Sizzling Seduction (9 page)

Patrick continued laughing as he started the car. “If you want to, you can try out some of your concoctions on me.”

He turned to her and she caught the sweetest, most sincere expression she had ever seen on a man.

Yes, she would certainly need to work on shoring up her defenses with this guy. They were probably already seriously breeched.

“I’d be happy to help you with your pitching, Dil on. We could go out to the park and practice on my days off, as long as you keep to that promise you made your mom about finishing your homework.” Patrick turned to Aisha to see if it was okay with her.

She nodded slowly, but didn’t say a word. In fact, she had been very quiet the entire meal. No words, no comments, no nothing.

They were sitting in the same booth at Friendly’s as they had the night before, the booth that he had started to think of as
their
booth after only two outings. They had finished their food and were waiting for dessert.

He was starting to think that he shouldn’t have inched his way into her world like this. But what was he supposed to do? She wasn’t going to give him a chance. And something deep in his soul demanded that he have a chance, that he pursue this woman in a way he had never pursued another.

“And if it’s okay with your mom, I’d love for you to consider joining the Little League team my brothers and I coach when the season starts up.”

“Oh, Mom, can I?” Dil on could barely get the words out for al his bouncing excitement.

Patrick real y liked Dil on and he’d been honest when he told Aisha that he wanted to get to know her and her son.

The boy was extremely wel -mannered and adorable. And at the moment, Dil on was the one who seemed the most open to actual y giving Patrick a chance. As much as Aisha clearly loved her son, Patrick knew that having Dil on’s stamp of approval couldn’t hurt.

“What’s your favorite sport, Dil on?”

“I like them al —basebal , footbal , basketbal and soccer. But my favorite is basketbal .”

“Have you ever been to see a game?”

“No, my dad…No, I haven’t.” Dil on’s normal y happy face took on a sour expression.

Aisha closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them. “My ex-husband has been promising to take Dil on to a Nets game, but when things get busy at the law firm, he has to cancel. I keep tel ing Dil on, I’l save up and get us some tickets, but Dil on doesn’t want to go with a
gi-rl.
” She reached out and mussed the curls on the top of Dil on’s head.

Brightening up a little at his mom’s loving touch, Dil on inched away, laughing. “M-o-m…You wouldn’t like it or be able to explain stuff to me or anything.”

Seeing an opening and having no shame about taking it, Patrick jumped in. “How about I take us al to see a game?

That way, I can help explain stuff to you and your mom.

Maybe we can boost her sports knowledge a little so that after a while she won’t seem so girly.”

“Cool!” Dil on shouted with glee.

“Hey, I like being girly! There’s nothing wrong with being girly.”

Patrick grinned at her. She certainly had that right. There was nothing wrong with her girly attributes, nothing at al . He cleared his throat. Something told him that if he dared to voice those thoughts it would ruin the light mood that was developing.

“I can probably get us tickets to the Giants next weekend. Would you like to see a footbal game?”

“Yeah! Al right!” Dil on pumped his little fist in the air.

Aisha pursed her lips and squinted before shaking her head and slowly smiling. “You’re not playing fair, Patrick.”

“Al ’s fair, love, al ’s fair.” He held up his hands in mock innocence as he stared at her long enough for her to grasp his meaning.

At that moment he realized that he would give her as much time as she needed to get with the program, but he wasn’t going to give up and he wasn’t about to let her push him away.

Once he drove them back to her car, Aisha had to admit to herself that she was almost sad to see their day ending.

The entire day, from Dil on’s glee at the fire station to the mock speed sundae-eating contest the three of them had during dessert, had her thinking that that must be what a real family felt like. She couldn’t remember ever laughing and having that much fun as a family when she was with her ex-husband. She had certainly never felt it growing up with her mom and dad.

And yet, here she was with Patrick Hightower, laughing and giggling like a schoolgirl who didn’t know just how bad it hurt to fal in love and have that love stomped on and thrown back in her face.

“I’m going to fol ow you guys and make sure you make it home safely,” he offered.

He had been so generous with his time and money that evening, she real y couldn’t envision taking more. “That’s okay, Patrick, we’l be fine.”

“I’m not going to argue about this one, Aisha. It’s dark out and getting late. Humor me.”

“But we go places in the evening al the time and you’re not there to fol ow us home so—”

He shook his head, firm in his stance. “Humor me, love.

Please.”

The firm resolve on his face would have been irritating if he hadn’t cal ed her
love
again and gotten her al confused.

The first thing to come to her mind was to tel him not to cal her that. But then she glanced at his earnest face with that determined square jawline and her heart had the nerve to do a double beat and she only wanted to hear him cal her
love
again.

“Fine. But it’s real y not necessary.”

She started up her car and after a short drive she was parking in front of the four-story apartment building where she and Dil on lived. She ful y expected to see Patrick drive on by and maybe beep on the way. But nope, there he was, parking his SUV and getting out.

“I’l walk you guys to your door and be on my way,” he offered with a smile.

“You real y don’t have to do that, Patrick.”

“Mommy, I have to go to the bathroom.” Dil on started hopping from one foot to the other.

“Okay, sweetie.” She didn’t have time to belabor the point with Patrick. So she let him walk them to the door.

As soon as they got there and she opened it, Dil on darted in and took off toward the bathroom. She stared after her child for a moment before turning to Patrick.

Patrick, who even after she had refused his date, was somehow, miraculously standing at her front door at the end of what felt like a date, even though her son had been with them.

Yes, she needed to have a word with this trickster. The way he operated, it would only be a matter of time before she was dating him.

“Can you come in for a minute? We need to have a little chat.”

He glanced around from side to side and then behind him before pointing to himself. “You want
me
to come in?”

