Carly Phillips - Under the Boardwalk

He knelt down beside her, his breath warm against her neck, and whispered softly in her ear. “I’m an undercover cop and your sister’s safe. There’s nothing else I can tell you.”

She sucked in a startled breath. “You’re a-”

He placed a hand over her mouth. “Do not repeat that word out loud. Especially not here. Understand?”

She nodded and he released her.

Her cheeks tingled from his touch as surprise and something so much deeper coursed through her veins. His last slip of the tongue had been real. Quinn was a cop, not one of Damon’s goons. Unless he’d turned, but she knew that wasn’t even a remote possibility. She’d always known he was a good man. She wouldn’t have slept with him otherwise. And she’d sensed his nobleness even when he refused to give her the answers she needed. Which was why her feelings and emotions regarding this enigmatic man were bizarre, conflicting, and now that she’d slept with him, even more complicated.

He turned her toward him. “I’ve swept this place for bugs but I’m not about to risk a lengthy discussion here.” He still spoke at barely a whisper.

Ariana remained silent, the enormity of what he’d revealed just now settling over her. Not his occupation, which was enough of a shock, but the fact that he’d trusted her with the information. She understood what that must have cost him.

The most she could do in return was accept his request to remain silent. Reaching out, she cupped his cheek in her hand. “You didn’t sleep with me because Damon said you should stick close to me.”

“Did it feel like that’s why I slept with you?”

She sealed her lips over his in reply.

Connor pulled up to a small house in a town about thirty minutes from Damon’s casino. The outside was well maintained, unlike the dilapidated older houses surrounding it. He double-checked the number against the paper Maria had given him, before climbing out of his car and walking toward the front door.

He’d been waiting for this moment for so long, his palms sweat like he was on his first date. In Connor’s life, not much affected him anymore. Until he’d met the dark-haired sexy woman with a smart mouth and an obvious reluctance to get closer-which was just fine with him since he didn’t want anything long-term or serious either. He just couldn’t get her out of his head and he hoped like hell this date would be a good start.

He was heading up the driveway when a young kid, probably a neighbor, followed a basketball that rolled across the grass and came to a halt by Connor’s feet. He appeared about six or seven years of age. His dark hair stood straight up as if he’d slept wrong, had a cowlick that wouldn’t tame, and had been avoiding a hairbrush for days.

“Hey, mister.”

Connor knelt down on one knee. “Hey, yourself.”

“Whatever you’re selling, we don’t need.” The boy puffed out his chest as if he were the man in charge and stared Connor down.

Connor could well relate to the kid’s bravado, having been a similar tough guy in his day, and he stifled a laugh. “Don’t worry. I’m no salesman. But who are you anyway, the neighborhood welcoming committee?” he asked wryly.

The kid shook his head. “I just take care of what’s mine.”

“Then go on home and do that,” Connor said, chuckling. Gone were the days when a kid should play alone in the streets, and Connor glanced around, wondering if someone was looking out for him.

“I am home.” He pointed his thumb back toward the gray house and wrinkled his nose, looking at Connor as if he were a complete moron.

An uneasy feeling crawled up Connor’s spine at the same time he heard a familiar voice call out. “Joseph Anthony, get yourself into the house now!”

Connor stood, looking toward the house to see Maria standing beside the open screen door. Ignoring him, she waved toward the kid, motioning for him to come inside.

“Aw geez, Mom.” Joseph stomped up the driveway and into the house, ducking under his mother’s arm.

His mother. Holy crap, Connor thought.

Maria said something low to the kid, something Connor couldn’t hear, before she stepped back out onto the front porch and shut the door behind her. She folded her arms across her chest in the defensive posture Connor had come to recognize. “I see you found the place okay.”

“I have a good sense of direction,” he said, finishing the short walk up the stone path to the house.

She nodded. “You can leave now if you want to.”

He narrowed his gaze. “Tell me why you think I’d want to.” Stupid statement since he now understood her reasons for keeping him at a distance and putting off any overtures he’d made.

“Because you wouldn’t be the first, for one thing.” She studied him warily.

