Just a Kiss: The Bradfords, Book 5 (9 page)

Mac smiled and nodded. “Nice.”

Kevin sighed. “So?”

“So, how many women have there been since Eve?”

He didn’t have an exact number. “Lots.”

“I’ll bet you’ve seen your share of panties.”

“Um, yeah.” They knew he’d seen his more than his share of all of it.

“Do you remember any details about them? Or which woman wore what?” Mac asked.

Kevin sighed. “No. What’s your point?” But he was pretty sure he knew.

“That
this
woman matters. Still. More than any other ever has.”

Kevin slumped back into the couch cushions. Dammit. Still he said, “So?”

“So, that’s worth at least finding out if her panties are still sweet cotton or if she’s got some silk and lace going on now.”

Kevin started to push himself up off the couch. Yeah, this conversation was not where he should be right now.

“I’ll tell you right now that I’m gonna start saying grace at all my meals since I’ve seen how good boys are rewarded,” Sam said.

Kevin paused with his ass two inches off the cushion. “What do you mean?”

Sam glanced over. “You’ve been minding your manners, right? Celibate, devout, all that stuff. Well, you must have made an impression on the Big Guy because now, suddenly, right in front of you, is the love of your life, and she wants you back, and you’re
married
to her.” He chuckled. “She’s the one you want and she’s the one woman on the face of the earth you can have without any fire and brimstone.
That’s
a hell of a payoff for being good for a couple years.”

“It’s almost
heavenly
.” Dooley quipped.

Sam gave him a grin.

Kevin plopped himself back down. He didn’t need this. He
really
didn’t need this. Seeing Eve again had him all mixed up. And he absolutely did
not
need to be thinking about the fact that he could have her. Technically anyway.

“First of all,” he said, “you’re already married to the love of your life. You don’t need to be rewarded with another one.”

Sam shrugged and grinned. “I’m thinking an equivalent reward for me would be winning the lottery or something.”

Yeah, being married to Eve was exactly like winning the lottery, Kevin thought wryly. But right on the heels of that thought was
yeah, maybe it was
. For most people, the lottery meant access to everything they’d ever wanted. Being married to Eve really could be a lot like that for him…

He shook his head and frowned. “Second of all, I’ve been celibate and devout and…
celibate
for
eight years
.” That was hardly something to skim over. Especially considering that none of these guys could go more than a couple of
days
without their women.

Sex—or the lack of sex—was, by far, the hardest part about the life changes he’d made. He wasn’t a sex addict, he wasn’t into porn—well, any more than the next guy—and he’d never been a playboy like Sam or into the sexier stuff like Mac. But he’d been offered a little bit of everything. Threesomes—two girls, a girl and another guy—but that had never gotten him going. He wasn’t against toys and lickable body oil, but he didn’t need them either.

He just loved women. Loved touching them, making them moan, making them crazy about him. Giving that up had been his biggest challenge for sure. He could easily do without alcohol, do without sleeping in on Sunday mornings, even do without swearing—though that was his second hardest thing to give up—but women were a temptation he had to consciously deal with every time.

And now there was one—
the
one—that he could have by all legal and moral standards.

It seemed too good to be true.

“Third of all,” he went on, “I can’t sleep with her whether we’re married or not. It’s been too long. We barely know each other anymore.”

There was a pause as all the guys looked at him. Then Sam asked, “Is there a fourth of all coming?”

Kevin frowned. “No. Why?”

“Because the third of all kind of sucks.”

Dooley and Mac nodded. Kevin’s scowl got deeper. “Why does that suck? Just because a piece of paper says we’re married, doesn’t mean we’re
married
.”

“Don’t you want to be?” Sam asked. “Don’t you want to find the right girl and live happily ever after?”

Kevin opened his mouth but immediately realized there was only one thing he could say. He saw his friends living happily-ever-after every day. Did he want what they had?

“Yeah,” he admitted. “Of course I do.”

“Then doesn’t it make sense to at least see how it goes with the woman you’re already married to?” Mac asked. “This girl is the one that got away. You’re both single, you’re here, there’s still chemistry…why not find out what it means, if anything? The lawyer’s office and those papers will still be there down the road if you need them.”

That all sounded damned good to him. Too good. Too easy. Too…risky.

Kevin groaned and covered his face with his hands. It had been
eight
years. How could he be expected to
not
want to do all the things the guys were saying he could, and even should, do?

He might be a Christian, but he was still a
guy
. And it was still Eve they were talking about.

“It’s like I haven’t had candy in eight years and now someone threw open the door to the candy shop and said ‘it’s all yours’. I could make myself really sick doing that. Just because I
can
, doesn’t mean I
should
.”

“I disagree,” Dooley said, pushing himself up from the floor and tossing one of the game controllers to Mac. “I think you’re going to stand outside that shop staring, drooling, dreaming about it, distracted from everything else until you have a taste. You should march in there and eat until you can’t move. Then you’ll be able to tell if your cravings are because you haven’t been inside any candy store in so long or because you really want
this
candy.”

That sounded like a really good idea. A really, really tempting good idea. Which could lead to a major stomach ache. Or heartache.

The new game blipped on and Mac settled onto the floor.

“I…” Kevin started.

“I’m confused.”

They all swung toward the living room doorway. Eve stood holding a cardboard box with a paper bag balanced on top of it.

“Am I the candy or the whole shop?”

“I think you’re the whole shop, sweetheart,” Dooley said without missing a beat. “A variety of treats wrapped up in one tempting package.”

Though he couldn’t see him, Kevin was sure Dooley winked at her.

Eve laughed. “Nice analogy,” she said, coming into the room. “The front door was propped open and I couldn’t really knock.”

