The show ended far sooner than she wanted it to. That meant letting go and returning to reality. After a moment, she reluctantly untangled their hands, sat up and noticed her son was out cold. She ran her hand over his forehead, brushing the sandy strands from his eyes. He didn’t even flinch. “I think we wore him out.”
Xander sat up beside her. “With all the junk he ate, I’m not surprised. The higher the sugar high, the harder the crash. No problem, though. We’ll get him home.”
Rose watched him lift Joey with gentle ease. She folded up their blanket and they walked with the crowds back to the parking lots. Xander placed Joey into the back of the car and belted him in.
She’d been amazed at how he’d been with Joey tonight. At first, she’d been worried. It was just like Christie to throw a wrench in their plans. But then it was as if a switch had flipped. Xander seemed to shed his worries like a snake skin and leave them behind. He and Joey had enthusiastically played games and gone through the haunted house. They’d all gotten their pictures taken in the photo booth. He’d even talked the guy manning the swinging pirate ship into letting Joey ride it.
They were little things, but they made a huge difference. She’d never seen Joey’s face light up the way it had tonight. It made her very happy to see them together. It also made her incredibly sad that she’d waited so long to bring Xander into Joey’s life. It had been the right thing for Xander’s career, she was certain of that, and it had saved her the humiliation of begging him to come back for their child’s sake, but it hadn’t been the right thing for Joey. Craig had done a wonderful job but it wasn’t the same.
Xander gently shut the car door without waking Joey. “You should be all set.”
Rose looked up at his face illuminated by the overhead lights in the parking field. The shadows played across the sharp angles of his face, making him look handsome and devious all at once. A part of her had broken inside the day she left him, but there was just something about this man she couldn’t resist. She wasn’t certain if it was the sly smile or the soulful eyes, but she was lost the moment he looked at her. Even with a Batman mask painted on.
“Follow me home,” she said quickly before she lost her nerve. She knew that it wasn’t the smart choice, but she didn’t care. Rose had no doubt that Xander would always be a part of Joey’s life. Hers...she needed to take what she could get, while she could. Soon he would return to D.C. and the glamorous women there. Eventually, one of them would be Joey’s stepmother. But now, tonight, Xander would be all hers.
“Sure,” he said. “I know he’ll be hard for you to get out of the car by yourself.”
Rose frowned and shook her head. That was sweet, but obviously, she wasn’t being clear enough about what she wanted. “Well, yes, but that’s not why I want you to come home with me.”
His hazel eyes locked on hers as he caught her meaning. He swallowed hard, his jaw tensing. “Are you sure?” he asked.
“No, but it doesn’t matter. I want you. If you want me, follow me home.”
Xander nodded and took a step back, his expression hard to read. His Lexus was parked on the other side of the field. She watched him walk away, not entirely certain if she would see his SUV behind her or not.
They made their way out onto the highway with the rest of the crowd. Rose’s eyes kept darting nervously into her rearview mirror as she drove, watching for his steady headlights behind her. When they passed the turnoff for him to head back to the farm and he was still there, her heart started pounding frantically in her chest. She wanted Xander, and at least for tonight she was going to have him.
Now her only concerns were about how things had changed. The last time they’d made love, she was a fit and firm young teenager with a flat, bare-able belly you could bounce quarters off of. She had worked hard to keep up her figure over the years, but she’d had a baby. She’d breast-fed. She’d aged. Rose thought she still looked pretty good when she strutted in front of the mirror naked, but there would be no quarter bouncing tonight.
She took a deep breath as she pulled into her apartment complex and parked her car. Xander pulled up alongside her and got out. He shot a wide grin of anticipation at her that made her skin start to flush and her belly tense. Her hands were nearly shaking as she opened the car door. Xander winked before dipping down and hoisting Joey out of the car. They went inside together and got him settled into bed.
Rose pulled off Joey’s shoes and tugged down his jeans. He could sleep in his T-shirt and tighty-whities tonight. She did want to get off some of that face paint, though. She got a makeup-removing wipe from the bathroom and gave him a few good swipes. Joey whined and squirmed a little in his sleep, but he didn’t wake up. She turned on his white-noise machine and joined Xander back in the hallway.