Hell, he thought, running a hand through his hair. He should have just accepted her signals and backed off. He was a guy who only knew how to take care of himself and chose his women accordingly. He’d made a promise at a young age-he’d never be a bastard like his father and run off on a woman and a kid. Someone who wasn’t an adult and wasn’t responsible for the choices of those around them. The easiest way to accomplish that had been to pick women who liked their affairs free and easy.

His nerves jumped as he walked up the two steps and joined Maria on the small stoop. He found himself at an unusual loss for words.

In full defensive mode, Maria stared him in the face, daring him to glance away or back down. “I’m sure your interest in me didn’t include a kid. Joey and I are a package, so now that you know, why don’t you save us both a lot of grief and take off.” Tension and distrust emanated from her in waves.

She was obviously testing him. Forcing him to make a decision before anyone got hurt. Smart woman, he thought. Once again he wished he’d heeded her signals, yet at the same time, he was still drawn to her, even more so now that he knew there was more to her than just the cocktail waitress he thought would be good in bed. Oh hell, he’d sensed that all along. Wasn’t that why he’d pursued her relentlessly?

“Maybe you underestimate me,” he said. Just as he’d obviously underestimated her.

She shrugged. “That remains to be seen.”

He glanced at her and felt his reserve softening. He’d only seen her at work, in a tight “Damon’s” T-shirt and black miniskirt. Now he viewed her in a different light. Dressed for their date, she wore a pair of black pants and a light blue sweater with a nice, deep V that accentuated her lush curves. Gone were the sneakers; in their place, black shoes with a slight heel. And when he looked into her wary eyes, he noticed she’d put on a minimal amount of makeup, enough to entice but no heavy artifice to cover the real Maria.

She hadn’t hidden a damn thing from him now. “You look nice.”

“Thanks,” she said, ducking her head.

He’d obviously taken her off guard and was about to do so again. “Where’s his father?”

She shrugged. “Couldn’t tell you. There’s fifty states. Since he’s not paying child support and my attorney can’t find him, I’d assume he’s somewhere in the other forty-nine.”

Connor nodded. So that explained her wariness. Abandoned himself, he understood. “And you expect me to run scared like he did.”

“Like I said, you wouldn’t be the first.” Her voice quivered despite the outward show of bravado, reminiscent of her son.

Connor turned and glanced at his car parked on the street. Freedom lay a few feet away. He rolled his shoulders, the pain lodged in his back intense. He should just walk down the steps, climb into the car, and take off, putting miles and distance between himself and Maria and her son. He wanted to run before he replicated the mistakes his father had made. Before he hurt a kid the way he’d been hurt. And if he spent any time with Maria and got to know her kid, that could be the end result.

But a distinct memory stopped him from taking off. The one of his mother, dressed for a date just as Maria was now, dropping Connor off at a neighbor’s who watched him when she had to work. He doubted he could call it babysitting, since no money was exchanged. They were two single parents doing each other favors in order to make ends meet. His father had already been long gone. And his mother had never come back. The neighbor, as nice as she was, couldn’t afford to keep Connor in addition to her two other kids, and his trip through foster care had begun.

Connor had always blamed his father for the kind of childhood he’d had, while making excuses for his mother’s decisions. Looking at Maria now, Connor was forced to acknowledge that he’d been wrong. His mother’s choices were as selfish as his father’s had been.

Maria waited, saying nothing while Connor sifted through his memories and his own choices. Here stood a woman who cared enough about her child to put his needs before her own, and he admired her for it.

And here he stood, a man who could follow his heart and get to know this woman or let fear rule his life and make him walk away. Connor swallowed hard. “Who watches him while you’re out?”

She tipped her head toward the run-down house next door. “A neighbor.”

Connor winced at the similarity. For years he’d worked with the kids at the center, and their stories didn’t affect him on a gut level. This woman and her child did.

Just go, a voice in his head yelled to him. Before it’s too late to get out. But then he’d never know what he was missing in life.

So instead he heard himself saying, “Why don’t you get him and we can all go out for a burger.”

Maria’s eyes opened wide, then a cautious smile tilted her lips and he relaxed a little more. He owed it to himself to take this chance and prove to himself he wasn’t like his old man. He hoped like hell he could handle it.