Emily took a deep breath. She blew a kiss at him. “Kiss …”
He pumped his eyebrows and gave her such a sexy, smoldering look that she swayed on the spot. It was all she could do to keep going with the farce.
She pointed to herself. “My …”
His smile grew. He knew where she was going with this, and he was daring her to finish. Oh, she’d finish.
Whipping around, she pointed at her rear. “Behind,” she mouthed at him, not wanting Krew to hear how crass she was being.
Caleb threw back his head and laughed so loud, it was impossible not to join in with him. She was glad he hadn’t been offended by her teasing and she had an overwhelming feeling that she’d just met her match.
Krew whipped around and asked, “What? What did you say, Mama?”
“Never you mind, my sweet boy.” She took his hand firmly. “Goodbye, Mr. Jewel,” she called over her shoulder.
“No, no way.” Caleb strode determinedly toward them. “If you won’t let me walk you home, you have to at least give me your phone number.”
“No.” She was tempted, but she was only eight months out of a horrific marriage, and despite all her sass, she wasn’t quite ready to rock the boat with Jeff yet.
She’d been awarded a huge child support settlement because of how well her ex did with football and the fact that she hadn’t been working at the time. Jeff had been granted one weekend a month and six weeks in the summer with Krew. She hadn’t wanted to take away his rights with his son, but the custody arrangement had terrified her. Jeff had been a good guy when they’d married, but a combination of his natural aggression and far too many vicious hits to the head had made him unstable emotionally and often downright mean. In his more lucid moments, he used to recognize that he scared her and Krew. Lately, he just seemed crazy.
He’d taken Krew on his first weekend away after the divorce, and Krew had come back with a terrified look in his eyes and would only tell her that “Daddy was scary.” Emily cornered Jeff, demanding to know what he’d done to their child. The judge and family case workers had claimed that Jeff could be trusted with their child, and the lawyers had convinced her that it was a good custody arrangement, but Emily had known right then that she should’ve fought harder for only supervised visits. Jeff had claimed that he hadn’t “coddled the wimp” like she always did, and maybe if their son played a real sport, he wouldn’t be “such a wuss.”
She’d gotten fired up, and they’d fought. Emily couldn’t stand the thought of Krew being belittled by his own father for not playing his sport. She’d told Jeff she was giving up all child support and fighting for him to lose all visitation.
Then he’d surprised her by changing tactics, apologizing and saying maybe he’d been too hard on the kid. He’d asked her not to make them both go through court again. Last time, it had dragged his name through the mud and been hard on his football image and fan sales. Everything was about football and his image to him. They’d both spent a lot of his money on lawyers, not to mention sacrificed a great deal of time—Emily had to be away from Krew, and Jeff had missed important workouts and practices with the home evaluations and court-ordered appearances. He’d promised Emily that he would only come visit when she was present, that Krew would never have to be alone with him, and that she could keep the child support. His only stipulation was that she had to promise not to date anyone until they’d been divorced at least a year, giving the media a chance to settle about their publicized divorce by keeping her out of the limelight and not getting photographed with other men. Then he would leave her and Krew alone.
She’d agreed. It wasn’t in writing, but for the past eight months, he’d kept his end of the deal, hardly ever showing up at all, and she’d kept hers, not dating anyone. Though she’d been asked out often, it hadn’t been much of a problem … She glanced over the handsome face of Caleb Jewel … until now.
“No?” Caleb sidled in closer with a confident grin. “Did you just tell me no?”
Obviously, he’d never heard the word before, at least not from a woman he wanted to pursue. He didn’t believe she meant it now. Did he want to pursue her? The very thought gave her heart palpitations and good chills. Yet this man was a handsome, single playboy. He didn’t need or want the baggage of Emily’s ex, and she shouldn’t take a risk on a well-known lacrosse player who’d only want a fling. That would drive Jeff more nuts than usual. Not to mention that Krew already adored Caleb, and Krew would be devastated if Caleb ditched them for the next beautiful model.
“Let me spell the unfamiliar word out to you. N-O.” She grinned, enjoying their banter. “Deal with it, big boy.” She turned and walked away again.
“Meet me here tomorrow at five?” he asked behind them.
Krew looked up at her. “Please, Mama, please?”
It wasn’t a date, Emily reasoned. Caleb was working with Krew on lacrosse. Krew loved lacrosse. They’d just treat Caleb like a coach. Krew hadn’t played on an official team yet, but coaches came and went, and he’d have to learn how to deal with that. She wasn’t giving in to this impressive man, she was teaching Krew to be resilient for when Caleb inevitably left them both.
She glanced back at Caleb. “You pray extra hard, and we’ll see tomorrow night if your wish is granted.”
Caleb bowed slightly, his eyes glinting at her. “I’ll do that.”
She smiled as she tugged Krew along the sidewalk and to the pathway that led to their neighborhood. It wasn’t a date. She could easily justify spending more time around that beautiful man without feeling guilty that she was breaking her promise to Jeff. At the same time, she couldn’t remember when she’d last been this excited.