Kevin stood quickly and headed for her. They’d propped the front door open when they were carrying stuff in from the truck and had obviously forgotten it. He took the armload from her in one sweep, intent on getting her into another room before his friends started in with a bunch of stuff he was
sure
he didn’t want Eve to hear.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“I was thinking about things. I have a proposition for you.” She smiled up at him.

He’d seen her four hours earlier and had been thinking about her non-stop since. He should have been prepared for what it was like to look into her eyes.

He wasn’t. The impact almost knocked him over.

Then her words hit his consciousness. A proposition.

His first instinct was to say
yes
, without even knowing what she wanted.

She smelled fantastic and Kevin wanted to sweep her off her feet and carry her upstairs. It didn’t help that
what’s stopping you?
followed quickly on that heels of the thought.

Nothing was stopping him.

She was his wife.

He felt want wash through his body as he thought about licorice and chocolate covered peanuts and peppermints and his favorite, jelly beans. Eve was most definitely like a candy store with everything he loved best inside. In fact, he could combine the two ideas. He could cover her in candy, he could put a jelly bean in her belly button and suck it out on his way…

“Kevin?” Her voice was soft and husky and she was staring at him with wide eyes. “You okay?” It was obvious she was reading the heat and desire in his gaze. She swallowed hard and moved closer. “I was…”

Heat—and not the Eve kind—registered on his palms where he held the box and he managed to pull his eyes from her face. “Yeah, I’m fine. What’s all this?”

“There’s a pan of mac and cheese from Monica in the box. And some other snacks.”

“Just out of the oven?” he asked, heading for the kitchen quickly before she—or the guys—noticed the erection he was suddenly sporting.

“Yeah. Monica said Drew loves her mac and cheese and I thought, first night and all, maybe it would be nice for you to have something he really likes for dinner,” she said following him. “You can warm it up later.”

“Great idea.” And it was. It wasn’t quite enough to get his thoughts away from Eve covered in jelly beans, but it was helping.

He set the box and bag on the center island, keeping it all between him and Eve.

“There’s also a pan of brownies, some popcorn and some jelly beans.”

His eyes flew to her. “What?”

“For snacks.”

“Did you say jelly beans?” Or was he dreaming it?

“Yeah.” She smiled. “Those are for you. You always liked them best.”

He groaned. He braced his hands on the island and dropped his head. He needed strength here. They were going to
talk
. About getting a
divorce
. They were not going to strip down and break open the jelly beans.

At least, they shouldn’t.

He lifted his head, looking anywhere but at her. Mac and cheese. She’d also brought mac and cheese. That was awesome. He was nervous when he thought about getting Drew home, trying to do dinner, help with homework and, of course, helping the kid adjust to the fact that his mom was gone for six months and he wouldn’t see her. Drew was stuck with a big brother he didn’t know and…that was that. There wasn’t really anything either of them could do.

But for one night he’d at least be feeding the kid something he liked.

“What’s in the bag?” he asked, reaching for the paper sack she’d also brought.

“Books.”

He pulled one out. “
An Encyclopedia of the Presidents
?” he read aloud. The next was about World War II and the third was about the assassination of JFK. “You thought he’d need some extra reading material?” he asked, looking up at Eve.

“Those are for you,” she said with a grin. “He’s already read them.”

Kevin looked back down at the JFK book, weighing it in his hand. It was heavy. Thick. Not a fairy tale.

“Thought you might wonder what to talk about with a ten-year-old who’s not into sports,” Eve said.

He’d been wondering exactly that. Tonight he’d have Dooley as a buffer even after Sam and Mac headed back for Omaha. Dooley was going to stay until tomorrow night and drive back with Kevin for work. Dooley could talk video games and comics. But Kevin couldn’t keep him here for six months. If nothing else, Morgan would likely protest. Then there were all the other people Dooley took care of—his dad, his sisters, the kids at the Youth Center where the guys all volunteered, the three older ladies who fed the guys cookies and pie and TLC in exchange for home and car repairs. In fact, Kevin was going to miss all of that too.

He looked at Eve. She smiled and he decided maybe he wouldn’t miss it as much as he thought.

“Thanks. This is all great,” he said sincerely. “But how do you know what Drew reads?”

“I talked to his teacher.”

“You did?” That was a great idea. That would have never occurred to Kevin.

“His teacher is Jennifer Albert. She used to be Jennifer McPherson.”

Kevin remembered her. She’d been a grade ahead of them in school.

“Sure, I know Jennifer.”

“I went up during her lunch break and asked her some questions. Who would be better tuned in to his needs and likes, right?” Eve started unpacking the box as she talked.

Cereal, pudding, milk, orange juice, fruit and those damned jelly beans joined a pan of brownies, a pan of macaroni and cheese and a box of microwave popcorn.

“She said he’s into eating fruit and veggies and stuff since he saw a thing on TV about kids who play video games being overweight and unhealthy.”

She put the pudding in the fridge and found a bowl for the bananas, grapes and apples.

Kevin was having a hard time pulling his attention from the jelly beans.

“He’s into history, especially World War II and U.S. Presidents. His best friends are Tanner and Matthew—they’re into gaming too.”

She spun, realized she’d missed the milk and OJ and stored them in the fridge too. She seemed to take a quick inventory of the other contents.

“Can you make eggs?” she asked leaning on the door. “I know he likes eggs. But you might want to bring him to Sherry’s for breakfast. That’s what he’s used to and Monica makes great eggs. We’ll have to come up with something for lunch though. Unless he eats at school. I should have asked Jennifer about that. I’ll e-mail her.” She shut the fridge and looked around. “Oh, and I was thinking maybe you should invite Tanner and Matthew over for dinner. Show they’re welcome here, help smooth this first evening in a new place with new people a little?”