Is it wrong to want to strangle someone’s pet?

I’m in two minds about that damn bird. On one hand, the fucker made me bleed, but on the other, Tia taking care of me afterward felt pretty damn amazing.

What would she do if I asked her to kiss me better right about now?

Fuck it. I’m desperate enough to give it a try. I’ve been dying to feel her soft lips press against mine again since the day in my pool. “I think I need you to kiss me better,” I say, making sure to pout and give her my best puppy-dog eyes.

Her blue and green eyes narrow on me as she places her hands on her hips. “I already kissed your fingers better.”

I shake my head, a dramatic sigh leaving my lips. “It didn’t work. They still hurt like a bitch. I need you to kiss me properly to take my mind off the pain.”

She snorts, then her eyes widen, and her hand slaps over her mouth. “Oh, my Lord. That is so not attractive,” she mumbles.

“I’m still insanely attracted to you, so I’m going to have to disagree.” I reach for her hips and tug her to stand between my parted thighs. From this vantage point, I’m at face-level with her boobs. And I gotta say, I like it.

Tia’s fingers slide into my hair, then she fists it, tugging my head back until I’m looking up at her. Her gaze flits between my eyes, searching for something. I hope she finds it, whatever it is. Because god damn, I want her to kiss me.

A small smile curves her lips as she lowers her face to mine, brushing the briefest kiss across my mouth before pulling away. “Come on, everyone’s waiting on us,” she says softly as she straightens.

I move my hand from her hip to take hers as she leads me out of her room, back along the short hall, then into a small dining room off to the side.

Sure enough, four sets of expectant eyes lock on us the moment we enter, and suddenly, I’m nervous as shit all over again.

Tia must notice, because her fingers give my hand a small squeeze as we take our seats. She continues to hold my hand under the table throughout the meal, making my heart do this weird squishy thing inside my chest.

“You okay?” she whispers after everyone starts eating.

I nod. “Peachy, babe.” Clearing my throat, I tell her mom, “This is delicious. I haven’t had a home-cooked meal in forever.”

“Well, we’ll have to fix that, won’t we,” she says. When her gaze slides down to my bandaged fingers, she winces. “Lucky the season is over; we wouldn’t want you playing injured.”

“I’ve had worse,” I tell her. “Made a rookie error in high school. Just wasn’t thinkin’ straight. My head wasn’t in the game, and I tried to catch a fastball without my glove. Broke three fingers.”

Dax chuckles from his place at the end of the table. “Damn, güey, where was your head at?”

I shrug, chuckling with him. “I don’t even know. It obviously wasn’t that important. Probably some hormonal teenage shit,” I say then realize I just cussed in front of Tia’s mom. “Fuck, shit,” I stammer. “Christ.” I slap my hand over my mouth and close my eyes. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Riley,” I mumble through my hand.

The table erupts in laughter, and I pry one eye open. Even Tia’s mom is snickering.

“It’s okay, mijo. Everyone slips from time to time.” A kind smile graces her face.

My shoulders relax, and Tia squeezes my thigh, a cute little grin curving her lips.

“So much for making a good impression,” I grumble, embarrassment heating my skin. Caring what people think of you is shit.

* * *

It’s a week later, and I’m standing in a pair of tailored slacks and nothing else, preparing for a photoshoot for Lux Moisturizer for him. I’m trying to cool down—because it’s hot as balls in here—when my phone chimes with a new text. The photographer is messing with the settings on his camera, so I take the moment to slide my cell from my pocket and read it.

LENNON: I’ve checked your schedule. There’s a four-day window where you don’t have anything booked. I’m blocking it out for Vegas and securing flights and accommodation now. Any hotel preferences?

I’ve stayed in quite a few hotels in Vegas. They’ve all been nice. But Tia said she’s never been, and I want to make this trip memorable for her. I punch out my reply just as I’m called by one of the assistants.

BATES: Best of the best, Lenny. Make sure it’s special for Tia. Since she won’t let us pay her, let’s spoil the shit out of her instead.

