Chapter 9

Miles sat on his couch like he did every night, waiting to talk to Tess, but she wasn't answering. At this point, he knew her nightly routine. He could ballpark how long it would take for her to tuck the kids in based on their previous conversations. She should be done.

He scrolled through TV channels and waited. Finally, his phone rang. "Hello."

"Hey."

"I'm glad you called. How was your day?"

"Crappy." She choked the word out.

Miles sat up straight and muted the TV. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Bad night at work."

"What happened?"

"A patient died."

Miles sat stunned. He didn't know what words of comfort to offer. She'd lost a kid. "I'm sorry. Tell me about it."

"I can't." She sniffed, and he realized that she'd started to cry.

Before he thought about it, he grabbed his keys. "I'm coming over."

"No," she whispered. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not." Then he realized he didn't know where she lived. "What's your address?"

"You can't come here. My kids."

What was the big deal? He wasn't suggesting getting naked in her living room. "I won't come in. We'll sit outside. It's a nice night."

Nothing but silence.

"Tess, you shouldn't be alone. You're upset. Let me be there for you." He thought he'd have to do some more convincing, but she rattled off her address. "I'll be there soon."

He drove to her house as fast as he could. The entire drive, he questioned what he was doing. No matter how many times he went over it in his head, he couldn't come up with an answer. All he knew for sure was that he hated the thought of Tess sitting alone and crying.

Hell, he couldn't even imagine her crying. She always had her shit together, like nothing affected her.

He parked on the street in front of her house and texted to let her know he was there. She responded that she'd be out in a minute.

He left his car and waited on the front porch. It was a nice brick bungalow on a quiet residential street. Looking down the block, he could picture families barbecuing and kids playing in the grass. It was the kind of neighborhood you saw in movies. He'd never considered what it would be like to live in such a place, but now he let his mind wander.

The front door opened, and Tess came onto the porch. She stopped and looked at him as if at a loss for words.

Instead of trying to figure out what to say, he stepped forward and wrapped her in a hug.

"You didn't have to come here," she mumbled against his chest.

"Yeah, I did." The truth of the statement surprised him.

Tess stood still and let him hold her for a minute before stepping away. "I told Zoe I was going for a walk."

He wasn't sure if she was hinting that he should go, or what.

She took his hand. "I try really hard not to lie to my kids, so let's walk."

"Okay." They held hands as they descended the steps and headed down the block. "Want to tell me about it?"

Tess shook her head, her ponytail flopping around with the movement. They walked in silence for about half a block. Then she said, "A patient died tonight. A little girl who had heart surgery. Multiple operations. We thought she was improving. I normally handle a death better than this."

"I think you're handling it pretty well. You watched a little girl that you cared for die. I wouldn't even know where to begin."

"It's part of the job that always hits me. I've never been good at turning off my emotions. But tonight, I can't get the image of her parents out of my head. They just crumbled. Their whole world. Gone. The way they held each other, like that was the only thing keeping them here." She sucked in a breath on a hiccup and swallowed hard. Miles stopped and held her again. This time she stayed in his arms until she calmed and the shuddering stopped. He rubbed a hand down her back, hoping to soothe her.

"Really. I'm not normally this emotional. It was Emily's death and then her parents' despair. Then to top it off, William."

"William?" Miles asked.

She nodded against his chest. "My ex. I left the hospital and had a bunch of texts from him asking why I was late. I was already in a bad place, so I didn't deal well with him."

"Why did you have to?"

She moved away, wiping her face. "When I work my Wednesday shift, my mom comes over in the morning to get the kids off to camp or school. William picks them up, feeds them dinner, and takes them to extracurriculars. I'm usually home by the time practice is done. Tonight I wasn't."

Miles got pissed off on her behalf. He wanted to let William know what an asshole he was being. "You had a good reason."

"I know. William does, too." She sighed again and crossed her arms, staring at her feet.

Miles didn't like the distance. "What is it?"

"I feel like a bitch for saying this, so if it comes out wrong, just… I don't know." She looked up at him. "William is always going to be in my life. Sometimes it's hard dealing with him, and I'm sure he'd say the same about me. But we're doing what we can. I don't need you to rush to my rescue."

"I'm not trying to?—"

Tess gave him a watery smile. "You are. Your whole body tensed when I talked about William."

"He should be nicer to you."

