Megan could feel Gabe’s eyes on her. His arms were next, wrapping around her waist to pull her lightly against him. “I heard they’ll kick you out of the wax museum if they see you frowning.”
She buried her face in his neck and breathed in his warm and smoky scent until she was able to stuff away her fears again. All the while, he held on to her, his large hand stroking her back.
“I’m having a great time, Gabe. So is Summer.”
“That makes three of us, then.”
He took her hand and they joined her daughter by the superhero wax figures, all of her hopes and dreams pooling around his offhand statement.
That makes three of us, then.
Oh, how she longed for that to be true. A husband, a family for her daughter, with no more heartache, no more struggles.
Just love.
But how could that ever be a reality for her and Summer when Gabe was a firefighter? One who wasn’t afraid of running into burning buildings if it meant saving someone inside.
Stop it, she told herself in a firm inner voice. She’d promised both of them that she’d try. Which meant putting the brakes on her worries, her fears, for a little while and just enjoying being with him.
An hour later, Gabe was dropping them off at home on the way to his night shift at the station. They’d agreed he’d come over for dinner on Sunday night after his shift, but Megan already missed him.
Besides, he’d been holding her hand for hours. Touching her, too, soft little caresses on her face, her back, her hips. She was burning up for him, but with Summer between them, Megan couldn’t do anything about her desire.
Desire that she was afraid was going to make her come completely unglued before long.
“Thank you for a lovely evening,” she said in a slightly husky voice.
She reached for the doorknob, but before she could open the door, Summer said, “Aren’t you guys going to kiss good night?”
A strangled laugh came from Megan’s lips and when she looked over at Gabe, his eyes were dark with the same barely restrained desire she was grappling with.
“Of course we are,” he said.
A moment later, his lips were against hers, warm and delicious. It was just enough of a kiss to whet her appetite for more and when he pulled back, she felt dazed.
Summer smiled at the two of them, clearly pleased to see that her matchmaking had worked out so well. “See you Sunday, Gabe. That was fun.”
* * *
On Sunday night, the three of them were sitting on the living room carpet, trying to extract a thigh bone in a tightly contested game of Operation.
Well, a tightly contested game between Summer and Gabe, anyway. Sitting this close to Gabe had Megan’s hands so shaky she could hardly play. Again and again, she set off the red buzzer by bonking the tweezers into the sides of the small holes on the game board.
Summer and Gabe were neck and neck with their piles of little bones and organs when Summer pouted. “This isn’t fair. You do this kind of stuff for your job. I’m just a kid.”
Megan waited to see if he was going to be fooled, but he merely raised an eyebrow. “I’m trained as a paramedic, not a surgeon.”
Summer made a face. “It’s practically the same thing.”
Gabe smiled at her daughter. “Not even close, but nice try, kid.”
When Summer cheerfully said, “Your turn,” Megan knew she wasn’t done rummaging through her bag of tricks to try to make sure she won the game.
Gabe picked up the tweezers and was just about to go for the brain when Summer let out a shriek. “Oh my gosh, what a huge bug!”
Megan winced as her daughter’s piercingly high voice penetrated her skull. “What bug, Summer?”
But her daughter was busy staring at Gabe’s hand where it had stilled right over the playing board, rather than bonking into it and giving her the potential win.
Megan couldn’t help but laugh. “He’s one of eight, sweetie. I think you’re going to have to try harder than that to distract him.”
A second later, Gabe reached in, grabbed the brain and almost had it all the way out when the tip of the tweezers slid against the board. The red buzzer sounded and Summer grabbed the tweezers from his hand, expertly pulling out the brain.
“I win!”
“Nice work, Summer.”
Megan couldn’t imagine a single one of the guys she’d dated playing this game with Summer, let alone enjoying it. Not to mention dealing with her antics so well.
“You have school tomorrow. Time for bed,” Megan said. “Go brush your teeth and get your jammies on and I’ll read you a story.”
“Can you read it to me tonight, Gabe?”
Perhaps Megan shouldn’t have been shocked by Summer’s request, but she was. No one else had ever read her daughter a story, not even her father, who’d always preferred to be outside on the grass playing with her when she was a baby than indoors with her teething and chewing on a book on his lap.
“Megan?”
Rather than answering Summer’s question, Gabe’s eyes were on hers, and she could read the question on his face: Is this okay with you?
Every minute the three of them spent together, she watched Gabe and Summer draw closer. They were two people who genuinely enjoyed each other’s company.
Her daughter had fantastic taste in men.
And yet, for some reason this felt like another big step, after so many other big steps. First, spending a Friday night together at Fisherman’s Wharf, acting like a family. Then, kissing Gabe in front of Summer. And now, Gabe telling her a bedtime story.