I move my hand to slip my cell back into my pocket when the assistant approaches, hand outstretched. “I’ll look after that for you, Mr. Handler. Greer doesn’t want anything bulky in your pockets.”

“Oh, my bad,” I say, handing it over after locking the screen. I learned a long time ago that a cell without a lock code is a dangerous thing. Now you can’t get into anything, not even the camera app, without my fingerprint.

I’m shuffled around, fussed over, and placed in multiple positions over the course of the next few hours. By the time it’s all said and done, I’m tired and hungry. But I’m also happy. I enjoy this side of my job. If baseball didn’t work out for me, I always figured I’d go into modeling.

After retrieving my cell, I change into the sweats and T-shirt I wore here. As I walk the two blocks to the parking garage I left my car at this morning, I check Len’s response to our earlier chat.

LENNON: Done and done.

I can’t help smiling to myself as I maneuver my Jag through the ridiculous city traffic. Tia isn’t going to know what hit her.

I pull into my garage thirty minutes later then head inside. The sound of Tia’s voice echoes through the empty house as she sings along to… I tilt my head, trying to work out what exactly she’s singing as I search her out. I find her in the laundry room, folding towels while simultaneously belting out the lyrics to a song I don’t recognize.

Her earbuds are in, so she doesn’t hear me enter the space. I lean against the wall, appreciating the sight of her in a pair of cut-off shorts and a fitted green tank top. She used to dress in long black pants and a white button-down blouse thing when she worked. It took me almost a year to convince her she didn’t need to be so uptight and professional around me.

These days, she wears whatever she feels comfortable in, which makes me happier than I’d realized until this very moment—now that I’ve given myself permission to admire her and acknowledge the fact that she’s an insanely attractive woman, that is.

It took another few months for her to fully relax around me. That was when things started to really change between us. We were no longer simply boss and employee, but friends.

Only a few weeks after that is when she proved just how much of a good friend she is to me. Tia could have gone to the media when Kacey sought me out and convinced me the baby growing inside her was mine. It would have been a huge payday for Tia, if she’d wanted it.

Initially, I was shit scared she might say something. But I should have known better. The woman doesn’t have a selfish bone in her body. Instead of betraying my trust, she gave me a confidant. Someone to lean on and a judgment-free zone.

I’d let Kacey into my home, my life, and as stupid as it feels to admit now, my heart. But she’d turned out to be like every other woman I’d ever been with. She didn’t care about me; all she wanted was the life I could give her.

The memory of holding Lila in my arms right after she’d been born tears through me, forcing my hand to rub against my chest in a vain attempt to ease the pain.

My baby girl was the most perfect thing I’d ever seen. When she looked up at me with those big blue eyes for the very first time, I swear my heart stopped beating. I knew, without a doubt in the world, there was nothing I wouldn’t do for her.

My little Lila.

I swallow hard and squeeze my eyes closed as my soul shatters all over again, crushing pain engulfing me as I relive the debilitating moment when I found out she wasn’t mine. The ache inside me grows with each passing second until a soft hand caresses my cheek.

The gentle touch drags me from the devastation consuming me, making my eyes flash open, meeting Tia’s concerned gaze.

“Hey,” she breathes out, “what’s going on, big man?” She tilts her head to the side, examining every inch of my face, then swipes her thumb through wetness on my cheek.

Fucking fuck!

I squeeze my eyes closed again and grind my teeth; this is too fucking much. I should be over this, over Kacey and what she did to me, not standing here more than a year later feeling like a complete wreck.

Just as I place my hands on Tia’s hips to push her away, she wraps her arms around my shoulders, pulling me close as she buries her face in my neck and whispers against my ear, “There is no time limit on grief.”

My throat thickens as another swell of pain crashes over me, threatening to swallow me whole. My hands slide around Tia’s waist, and I cling to her, my life raft, my safe place in the storm that is tearing my heart to pieces.