She was making change for a customer when she caught a familiar face in the crowd near the vegetable stands.
He was wearing a baseball cap, jeans, a tight navy t-shirt, and combat boots. He was watching her.
She froze, caught in his gaze until she felt someone touch her shoulder.
“I’m sorry?” she said, turning away from Kyle’s captivating face.
Christian was frowning at her. “Are you okay?”
She internally shook herself and smiled. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Mr. Edmonds was asking you a question and you looked a little out of it. Are you sure you aren’t sick?”
She clenched the cotton skirt of her dress nervously. “I’m fine. Really. I was just thinking.” She turned to Mr. Edmonds. “I’m sorry, sir. What did you need?”
When she got a chance to look back, Kyle was gone and she felt disappointed.
She worked the rest of the morning, and by the time lunch came around she was starving and on the verge of leaking. She didn’t want to deal with the embarrassment of wet boobs in public. She desperately needed to get home to feed Em.
She pulled her purse over her shoulder and went back out to the shop where Christian waited in the doorway.
“I’ll be back in a little while,” she promised. “I left the cash box on your desk.”
He nodded and followed her out with a hand on her lower back. His slight touch startled her, though it wasn’t completely unwelcome.
“Madison?” a gruff voice called as she walked along the sidewalk to her car.
Her heart sped up and her palms went sweaty. She’d caught herself searching for him in the crowds all morning, and she’d been more disappointed than she wanted to admit when she didn’t see him again.
She pushed away her excitement and her nervousness and turned around.
Kyle was only a few feet away. He was standing next to a confused Christian. She came over, hoping something somewhat intelligent would come out of her mouth.
“I thought you left,” she said.
His lips twisted a bit into a slight smirk. “Evans tried to drag me over to Paddy’s, but I told him to get lost. John’s around here somewhere. Murdock was over feeling up the vegetables for a while.”
She laughed. “And what were you doing?”
“Getting drawn in by the charm,” he said seriously, staring at her before looking off down the street, squinted eyes shadowed under the brim of his hat.
She felt her face go red and she looked down to hide the embarrassing reaction. She was twenty-nine years old and a mother of four, and she was blushing like a schoolgirl over a comment that probably had nothing to do with her.