Many times, I’d imagined the kiss that hadn’t happened.
Many times, I’d wished it had.
My skin prickled.
I wanted to see Bryce.
I wanted to see him badly.
I opened the door.
Chapter Two
Bryce
“Hi, Bryce.”
Marjorie Steel.
Damn.
I remembered when she was born. I remembered a pink-faced baby, a cute toddler, a gawky preteen.
I remembered a hot eighteen-year-old going off to college.
I remembered telling myself she was no longer jailbait.
Then I remembered thinking my best friend would pummel me for even having that thought.
That particular thought was tame compared to what I was thinking now.
She was five feet ten, model gorgeous, and those deep brown eyes could melt me with just a look.
Plus, she was great with my son. What a plus.
Damn again.
I wanted her.
But I was a fucking mess. I couldn’t even take care of my own son. He was with my mom, and though I was living with them, I’d hardly been hands-on lately. Thank God for my mom. And thank God for Henry. Henry had saved my mom after she’d found out the truth about my father.
Henry had given her a reason to stay sane.
He’d given me a reason as well, but with Mom taking care of him—needing to take care of him—I’d been free to wallow in the mess that had become my life.
Marjorie widened those gorgeous baby browns. “Bryce?”
Oh, yeah. I hadn’t said anything yet. I cleared my throat. “Is Tal around?”
“He should be here any minute. You want to come in?”
“Yeah. Sure.” I stepped into the foyer. “I went to Joe’s first. No one answered.”
“He and Melanie went into town for dinner.”
“Oh.” I cleared my throat again.
“We’re going to eat soon. I’m making pepper steak and twice-baked potatoes. There’s plenty. Would you like to stay?”