Funny guy
. “Yes. Just for a minute. Please.”

H
e folowed her into the living room after she shut the front door. He looked around her home and nodded.

“Nice place. It’s real y homey. I like it.”

She smiled because she had worked hard to make the smal space cozy for her and her son. She had caught clearances at Pier 1 and IKEA for most of the furnishings and knickknacks, and she had even picked up a few gently used finds at the Salvation Army and some consignment shops. The apartment had a lived-in, eclectic but stylish feel to it. And she credited the amateur decorating skil s she had gotten when she was addicted to HGTV before she found the Food Network and discovered her true dream passion. But she couldn’t let Patrick’s compliments throw her off course. He was good, but he wasn’t that good.

She took a deep breath and firmed her resolve. She saw where this was going. She had to nip this in the bud here and now. “Thanks. Have a seat.”

Just as they took seats opposite each other on the tan-and-rust striped sofa and love seat set, Dil on came dashing into the living room.

“Can I watch TV?”

She shook her head. As much as she drummed into his head the difference between
can
and
may
, her child refused to use them properly.

“No you
may
not. But you
may
go read a little bit before bedtime. And when I come in to tuck you in we’l read a little more from Harry Potter.”

A look of horror flashed across her Dil on’s face. “M-o-m!” He glanced at Patrick and then marched his little feet over to her and whispered in her ear. “Not in front of Patrick. He’l think I’m a baby.” He turned toward Patrick.

“My mom is only kidding. She doesn’t tuck me in or read me stories or anything like that.”

“Oh, of course not. Big guy like you, being tucked in? I knew right away your mom was joking. But I’l tel you what.

If you mom is like my mom—and they are both teachers so, I’m thinking she probably is—then she can probably tel a great story. My mom taught for years before she became an administrator. And when she read stories to us, she did al the sounds and painted the images from the books so wel that my brothers and I thought we were in the story. And I’l let you in on a secret. I was a pretty big guy myself before I started feeling a little too old to listen to my mom read to me.”

Dil on stared at Patrick. “How old were you when you stopped?”

“Wel , now that depends on how you look at it. See, I have a little toddler niece named Cee Cee and two little nephews, Joel Jr. and Jason Jr., who are both crawling around wreaking havoc. My mother reads to them al the time. And sometimes, I hang around and listen. In fact, I just listened to her reading to Cee Cee the other day. ‘Hansel and Gretel’—my favorite.”

Dil on laughed, and oddly enough she found herself joining in. Soon the three of them were cracking up, just as they had been in the restaurant. And there was that feeling again, that easy, happy-family feeling she knew she shouldn’t be experiencing.

Yes. It was time to nip this in the bud. She had to cut it off cold before she started believing it could go somewhere.

“Okay, Dil on. I need to talk with Patrick for a minute and then I’l be back there to…uh…check on you.”

“Okay, Mom. G’night, Patrick.”

“Good night, son. I’l see you again soon.”

See, that was the problem! He shouldn’t be making promises to her son that he wasn’t going to keep. And he wasn’t going to be able to keep them because she couldn’t afford to let him keep them. Because if she let him keep them, then he’d be around al the time. And if he were around al the time, then she would never be able to continue resisting him. And she couldn’t risk her heart any more on some dominant man who took up al the air in the room just by virtue of being there. So he had to go.

“Listen, Patrick, it’s obvious that my son likes you a lot and—”

“Smart kid. He seems to be a great judge of character.”

“Yeah…right…Anyway, the thing is, I can’t have you making promises to him and raising expectations that you’re not going to be able to meet. His father is already a major disappointment—”

“The man must be an idiot to disappoint a kid like Dil on.”

“Yes, he is an idiot. Among other things…”
Mean, self-righteous, arrogant, cruel, a class-A-jerk
…She could think of so many descriptions for her ex-husband. “That’s not the point, though. The point is—”

“I’m not him.” Patrick sat up straighter in his chair and there was that confident, assured swagger that he wore like a favorite shirt.

“I know that. I never said you were. I—”

“I’m
not
him. I would never do anything to hurt you or Dil on.”

She sucked her teeth. “Stop interrupting me. Let me finish making my point.”

He shook his head. “Your point isn’t based on facts. It’s based on your fears. And I can help put your fears to rest.

Because I am not him and I would never hurt you.”

“You can say that al you want. But the fact is, we don’t know that, do we? We can’t see into the future and there are no guarantees.”

“Your fear is going to make you miss out on magic, love.”

“Magic?” She gave a nervous laugh. “I think you might be thinking a little highly of yourself, don’t you? And stop cal ing m e
love
. I didn’t give you permission to give me a nickname.”

He chuckled. “I’m not thinking highly of myself. I’m thinking highly of
us
and what we can be together. I know I became a believer the moment I first set eyes on you.

What’s it gonna take for you to become a believer, too?”

He paused and looked her dead in the eyes with a sincerity that startled her. “And I can’t stop cal ing you
love
.”

She folded her hands across her lap to fight the sudden impulse she had to fan herself. This was not going the way she had planned.

He had it so right and so wrong at the same time. She wasn’t afraid of much of anything anymore and she certainly didn’t fear him. But there was one thing she was deathly afraid of and that was his little nickname for her. Those four letters scared her more than anything. And she hated the clammy, out-of-control feeling that came over her when she even thought about risking her heart.

“Why don’t you take a chance? What are you afraid of?

I’l tel you what. How about you give me a month just to get to know you and Dil on. No strings. I’l take Dil on to the games, as I promised. Practice his pitching. We can even check out some museums and maybe the zoo. You don’t have to be alone with me and we don’t have to explore a relationship. We can just take it slow.”