“He won’t find me very welcoming.”
“I’m pleased as punch to hear it.” She put a heap of butter on top of the potatoes, added a bit of pepper, then stirred, grabbed a pair of plates, and dished up their dinner. “Honestly, I don’t know why that man thought I’d welcome him back in the first place.”
“Some men have difficulty with the word no. But if he turns up and struggles to comprehend, I’ll set him straight.”
She believed he would, and his protectiveness made something in her belly flutter.
Oh, hell. Don’t start that business. Giving in to flutters over a fine form and a pretty face is how you became a single mother in the first place.
“Thank you.” She set the plates on the placemats, then reached for her chair.
Zy sidled beside her and pulled it out. “Let me.”
As Tessa sat, she couldn’t seem to unglue her stare from him. That flutter strengthened to something more like a kick. “Thank you.”
Just because the man has manners doesn’t mean he likes you. And you don’t need another Romeo.
He sat beside her and dropped his napkin in his lap. “Everything looks and smells fantastic.”
“Dig in,” she encouraged, doing the same.
He forked in a bite of potatoes, then moaned. The sound was so sexual it sent a shiver down her spine. “This is amazing. I’d forgotten how much I love good mashed potatoes.”
“You didn’t eat them much in the service?”
“Their version, sure. But comparing yours to those would be like comparing a da Vinci to a kindergarten art project.”
Tessa laughed. Zy had a sense of humor, too? Where had he been when she’d had the misfortune of meeting Cash?
In retrospect, she couldn’t be altogether sad about that. Without him, she wouldn’t have Hallie, and she loved her daughter almost more than her heart could contain.
“I don’t know if I’ve mastered potatoes the way da Vinci mastered art, but I appreciate the compliment.”
He took a bite of the meat and shook his head as pleasure spread across his face. “And I might have to compare your meatloaf to a Shakespearian sonnet because it’s that damn good.”
“Now you’re just buttering me up. If you were hoping for dessert, sorry. I didn’t make any. I’m still trying to lose baby weight.”
He lowered his fork and stared. “You look good to me.”
Tessa turned hot all over. “Thanks.”
The moment hung between them. Silent. Still. Full of awareness. Or was that in her head?
It doesn’t matter, girl. Stop making eyes at the man. And remember the rule about fraternizing with the operatives? The colonel had it written into his employee contract, so he must take that seriously. You need this job. Don’t screw up. Besides, Zy can’t possibly find you attractive when you’re dirty and half-awake.
She cleared her throat. “So where are you from?”
“California. Bay Area. You?”
The way he spit out the words suggested he had no intention of going back, but she didn’t pry. “Never been there.”
He shrugged. “There’s some good stuff, but mostly…you’re not missing much. Where are you from? Where did you get that soft drawl?”
The caress of his voice made her shiver. “Rocky Top, Tennessee.”
“Never been there.”
Tessa couldn’t help but smile. “It’s beautiful, and I have to be honest. You’re missing a lot.”
“I probably am.” He shoveled in another couple of bites. “Tell me what I need to know about your ex.”
She hated talking about him, but Zy should know the basic facts in case Cash wasn’t in the mood to give up. “We met at the post office. The colonel asked me to mail some things for him, and he was picking up a package. We got stuck in the same line…”
“So you started dating?”
She nodded. “I hadn’t lived here long, and he seemed nice enough. It probably sounds stupid now, but the fact that he knew a lot of the locals and always had a wave and a smile convinced me he was a decent guy.”
“How long before you suspected he wasn’t?”
“That happened over time. I didn’t like the way he treated waitstaff. He was dismissive, like they were beneath him. I waitressed a lot in high school, and I knew the type. But I made excuses for him. In every other way, he seemed all right.” And she’d been so lonely, the pain of being a stranger when she’d always had so many friends had made her vulnerable to Cash’s smooth words.
“What then?”
“After we’d been out a few times and…I’d spent a couple of nights with him, he stopped calling as much. I was out to dinner with one of my neighbors, and I saw him pick up a redhead. When they left together, I knew where they were going, and sure enough, her car was parked in front of his apartment for the next few hours. Cash and I weren’t exclusive or anything, but…” She shrugged. “I’d convinced myself what we had meant something. Clearly, it didn’t. I called him the next morning and left him a message not to call me anymore.”
“Did he?”
“Yeah, but I didn’t answer. And he didn’t come around. It seemed fine, until I realized I was pregnant. So I had to call him again. He didn’t say much when I told him, but he promised he’d be there for me.”
“Was he?”
“For a while.” He’d certainly stayed for the hormone-induced sex at the beginning of her second trimester. In fact, he’d been so there for her then, she’d convinced herself that maybe they had a good relationship after all. “He disappeared for good around the middle of January. Hallie was born February fourth. I hadn’t seen him again until today.”
“He just showed up? Wanting what?”
“To see Hallie, according to him. But he seemed all too happy to tell me that he’d left because, by the end of my pregnancy, I looked like the side of a barn. But lucky for me, I’d got my body back and he wanted to pay particular attention to my breasts.”
Zy scowled. “What the…”
“Fuck? You can say it.”
“Since he sounds like a first-class asshole, I don’t know how to avoid saying it. The colonel said he threatened you?”
“Vaguely. ‘I’ll be back and I’ll make you pay.’ That kind of stuff.”
“Is he mean enough to follow through?”
Tessa considered the question. “Mean? I don’t know. Vain? Yes. I kicked him out and had him arrested. There’s one thing that man can’t take, and that’s an insult to his pride.”
“I know his type. He’ll be back.”
“I expect so. But you’ll have to be careful.”
“I will. I heard about Cash’s uncle, but all I have to do is get the bastard to throw the first punch.”
They finished their dinner, and just as she pushed her plate away, Hallie started to fuss. “I’d better go get her.”
“Do what you need. I might have seconds.”
Tessa smiled back at Zy. Despite the fact she was feeling awkward and too aware in his presence, she found him surprisingly easy to talk to. Easy to be with. But that only made her more aware of him. And she wouldn’t make the mistake of underestimating him. He might seem polite, but under his facade, he was all warrior.