Page 56 of Fake it For Good
“Exactly,” I said. “I don’t know if there will ever be kids in the room, but maybe. I’m sure my friends will have kids and they can hang out in there.”
“You haven’t filled it with toys,” she pointed out.
“No, not yet.”
“What got you into the toy business?” she asked. “You said you were looking for something, but are you passionate about toys or about the money the toys bring in?”
“I would say the first,” I answered easily. “My family did alright when I was growing up, but my parents were frugal. They were always buying the off-brand toys. I know I was lucky to have anything, but sometimes a kid just really wants the real thing. The off brands were usually very cheaply made. Half the time, they didn’t work right out of the box. The other half were broken within a few months. You mentioned Tonka. I really wanted some Tonka trucks when I was little. I got the generic ones. They sucked.”
“I know the feeling,” she said. “I love that your toys are of really good quality.”
“Thank you,” I said. “I know they’re more expensive, but they’re the kind of toys kids can pass down to their own kids.”
“Can I ask a personal question?” she asked softly.
“Sure.”
“You love toys, and you have a massive playroom in your house, but you don’t have kids,” she said. “Do you want kids?”
“I do,” I answered honestly. “I used to think Kelly and I would have a few. She had other plans. I wasn’t privy to those plans, unfortunately. I pinned my future on an idea. My marriage failed because I had this idea in my mind. I wanted the real thing. I wanted the kind of marriage that lasted decades. I guess it’s my own fault. I’m always craving the authentic thing, not the knockoff. Instead, I ended up with a sham marriage that fell apart right before my very eyes.”
“Your marriage fell apart because you didn’t have the right partner,” she said. “I imagine you falling for a beautiful woman. All shiny on the outside, but just like the inferior off-brand toys, they eventually crumble.”
“You’re so right,” I said, sighing. “I was sold a bill of goods. There was nothing authentic. She wasn’t the woman she presented.”
I realized I was talking about my ex with another woman. A woman I really didn’t want to get the impression I was hung up on my ex. “I need to check dinner,” I said and hopped up before I could say anything else.
20
NOELLE
Ifollowed him into the kitchen. I wanted to know more about him. He spoke about his ex with a bitterness even I could feel in his words. I couldn’t understand how a woman could mistreat a man like Cane. He was so good. I bet he spoiled her. He probably treated her too well and she took advantage of him. That pissed me off and irritated me at the same time. She had let a good man get away for one reason or another. There was the chance I was only seeing one side of him, but I liked to think I was a pretty good judge of character. He didn’t seem to be hiding anything.
“It smells amazing,” I said when he opened the oven to peek at the meal.
He turned and smiled at me. When he looked at me like that, my heart skipped a beat. I liked this down-home side of him. His shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. The top three buttons were undone, and he wasn’t wearing the belt I normally saw him with. “I think it will taste as good as it smells.”
He went to the fridge that was like three times the size of mine. He pulled two more beers from the fridge. I watched as he pulled out a bag of salad mix. He moved around his kitchen like he was totally comfortable doing so. This was a man used to cooking. It was not what I expected. His back was to me as he dumped the salad mix into a bowl.
I was pretty sure he invited me to his house for more than just dinner and conversation. I could play coy and innocent and wait for him to make a move, or I could take what I was pretty sure we both wanted. I put down my beer and moved behind him. He was a good six inches taller than me, and I wasn’t exactly short at five-six.
My hands slid around his waist as I went up on my tiptoes to kiss the back of his neck. He turned in my arms and grabbed me like I might try and escape. His mouth slammed against mine. His hands eagerly roamed over my body. He squeezed my breasts and down to my hips before grabbing my ass. The taste of him excited me. Everything about him excited me. My hands slid up his arms and grabbed the side of his head and held him while our mouths melded together.
There was no thought to where we were in that moment. The only thing I could think about was getting him inside me. “I need you,” I said against his lips.
“Sweetest words I’ve ever heard,” he replied.
He tugged my sweater over my head and dropped it on the floor. He looked at my red bra with the tiny little silver bells in the center. He grinned. “Merry Christmas to me.”
“The panties match,” I told him.
“If I didn’t know any better, I would think you came over here with the intention of me seeing this,” he said and flicked the little bells.
“It may have crossed my mind.”
“I wish I would have thought to get some festive boxers,” he said, laughing.
“Next time,” I teased. “I’ll expect some mistletoe or something.”
