A tiny spot on the wall piqued my interest. At least I pretended it did. “Okay. Maybe I couldn’t have prevented what happened to you. But later. As a man. I should have seen—”
“All fed!”
I turned at Marj’s voice.
She whisked into the kitchen. “Jade ate it all, though she looked a little green. But I think she’ll keep it down.”
Talon smiled. “Good to hear. I need to go see how she’s doing. In bed all day?”
“Most of it,” Marj said. “She’s a little better now.”
He nodded and walked out of the kitchen.
Leaving me without the job I’d come for.
And in the presence of the most beautiful woman I’d ever laid eyes on.
“Ready for dinner?” she asked.
“Uh…sure. Where should I sit?”
“Wherever you want.” She set a salad bowl on the table and then went to the door and opened it. “Donny! Dinner!”
The little boy ran inside. “I’m starved!”
“Good.” She ruffled the hair on his head. “Go get your brother. Your dad is in his bedroom with your mom. Tell him to come on out and eat too.”
He trotted out of the kitchen.
She laughed. “That kid never walks. He trots. It’s the cutest thing.”
“He’s a great kid.”
“He really is.” Marj bit her lip. “I just can’t…”
I walked over to her and placed my hands on her shoulders. Her warmth surged into me, and though I was far from in the mood, my groin tightened. “I know. It’s horrible what he went through. His brother too. And Tal.”
She nodded, saying nothing, her eyes becoming shiny with tears.
“Hey. Don’t. Everything’s okay now.”
She sniffed back the tears and nodded. “I have to be strong for them. All of them.”
Strength. This woman had it in abundance. So much more than I possessed.
I wanted some of it.
Needed some of it.
Needed her.
Without thinking, I bent my head and pressed my lips to hers.
Chapter Three
Marjorie
Soft. So soft.