Page 51 of Love… It's Messy
“Like a princess, Mommy.”
I give them a wide smile and do a little spin. “I have to return this dress to Stella. It was the only thing that felt right tonight.”
“You look good in everything.”
Luke’s breathy comment, paired with the way he’s looking at me with that sinful stare, has me releasing the breath I didn’t know I was holding.
“A point to never be forgotten,” I joke. “Chicken cutlets?” I ask despite the obvious display on the countertops.
Luke clears his throat. “Yeah. I won’t let her use the stove though.”
“Mommy! You look so pretty!” Ainsley starts toward me with her wet and half-cleaned hands in the air.
Luke grabs her shoulders and pulls her back to the sink.
“Don’t get your mom all messy,” he tells her.
Joe hops off the counter and lands at my feet, rubbing his nose against the gold clasp on the front of my shoe. I bend down and pet him.
“Hello, sir,” I greet him as he purrs against my palm. “While I’m happy to see you again, I’m surprised to have you on my kitchen counters. That’s good for Luke’s house. Not mine.”
“Joe was helping us make dinner,” Ainsley explains.
I rise. “I see. Not exactly sanitary.”
“You heard the lady, Joe. No more being on the counters. This is a lady’s house, not a bachelor pad,” Luke answers easily and then looks down at Joe, who is wrapping his body around my ankles, one at a time. “Joe, stop groping Jillian. She doesn’t need your fur all over her before her date.”
“You have a boyfriend?” Ainsley asks loudly, and I scold Luke with my eyes.
“No. I am going to dinner with a friend. Just like I do with Tara and Melissa. This friend is named Eric. Boys and girls can be friends, you know. It’s not a date,” I explain to her sweetly despite the laser beams I’m still shooting at the man behind her. “Just dinner.”
“Fuck, sorry,” he says and then apologizes again. “I mean, shit—shoot. Dammit, I can’t get this right.”
I throw my hands up in the air. And start walking around the kitchen island to get my phone from my purse. “This was a bad idea. I’ll call and cancel.”
Luke quickly dries Ainsley’s hands and then brushes past her to cross the kitchen and take the phone out of my hand.
“Don’t cancel because of me.” His hand is still on mine as he stands close to me. Too close with the way I feel the electricity beating through his body. He keeps his voice deep and low as he looks at me with determined eyes. “I didn’t know I couldn’t say where you were going. You just have to lay out some ground rules.”
“Ground rules,” I repeat as I push my hair behind my ear and look over his shoulder at Ainsley, who is playing with Joe on the kitchen floor.
When they went to the movies, I wasn’t concerned about all the things he might say to her because they’d be in a quiet theater for two hours. Now, who knows what he could tell her?
“No big announcements. She’s not ready.”
“Obviously. We agreed to that already.”
“You need to know that I don’t bring men into my daughter’s life, and I have no desire to. For obvious reasons, you’re an exception. This isn’t a revolving door of strays, which is something you need to keep in mind as well if you’re going to be in her life.”
“Joe’s not a stray cat.”
“Stray women,” I bite.
Luke’s head tilts slightly. “I can’t introduce Ainsley to other women?”
“Not unless you plan on marrying them, no.”
He mulls this information over. “Will you be introducing her to your date tonight?”