"Yeah, he should. And I should be nicer to him." She glanced up at the night sky. "Maybe he should be a topic we don't discuss."

He stepped closer and unfolded her arms so he could take her hand again. "In a perfect world, that might be a possibility, but like you said, he's always going to be part of your life. How about I promise to try to listen without getting pissed off?"

"Is that possible?"

"I said I could try. I don't want you holding part of yourself back because you think I'm going to get mad."

"What about you?"

"What about me? I don't have an ex who's an ongoing part of my life."

They continued their walk, still holding hands. "Oh, no, I don't think I want to hear about any of your exes. I was referring to not keeping things tucked away."

He couldn't help but laugh. "Are you trying to tell me you're the jealous type?"

"In general, no, but I don't think my ego is strong enough to hear about all the young, beautiful women in your life."

Her comment, while seemingly flippant, made him pause again. When he stopped, she looked up at him. "There is no line of women in my life."

Tess tilted her head and licked her lips before speaking. He wished he could ignore the movement or say it had no effect on him, but he would be lying.

"You have a history, as do I. My point is that our situations are different, and I'm not sure how to handle it. You tell me you don't care if I talk about my ex, yet I know I don't want to hear about yours. It's petty and unfair."

They walked in silence. Miles thought about everything she'd said. Seriously thought about it. With the women he'd been with in the past, he didn't discuss relationships. His last serious relationship had been in college, and back then, no one discussed exes because it always led to jealousy.

Miles wasn't jealous of her ex. The man had been stupid enough to let her go, so there was nothing to be jealous of. Past sexploits were fodder for conversations with friends, not the woman he was involved with. They turned the corner, and Miles saw Tess's house down the block.

Now a little ping of jealousy pricked him. He wouldn't be allowed in. Until that moment, he hadn't even realized he wanted to. He wanted to be part of her whole life, not just the pieces she carved out. He pulled her to a stop again, close enough to see her house, but far enough that they still had privacy.

"I'm not jealous of your ex. I got a little pissed off when you told me he'd done something to upset you, but you can talk about him without worrying that I'll start trouble for you. And I don't want to tell you about any previous lovers. They don't matter. All that matters right now is you and me." He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her to him.

He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her until it seemed as if the sadness weighing her down dissipated, until she melted against him and was completely in the moment. The kiss was slow and gentle, and although he wanted to continue tasting her all night, he released her.

"Better?" he asked, stroking his fingers over her knuckles. Her eyes fluttered open, and a slow smile crept onto her face. "I feel a whole lot better about a number of things."

"Then I'm glad I came over."

"Me, too."

Standing in the moonlight with a soft summer breeze blowing over them, an unusual level of contentment washed over him. "Now that we've got all the heavy subjects settled, let's move on to the fun stuff. What're the chances of me sneaking into your bedroom tonight?" Tess laughed, and the sound echoed down the street. Her shoulders shook, and more tears streaked down her cheeks. Her eyes were bright, and the sadness from earlier was buried. "I'm not a teenager anymore. What's worse, I have one, so I won't be setting that kind of precedent."

He snapped his fingers. "So I'm a few years too late for sneaking in."

"More than a few."

"What about sneaking out?"

"What?" He slid an arm around her shoulders as they walked toward her house. He pointed at the building.

"As you can see, it's still standing, and you've been gone for a half hour. How about a proper date? Let me take you out."

She sighed but leaned into him.

"I warned you I would want more. Can you get a babysitter for one night this weekend?"

"It's my work weekend."

"Then tell me what night we can go out."

"I'll call my mom and see when she's available."

His mood skyrocketed. He'd been prepared for her to turn him down. Arguments to convince her had been on the tip of his tongue.

She stopped two doors away from the house. "I'd rather you didn't walk me to the door. I don't want the kids to accidentally see you. I want to talk to them first. Prep them for the idea of me dating."

He pushed down the disappointment. Things would change. Soon.

"Okay." Instead of leaning in to kiss her again, he slid his arm off her shoulder and gave her hand a quick squeeze. "Call me tomorrow."

She nodded and walked toward her house, and he stood by his car to wait for her to open the door.

On the drive home, he considered how often he'd done the wrong thing when it came to women and relationships. He was far from perfect, but all of those mistakes had led him to tonight and knowing that Tess needed him.

That thought made him unusually happy.

