Sweet as Candy - Karla Doyle Page 0,34

hadn’t planned it, or thought she was ready to take that step, but in the moment, she’d been entirely ready. She’d been so caught up in the excitement, she hadn’t heard the toilet flushing. Jake’s ever-present, heightened awareness had saved her from traumatizing her child. Dating a cop had its advantages.

Dating a cop. Her eyes snapped open at the thought. A rosy-cheeked version of herself stared back from the glass. She and Jake were dating. Sort of. Given the circumstances stacked against them, she’d be crazy to want more than a few stolen hours on her couch. She had too much to lose to be crazy.

On the dresser, her cell phone chimed with an incoming text. A simple sound that made her heart do a little skip. She didn’t have many people in her contacts list, even less with whom she texted. The message had to be from Jake. Some quick repositioning of her clothes, some swipes and taps on the screen and there it was—a message from Jake.

Still thinking about you.

His four simple words inspired a smile she could feel all the way to her eyes.

I was just thinking about you too.

Good stuff?

Oh yes. Very, very good.

She hit send on the G-rated answer that contained R-rated subtext. A man with Jake’s intelligence, powers of observation, and flat-out sexiness wouldn’t miss the unspoken meaning in her message.

Three little dots moved in the bubble on Jake’s side of the screen. Asking for explicit details about her very good thoughts, probably. Or sharing his. After what she’d started in the hall, and the state he’d been in when he left, whatever he was typing would probably cause her phone to overheat.

You’re killing me, sweets. ;) Have a fun day with Macy. Can’t wait to hear about it later.

In her chest, her heart tumbled again. Instead of taking the bait and initiating a sexy conversation, he’d focused on her day, even though he wouldn’t be part of it. Things would undoubtedly get steamy between them later, yet he hadn’t alluded to that either. He looked forward to talking with her. Listening to her. Things that a good man and great boyfriend would want to do.

I’m taking Macy to the butterfly conservatory on Kossuth Road. We’ll be there at 10:30. It’s kind of magical there—if you’ve never been, you should go.

She held her breath and hit Send.

Since it wasn’t an outright invitation, he wouldn’t have to treat it as such. No pressure for him to accept or for her to have negative feelings if he declined. Either of those things could easily happen though, because dangling that kind of bait opened a messy can of worms. Ugh.

She couldn’t take her little fishing expedition back, but she could pull her line from the water and let him off the hook.

I have to get going. A little person requires my attention. Enjoy your day off.

Will do.

His reply popped up within seconds. A full two minutes later, no subsequent messages had appeared on Jake’s side of the conversation.

As the screen faded to black, the warm and fuzzies that’d overtaken her a couple minutes earlier faded, replaced by the cool void of disappointment. Served her right for having unrealistic expectations. For having hope about an impossible situation.

She shook her head and tucked her phone into her back pocket. It had gone silent, but the best sound in the world radiated from downstairs. She followed Macy’s blissful laughter to the living room. Sunshine streamed through the front window, bouncing off Macy’s hair where she sat cross-legged in front of the TV. A perfect little angel.

Candace didn’t need anybody else to have a great day. Today and every day, all she needed was Macy. So why did she still have that empty ache in her chest?

Jake

“Show her you understand that this invitation is a big deal by being on time. Oh, and wear a bright color. Attracting butterflies will earn you brownie points with her daughter.”

Those had been Megan’s suggestions when Jake called his sister for advice. Whether he should or shouldn’t go hadn’t come into question. After the initial shock that he was actively pursuing one woman, his sister had gone into cheerleader mode, assuring him he hadn’t misread Candace’s suggestion about meeting up at the butterfly place.

He sure as hell hoped Megan was right. Also, that she hadn’t been messing with him about the bright color thing. He’d find out soon enough.

A family of four entered the building ahead of him. Another half dozen people followed close behind