Page 61 of The Hook Up
“How come?” Henry asked.
So it’ll earn you a fine piece of ass, growled his father’s voice in the back of his head.
But Ty shoved it aside, determined to do a better job of this than his old man had. “Because it’s the right thing to do,” he said. “A gentleman tries not to do things to make ladies uncomfortable,” he said. “Like trying to look at their boobi—at theirbreastswhen they don’t want that.”
“Oh,” said Henry, sounding genuinely thoughtful.
“A gentleman does kind things instead,” he said. “Like holding doors open for ladies and saying please and thank you.”
“And keeping my pirate parts to myself,” Henry added.
“What?” The kid had lost him there.
Henry nodded, his expression serious. “I told the babysitter I had a penis, and Uncle Jason said I needed to keep my pirate parts to myself.”
“Oh.” Ty nodded, doing his best not to laugh. “Right. Your private parts. You should definitely keep those to yourself.”
Ty scanned the waterpark to find Ellie striding back to where she’d left him, brow furrowing as she saw the table abandoned. He waved an arm, trying to catch her eye as a group of giggling kids hurried past. When she spotted him, she broke into a smile. She started toward then, damp blond ponytail trailing behind her.
Feeling warm all over, Ty looked down at Henry. “So does all that make sense to you?”
Henry nodded and wiped a trail of water off his cheek. “Yes,” he said.“I would like to learn how to be a gentleman,” he said. “The nice kind, not the ghost kind or the bad guy kind. I want to be agoodgentleman.”
As Ellie emerged up the ladder, Ty let his gaze drift over the droplets of water glistening on the tops of her breasts. He ordered himself to knock it off, dragging his gaze to her face instead.
“You and me both, kid,” he said. “You and me both.”
CHAPTER13
“Thanks again, Ty,” Ellie whispered that night after they’d tucked Henry in. The boy was sleeping soundly in his little bunk designed to look like a bear den.
Ty and Ellie had snuggled up on the suite’s sofa to enjoy a glass of wine before retiring to their separate beds for the night.
For Ty, it was pretty much the perfect end to a perfect day. Jesus. How the hell had that happened?
“You truly thought of everything,” Ellie continued, tucking her bare feet up under her as she took a small sip of wine. “The sleeping arrangements, the snacks, the tattoo cover-up. For a guy who’s never been around kids, you’re doing a pretty amazing job.”
He took a sip of wine to mask his smile, not wanting to admit how deliriously proud those words made him.“Maybe I’m getting the hang of it,” he said. “I know I love spending time with you. Both of you,” he added.
“Henry’s a great kid.” Ellie didn’t bother covering her own smile, which charmed the hell out of him. She wore no makeup at all, and her hair was damp from the shower. Even the orange plastic bracelet she wore to mark her as a lodge guest seemed cheery and festive on her lovely, delicate wrist. Ty reached for her hand, planting a soft kiss on the palm before setting it back to rest on her knee.
“You’re a great mom.” In all his life, Ty never thought that would be something he’d find attractive in a woman. He leaned close and brushed a kiss across her lips before sitting back against the sofa.
“And I love that you make me feel like more than just a mom,” Ellie murmured. “You make me feel like a woman.” She winced and shook her head, then took a sip of her wine. “God, that sounded cheesy.”
“Not at all,” he said. “I know what you mean.”
She smiled at him and moved her hand on his knee. It felt good there, like it belonged. Likehebelonged. Not bad for a foster kid who’d never been part of a real family.
His chest ached suddenly, and Ty took another sip of wine. “Ellie,” he said slowly. “Can we talk about us?”
Alarm flashed in her eyes, but her smile stayed frozen in place. She stiffened beside him, though, and she took a moment before nodding. “Sure. What did you want to talk about?”
He took a deep breath, hoping he wasn’t about to make an ass of himself. Hoping they were on the same page. “I know we agreed this was just a casual hookup,” he said. “That neither of us wanted a relationship.”
“Right,” Ellie said slowly, giving him a wary look. “Thatiswhat we agreed.”
“But I’ve been thinking I might want more than that.” Ty’s heart was pounding in his head, and he forced himself not to glance away—to keep staring straight into those blue eyes as he put himself on the line and put those words out there. “And I was wondering if you might feel the same.”