When Tess walkedinto the house, her mind was stuck on Miles and his gentle touches and comforting caresses. While she hadn't completely broken down crying on his shoulder, she was confident he would've let her.

And the kiss…wow. Every time they came together was a slightly different experience with Miles. There was comfort and pleasure every time, but he continued to add layers. She headed toward the laundry room where a load of clothes would be ready to be switched over to the dryer.

Zoe stood in the kitchen, leaning against the counter, eating a bowl of cereal. Tess shot her a look. With her spoon, Zoe pointed at the clock on the stove. "You said be in bed by ten. I have time."

"Five minutes?"

"Plenty of time." She opened her eyes wide. "Did you have a nice walk?"

"Yes, I did. I feel much better." At least she wasn't lying to her daughter.

The daughter who now snickered at her. "Really, Mom?"

"What?"

"Do you think I don't know you're talking to some guy when you disappear into the laundry room like every night? A couple of nights might be believable, but every night? The machine drowns out your conversation, but I can hear you laughing."

She froze and stared at Zoe. When had her baby grown up and become so observant?

Zoe set her bowl on the counter. "It's no big deal. You have the right to go out and have fun."

"I don't need your permission."

Zoe smiled. "No, you don't. But you never date. You and Dad broke up a long time ago. He didn't sit around. He dated and now he's married to Margaret."

The emphasis Zoe placed on her stepmother's name was normal. No matter how many times she asked Zoe to be more polite, Zoe wouldn't give Margaret much of a chance.

"Your father…" She didn't know how to continue.

"He didn't have us. I get it, Mom. Half my friends' parents are divorced. They all share stories about who their parents are dating."

"I know you're trying to be nice, but I don't want dating advice from my fourteen-year-old. I also don't want to bring a man into your life until I'm sure of him."

"I didn't say I wanted to meet him. I'm just sayin' you should go on a date instead of sneaking around."

Tess almost laughed about being lectured by her daughter for sneaking around. "You're not bothered by me dating?"

"Why would I? Billy and Andrew won't care, either."

She hadn't been looking for the go-ahead from her kids. At least that's what she told herself. But having Zoe's nonchalant nudge eased the discomfort she'd been feeling about her relationship with Miles. "I'm glad you feel that way, because we're going on a date as soon as Grandma is free to babysit."

Zoe groaned as she picked up her cereal again. "I don't need a babysitter."

"But your brothers do."

"You can leave us alone. God, it's only a couple hours."

Now Tess did laugh. Loud enough that Zoe stuck her tongue out at her. "I'll leave you in charge as soon as you show me you can talk to your brothers without letting every little thing they do irritate you."

Zoe threw her shoulders back and lifted her chin. "Fine. I will." Then she slurped the milk from her bowl, set it in the sink, and kissed Tess's cheek. "Good night."

"Good night. I love you."

"Love you, too, Mom." She got to the door of the kitchen and paused. "I'm glad you found someone who makes you feel better."

Then she disappeared.

It was a little thing, but Tess smiled. Miles did make her feel better. She didn't often lean on other people. And he hadn't hesitated. He'd come over even though she hadn't asked him to. Even though she wouldn't invite him into her house.

She went to the laundry room and pulled the wet stuff from the washer and tossed it into the dryer. Her body went through the motions of her mundane tasks, but her mind was focused on Miles.

Although she'd pointed out she was far from a teenager, he had a way of making her feel like one again.

For the past week,Miles had felt mounting pressure from Sabrina to make things happen for the James Prescott Foundation. He'd already retained a team of lawyers to help push through the paperwork. He was in the process of creating a mission statement. In the meantime, he didn't want to abandon all the charities and people who also counted on the Prescotts every year.

Between the constant flood of meetings and Tess's weird schedule, he hadn't been able to see her since he'd gone to her house. And he was missing her. She'd finally agreed to a date, and here it was, Monday night, and he couldn't leave the office fast enough. He wanted every moment with Tess that he could steal.

"I can't stay out late, you know. It's a school night," she'd said when they'd spoken on her break at work. "That was the warning Zoe gave me."

He'd dutifully promised to have her home at a decent hour. With every conversation they had, she was opening up more. She'd begun to share stories of the kids, and Miles had learned not to bring attention to it, or she would get quiet again. He listened and drank in every detail so he could know her better.

