“That’s okay, Dane, I won’t tell her you called.”

“Will you do it? Tomorrow morning? Let them both off the hook?”

“Yeah, Dane, I’ll call.”

“We’ll come back Saturday, so we’ll have another day and they won’t feel they’ll be screwin’ up my vacation with my folks and Katy’ll let me stay home so I can be around… um, for her, you know…”

Shit, but I liked this kid.

“Tell your folks I’ll keep you fed. You want…” Damn, was I gonna do this? Yes, I was gonna do it. “You can tell them I’m lettin’ you sleep on the couch.”

Mike made a choking noise that sounded like swallowed laughter.

I glared at him.

“Yeah?” Dane asked in my ear, cut up because Kate was cut up about her uncle, not wanting to be far from his girl and the couch was as close as I wanted him to get.

“Yeah, Dane.”

“Okay,” he said and he sounded relieved. “Gotta go, thanks Miz Winters.”

“Yeah. Bye Dane.”

“Later.”

I slid my phone closed and Mike slid it out of my hand and threw it on his nightstand then he turned back to me.

“Sweetheart, you are the biggest f**kin’ pushover I’ve ever seen.”

I slid my ass down his bed, pulling his shirt down as I did it so as not to expose my panties and begged him, “Please, shoot me.”

“It’s a six thousand dollar bed, darlin’, I don’t want a bullet hole in it.”

I glared at him again then I threw my arm over my eyes.

He pulled the ice cream out of my hand, I felt him turn in the bed then he came back and pulled me into his arms.

I shifted so my hands were on his chest and I looked up at him.

“Talk to me,” he ordered quietly.

“Well,” I pressed closer, “Dane says that Kate and Keira are havin’ loads of fun but it’s all an act. He says they’re sad, just coverin’ it up. He says they want to be home, they’re talkin’ about me all the time. But he reckons they aren’t askin’ to go home because they think I want them to say. And he says I should call, say I want them to come home and that’ll let them off the hook. But if I give them another day there, they do their duty to Dane and his folks but also get to come home to me. Dane drove down too so they’d have an extra car if the kids wanted to go out and do something so he can drive them back.”

“Good kid,” Mike muttered.

“Yeah,” I grinned at him, “Kate didn’t inherit much from me but she got my taste in men.”

Mike burst out laughing and rolled into me, his face going in my neck where he kissed me then his head came up.

“Kate’s exactly like you.”

I blinked at him. “What?”

“Kate. She’s you. Totally.”

“She looks like Tim.”

“Yeah, but she acts like you, walks like you, smiles like you. Keira has your smile too.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, honey. They’re gorgeous but when they smile…” he let that hang and he grinned at me.

I moved my hand from his chest to his face and whispered, “Mike.”

He turned his head and kissed my palm. Then he dipped his head, touched his mouth to mine and my arms wrapped around him.

“I like bein’ here, with you,” I said against his mouth.

His head came up and his eyes caught mine.

“I like it too, sweetheart.”

Then for some reason killing a great mood, I blurted, “I didn’t get things sorted with Joe today.”

His brows drew together and he asked, “You didn’t talk to him?”

“I did, he kind of… didn’t listen.”

Mike rolled away to his back but I kept hold of him and went with him as he muttered, “Fuck, Vi.”

I got up on an elbow and looked down at him. “You can step back, honey, while I sort this out with him.”

His eyes locked on mine. “You want me to do that?”

I did, to be fair to him.

And I didn’t, to be totally selfish.

“Yes, to be fair to you,” I said and felt his body tense. “No, to be totally selfish,” I finished, voicing my thoughts aloud then I said, “but I know now where Joe’s at and if I wasn’t me, but your friend, I’d advise you to step back.”

“I gotta worry about this shit?”

“No.”

He studied my face then he said, “You sure?”

“No.”

He looked at the ceiling. I dropped down and pressed my forehead to his chest.

After awhile, I felt his hand slide into my hair.

“This a ‘may the best man win’ situation, sweetheart?”

“I’m not a prize, Mike,” I told his chest.

“Yeah you are, Vi, the best f**kin’ prize there is.”

My head came up and I looked at him. “We’re talkin’ hearts, here. You don’t play games with hearts.”

He got up on his elbows but didn’t break eye contact as he declared, “You’re wrong. Only games worth playin’ are games of the heart.”

“Someone loses,” I whispered and he grinned, did an ab curl and his arms wrapped around me.

He rolled me to my back, covered me with his body and put his mouth to mine before he whispered, “Tonight, I win.”

Then he kissed me.

Then he set about winning me.

At least for the night.

And he did.

Chapter Sixteen

Gotta Remind You

The next morning late, Mike leaving me at his house in his bed after I gave him a drowsy kiss and went back to sleep as he went off to work, I got up, took a shower, got ready for the day at Mike’s house and I went home.

I had Mooch in one arm, my bag dangling from my hand, my remote and key in my other hand and I let us in, dropping my bag and Mooch who started instantly yapping his puppy yaps toward the kitchen.

As I closed the door, I turned that way and stared.

Joe was standing there, hand leaned into the counter, phone to his ear, eyes, or I should say irate eyes, pinning me to the spot.

“Yeah,” he said into the phone, his eyes never leaving me as I stood frozen, staring at him. “You got it. Don’t worry.” He paused then he said, “Yeah, even when you get back.” He paused again then said, “I’ll tell her.” Another pause then, “Yeah, later girl.”

Then he flipped his phone shut and tossed it on the counter.