She held up her hand. “Okay, wait a minute.”
“No. I’m not going to wait. And I don’t think you should wait anymore either. You put your life on hold for me. And really, I get that. I appreciate it. But I’m not a baby anymore. Let go, Mom.”
She stood there, speechless, looking at her little boy who had grown up and was now giving her advice. “I guess you have grown up. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. Just stop using me as an excuse for not doing what you really want.”
She inhaled, let it out. “Do you think I’ve been doing that?”
“Not always. But with Mick? Yeah. And stop it.”
She nodded, flabbergasted at her son, who had somehow grown up when she wasn’t looking. “Okay. I will.”
“I like him, too, Mom.”
She sucked in a breath, realized she hadn’t been the only one to love Mick.
“I know you do.”
“He’s not a bad guy.”
“No, he’s not.”
“Even if you don’t get back with him, I want to be friends with him. Would that be okay?”
She sat on the brick wall and held her son’s hands. Surprisingly, he let her. “That would be fine. I can’t think of anyone who’s a better person to be in your life than Mick.”
Nathan grabbed her up into a fierce hug that brought a rush of tears to her eyes.
“I love you. Gotta go. Bye.”
“Bye.” She laughed through the tears as he ran off with his friends.
“Go find Mick and tell him you love him,” Nathan yelled when he was halfway down the parking lot.
Tara was mortified, but the kids all laughed, and Bobby’s parents just waved and shook their heads.
Oh sure, her kid dropped this epic pronouncement about maturity and love on her, then ran off for pizza. He’d understood it all so easily, when she clearly hadn’t.
Youth. She certainly hadn’t been that smart when she was his age.
She got into her car and started it up, then made the turn for home, got a block down the road, and abruptly pulled onto the freeway.
Nathan was right. It was time to stop being scared and stop making excuses.
She knew what she wanted, and it was time to go get it.
TWENTY-ONE
MICK HAD JUST FINISHED TAKING A SHOWER WHEN HE heard the doorbell.
“Shit.” He grabbed a pair of pants and shrugged into them, throwing the zipper up while flying down the stairs. He’d ordered the pizza, figuring it would be at least an hour before it arrived.
He grabbed his wallet and pulled the door open.
It wasn’t the pizza guy. It was Tara.
“Oh. I thought you were pizza delivery.”
She swallowed, her throat working as she did it again. “No pizza here. Sorry. Can I come in?”
“Sure.” He stepped out of the way and closed the door behind her. “I was in the shower.”
“I can see that.” Her gaze raked over his chest and lower, and damn his dick for noticing her lingering where he hadn’t bothered buttoning his pants. “Want something to drink?”
“Water would be good.”
He went to the kitchen and filled up glasses with water for both of them, dragging his fingers through his still-wet hair before carrying the water out.
“Thanks.”
“Sit down.”
She did, took a couple swallows of water, and set the glass on the coffee table. “You were at Nathan’s game tonight.”
“He invited me. I tried to stay out of your line of sight, figured you wouldn’t be happy if you knew I was there.”
“About that ...”
“Look, I stayed hidden. There was no media. I fired Liz, so she won’t be getting in your way.”
Her gaze snapped to his. “You fired Elizabeth?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
“You know why.”
“Mick. I hope you didn’t do that because of me.”
He took a seat in the chair. “Partly because of you. Partly because of me and what I want from my career. And what I don’t want anymore.”
“What don’t you want?”
“I don’t want all the media attention, all the models and actresses and movie premieres and the other stuff.”
“What do you want?”
“I want to play football for as long as my body will let me, and for as long as I can do a good job at it. And I want a wife. A son. Maybe another kid.”
She swallowed. “Ready-made family, huh?”
Her voice had gone hoarse. There were tears in her eyes. He moved to the couch. “I’ve known what I wanted since that night several months ago when I met this beautiful woman in a ballroom. She was perfect for me.”
She blinked, and her eyes went soft and dark. “Is that right?”
“Yes. I knew then there was something special about her. I didn’t exactly know then that I wanted to marry her, but I know that now. I love you, Tara.”
Tara lifted her gaze to his. “I knew that night there was something special about you, too. But I was scared. I’ve never been lucky in love.”
He tipped her chin with his fingers. “Time for your luck to change.”
He brushed his lips against hers, and she sighed. He gathered her against him, so damn happy she’d come to him that his heart felt like it was swelling inside his chest.
He wasn’t a guy who was used to emotion, but he felt tears pricking his eyes. He shut them out and concentrated on the way Tara made him feel. Happy. Perfect.
And when her body touched his, all he felt was heat. Her hair brushed against his arm, and he lifted his hand to sweep along its length, tangle his fingers in it, and tug on it a little. She moaned against him and pulled her lips from his.
“I love you. I’ve missed you. I’ve been so stupid.”
He put his finger against her lips. “That’s over now. The past is always over. You only have to think about the future.” He pulled her onto his lap. “I’m going to make love to you, then we’re going to talk about that future. I’ve missed being inside you.”
She held on to his arms. “God, I’ve missed that, too.”
He pulled her sweater off and dragged her T-shirt over her head, laid her on the couch, and licked over the swell of her br**sts. The taste of her set him on fire, the need to feel her hard ni**les against his tongue overruling his desire to take things slow. He unclasped her bra and pulled it away, then took her ni**les in his mouth, rolling his tongue over the hard buds until she arched and fed them to him. He sucked and licked her, and she writhed against him until his c**k was about to bust the zipper on his pants.