As he left his office, he noticed Eleanor's desk was clear. She had small kids at home, and he never kept her late without warning. He turned off the lights and headed down the hall, trying to think about how he could give Tess both a fabulous date and have her all to himself tonight.

His phone rang with the ringtone he'd assigned to Tess. "Hello, beautiful."

She sighed a little. He loved catching her off guard. "How should I dress for our date?"

"You can wear whatever you want."

"No, I can't. Remember when we were supposed to eat at Agostino's for lunch? That's how I normally dress."

He leaned against the wall near the elevators and pictured her standing in front of her closet deciding what to wear. "Let me amend, then. Wear something nice, Theresa. We won't be eating takeout tonight."

"Are you going to tell me where we are going?"

"Nope. It's a surprise."

"I know you're probably used to women who squeal over surprises, but I'm not one. I like to know what's coming."

"You'll have to be satisfied knowing that I can promise you'll enjoy yourself."

"Not if surprises are involved."

"Trust me."

"I'm trying," she said softly.

Sabrina turned the corner toward his office at the end of the hall. Damn. He'd almost escaped.

"Am I allowed to come to the door to pick you up?"

"Umm…"

"If I need to text you from the car, I will, but I prefer to be a gentleman and ring the doorbell."

"Text when you're close. That way I can be ready to scoot out the door without worrying about having all eyes on you."

"I can withstand an inspection." How scary could a few kids be?

"I'm not ready for that yet."

While he tried to understand, her stance on him meeting her kids felt like she still wasn't sure of him, and it bugged the hell out of him. "I'll see you in about an hour."

"See you then."

He disconnected and slipped his phone back in his pocket as Sabrina neared.

"Cutting out early, little brother?"

"Six o'clock is far from early."

She arched an eyebrow.

"You're a workaholic. I choose not to be."

She tilted her chin at him. "Who are you dating?"

"Who said I was dating?" She rolled her eyes. "Don't you know by now that I monitor everything to do with this family? Your social media accounts have been quiet lately. No posts or pictures of you drinking with a lady on your arm."

"So by not taking pictures with a woman, you've deduced that I'm dating?"

"Absolutely. The people you pose with are unimportant to you. If you're not using her as a prop, it means you care about her. Who is she?"

"I think you should go home. You sound delirious."

She laughed. "That didn't work on me when you were a little boy and cute. It's really not going to work now. Spill."

"There's nothing to spill. I am seeing someone. It's nothing you need to concern yourself with."

"Who is she?"

"No one you would know. She doesn't travel in the same social circles."

"Where did you meet her?"

"At St. Mark's gala."

She snapped her fingers. "The nurse. I suspected when you were acting all squirrelly the week after, and Mom mentioned you met a nice nurse."

Miles stiffened at her comments. Sometimes having a nosey big sister sucked. "I'm never squirrelly."

"Keep telling yourself that." She eyed him up and down and then nodded. "Do we get to meet her?"

Miles tucked his hands in his pockets and shook his head. "We're not there yet."

Sabrina smirked. "Yet."

Shit. He'd forgotten it was Sabrina who'd taught him to listen to the small details when someone spoke.

He pressed the button for the elevator, the need to run intensifying. He pointed toward his office from where she'd come. "Did you need something?"

"I left a file on your desk. It'll keep until tomorrow. Have a good time on your date. I hope you're planning something better than getting drunk at a nightclub."

"Te—not the kind of date this woman would enjoy." He'd almost given her Tess's name.

Of course, Sabrina caught the near slip. "I look forward to meeting the woman who has you being discreet." The elevator dinged, signifying his escape. "See you tomorrow."

With a wave, he stepped away and tried to ignore the look on his sister's face.

Tess stoodin front of her closet and regretted turning down Nina's and Evelyn's offers to let her borrow something to wear for her date tonight. What the hell had she been thinking?

That Miles would pick her up, they'd grab some takeout, and go back to his place. That had been the extent of the majority of their "dates," which was fine with Tess. She huffed out a breath. When Miles said he wanted more, she hadn't considered he meant more than just extra time with her. He wanted to actually date.

She didn't know why she found that surprising. Pulling her little black dress from its hanger, she hustled to get ready. Her mom was already downstairs making sure the kids had had a plan for the night. Miles would be here soon and Tess was still wrestling with the idea of whether he should invite him in to meet everyone.

