“Thank you, Scott.”
“You’re very welcome.”
Sam moved in closer and watched as Scott reached into his front pocket and pulled out a little car—a Lexus that matched his. He handed it to Sam, who then dropped the makeshift wizard wand in the floor.
“Cool!” He shouted as he ran toward the family room with his new treasure. His sister followed with her own bouquet of roses.
Scott stood up and grinned at Victoria. “And these are for you.” He stepped closer to her and pressed a kiss to her lips.
Victoria felt her breath catch in her lungs. It was a different feeling than when Christian kissed her. Oh, she’d been kissing too many people. She tried to relax against him, but that ball of regret that had settled in her stomach earlier now grew. Her only problem was she didn’t know which man she regretted.
He was still pressed up against her, the roses pressed between them, and he gazed into her eyes. “I missed you.”
“You haven’t been gone that long.”
“I know. I had to see you again. I have to fly back out tomorrow, but I wanted to be with you.”
Tears threatened to fall. What had she done? This man was never going to accept what she did with Christian last night. She couldn’t tell him she’d made an error in judgment. That wasn’t a way to start a relationship.
Well, it was one time and it was just that—an error in judgment. And she and Scott weren’t really dating—yet—or were they?
She took the roses and held them to her chest. “Thank you for these. They are beautiful.”
“They pale in comparison to you.”
That did something funny to her chest. It made it tighten. She gave him a smile and turned toward the kitchen.
“I wasn’t sure what you liked to eat, so I didn’t start anything yet.”
Scott followed her. “I thought I’d take you out to dinner. All of you.”
“You want to take us to dinner?” She gave him a quizzical look. “Three-year-olds are picky.”
“I like pizza.”
The smile was now genuine on her lips. “I know a few kids who like pizza, too.”
She turned and opened the cabinet above the refrigerator for a vase, only to quickly remember she’d put Christian’s flowers in the only vase she had. She shut the door and fast. From another cabinet she took out a pitcher, filled it with water, and set the roses inside.
“I’ll arrange them later.”
“I like the pitcher. Do you need a vase? I know I have a few at my place.”
She swallowed hard. “I have one somewhere,” she said quickly, before anyone else heard and told her where the vase actually was. “Let me get their stuff together.”
She hurried to gather the items they would need for an hour outing.
“Oh, and don’t let me forget to get my seats from your car.”
His nose crinkled up. “Yeah. I’m sorry I forgot them. That’s some of why I came back tonight, too. I knew you’d need them. I probably made your day harder. I’m so sorry.”
She stood there staring at him. Maybe he was Mister Right. A man who took responsibility and said he was sorry was a keeper, right?
They ate pizza and played video games on quarters Scott had gathered from the coin collection in his car. He’d pulled over at a park and pushed the kids on the swings and caught them as they went down the slide. And as if the night hadn’t turned into the most fun night of their lives—he took them all out for ice cream. Somewhere, he’d admitted to never seeing the movie Brave, so Sam and Ali insisted that he watch it with them. Ali donned her Merida dress and wig and Sam curled up on Scott’s lap, but was quickly asleep.
When the movie was over, Scott helped her tuck in both kids, pick up the miscellaneous toys which had been haphazardly strewn through the house, and he stayed to watch a rerun of NCIS.
“Whose you’re favorite on the show?” he asked her as she rested against him on the couch, her feet tucked up under her and her face on his chest.
“Gibbs.”
“Really? I figured you’d be a Tony DiNozzo kind of woman.”
She sighed, “Why do you say that?”
He absentmindedly played with the strands of hair over her shoulder. “I don’t know. He reminds me of Christian.”
“Christian?”
“Sure the good-looking, athletic type that is always in search of something.”
She had to agree, though she’d never thought of him quite like that. “You know that Christian and I have long gone our separate ways.”
“I know. I’m not the jealous type, even if he did keep falling over himself at the wedding.”
If he had, she hadn’t noticed—mostly because she felt as though she’d been the one falling all over herself. But with his comment, she wondered if he knew about them staying at the hotel. Surely he’d say so—or he wouldn’t be there.
When the episode was over, Scott gave her a squeeze with his arm around her shoulders and stood. “I should be heading home. I have to go back for the rest of the week so we know all the details.”
“Wasn’t it just a DUI?”
“So much more. I just can’t talk about it.”
She nodded. “Right.”
Scott gathered her in his arms and pulled her close. “I’ll call you. And maybe next week we can take the kids to a movie.” He brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “When they are more comfortable around me, maybe it won’t be so weird when they wake up and I’m here.”
She inhaled sharply at that as his mouth came down on hers in a warm and passionate kiss.
The next week passed and, just as Scott had promised, they’d taken the kids to a movie.
And it had been another week that she dreamed about the night she’d spent wrapped in Christian’s arms.
Scott’s kisses were nice, but they weren’t Christian’s.
His words were sweet, but they didn’t make her heart race.
Every day that passed, she wondered why she’d walked away so angrily after they’d spent that one night together after the wedding. What would it have hurt to give him an opportunity to prove that he’d changed? He could have. When he’d said those hurtful things to her, both of their lives had been turned upside down.
Scott wrapped his arm around her shoulder as they walked down the street with the kids before them. Ali on her bike and Sam on his tricycle. “Are you okay?”