She stepped into the dress and shimmied to get it zippered. After a quick glance in the mirror for a makeup check, she spritzed perfume and went downstairs. Her stomach was rebelling against her. She shouldn't be so nervous. It was a date. Single moms dated all the time, right?

The kids were all sprawled on the living room furniture with the TV on. In addition, Zoe was staring at her phone and Billy had a book. But at least they were together.

Her mom came up behind her. "You look nice."

"Thanks." She looked at the huge bowl of popcorn her mom had made. "No more junk food. And they need to be in bed at regular time. School starts soon and they need to get back to routines."

"This is the only snack. We're watching a movie. Then everyone will go to bed. I know how to do this."

Tess felt stupid for saying it. It was her nerves making her dumb. She never had to tell her mom anything. Her mom went to the living room and handed Andrew the bowl. Then she came back to stand near Tess.

"Are you all right?"

Tess swallowed. "Yeah. I'm out of practice."

Her mom crossed her arms.

"I've barely dated. I don't know if I should ask Miles in or wait until we know what we're doing or what." She looked at Helen but didn't expect advice from her mom. Tess had never known her mom to date. "Why didn't you date when I was a kid?"

"Who says I didn't?"

"But I never met anyone."

"No one was important enough to introduce to you. I dated quite a bit early on. Don't you remember spending nights at Grandma's house?"

Tess nodded.

"I dated then. But after a whole lot of dating, I learned I didn't need a man to be happy. I began making friends." She touched Tess's arm. "But if I found a man worthy, I would've brought him home."

"How do I know?" Tess whispered.

"Go with your gut. How do you feel about this man?"

"I like him a lot."

"But?"

"But I don't like the idea of introducing him to the kids if we're temporary." And how could they be anything but temporary? Miles wasn't looking to settle down. Even if he were, he wouldn't choose a woman eight years his senior with a ready-made family. He would want to start his own and Tess couldn't give him that.

Huh. Go figure. One quick conversation with her mom and she was able to figure things out. "Thanks, Mom."

"For what?"

"Everything you do. I won't be too late."

"If I get tired, I'll go to sleep. You just worry about having a good time. We have things handled here."

Her phone buzzed with a text. Miles was outside.

"Okay, guys. I'm leaving in a few minutes. Be good for Grandma. I'll see you all in the morning." She moved through the room giving each of them a kiss good night.

Zoe tsked. "What kind of guy doesn't come to the door to pick up his date?"

Tess suddenly discovered the downside to watching romcoms with her daughter. Her own comments were coming back to bite her. "He will come to the door, just not through it. But don't get any ideas. When you start dating, I expect a full introduction."

"So it's do as I say not as I do?"

"You got it." Tess patted her on the head.

The doorbell rang. Billy perked up and leaned over to see. Tess shook her head at her nosey kids and answered the door.

Miles stood on the porch with a bouquet of flowers. Tess's heart dipped. He handed her the flowers and kissed her cheek. "Hi."

"Hi," she said. "Let me run these inside."

The door opened behind her and Zoe stood there, hand out to accept the bouquet.

Tess glared at her. "It's not nice to spy on people."

"I'll take care of these for you. Be glad I beat Billy and Andrew to the door. Have fun." She nudged Tess and wiggled her fingers at Miles but said nothing. Then she slid back through the door and locked up.

"I take it that was Zoe."

"Of course."

He flicked a thumb over her shoulder. "I think we have an audience."

Sure enough, all three kids and her mother had their faces pressed against the front window.

"Shall we?" Miles asked. He bent an elbow for her to take his arm.

"Thank you."

"I haven't even done anything yet."

"You're here and not pressuring me to meet them even though they're so damn nosey they're staring at you."

"I told you we'll do this at our pace." He opened the car door for her.

"It wasn't my idea to go on a date tonight."

"Well, your pace within reason. If I left it completely up to you, I'd be nothing more than a midafternoon booty call."

Tess laughed as she sat and he closed her into his car. He rounded the hood and Tess couldn't get over how good he looked. Almost every time she'd seen him, he wore a suit, but she didn't tire of it. He had some scruff along his jaw as if he was too busy to shave this morning. His sunglasses shaded his warm brown eyes, but when he looked at her as he climbed in, she knew those eyes were filled with heat.

Heat and desire she could handle. Sharing time for now wasn't a problem. As long as she remembered all the reasons why this wouldn't be permanent, she'd be fine.