Hero Next Door: A Single Dad Military Romance by Lara Swann

Author:Lara Swann [Swann, Lara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-11-15T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter Two

Leah

“D’you want to borrow one of mine?”

I jump away from where I’d been pulling at my top in front of the mirror, looking over at Emma almost guiltily.

“What’s wrong with this one?” I give it another glance, frowning.

“Well, I guess if you’re worried about how to tell this guy you have a kid, that top will do it for you.” She grins at me, then gestures to a few out-of-the-way stains I hadn’t noticed.

Damn it.

Sure, I don’t think I own anything nice anymore, but I thought this would be okay.

“Well…I do have a kid.” I say. “I’m proud of that. I’m not sure I should be trying to pretend to be someone else—”

“Leah.” Emma stops me. “Being proud of being a Mom, and wanting to wear something that hasn’t been destroyed by said motherhood so that you can feel awesome about yourself…those aren’t mutually exclusive. C’mon.”

She turns towards her room before I can think of an argument, and I find myself reluctantly following after her, quietly grateful.

It’s not that I want to dress up for Alistair. He can think whatever he damn well likes of me - and after I tell him about Maddie, all the pretty tops in the world aren’t going to help with that opinion.

It’s just that I’m not sure I’ll get within a hundred yards of him looking like…this.

Emma is already throwing things out of her walk-in closet when I enter the room.

“You really don’t have to—”

“Aww, c’mon, how long has it been since we dressed each other up for a date, Leah? Let me have a little fun.” Her eyes sparkle back at me, and I laugh.

“Believe me, this is not a date.”

“Well, you never know.” She looks back at me between sifting through clothes. “If he’s not a deadbeat, and you tell him about Maddie and he wants to help out…maybe something will happen, babe - there was a time there was a spark, right? Maybe this could change everything for you guys...”

“Em…”

“Or hell, maybe you’ll just get laid. You could do with it.”

That startles a laugh out of me.

“That’s so not what I’m thinking about right now.”

“I knoow. That’s your problem, hun.”

“Mm, and you really think ‘hey, I had your kid’ is going to make him want to jump into bed with me again?”

“Well, you could phrase it a little better. I really hope that’s not your plan.” She finally turns back, holding out a top to me.

I take it, distracted by amusement at Emma’s antics and my own growing nerves. Reassurance and tact don’t quite seem to be her thing today - and I’m not sure whether that’s helping, or making it worse.

Then I hold the top up against me and stare at her.

“Oh, hell no.”

“Aww, c’mon Leah, that top is sexy as hell. It’ll make you look amazing.”

“I’m so not going for sexy as hell. This is not a date.”

She sighs dramatically, but hands me another as if perfectly prepared for my refusal.

It’s only mildly better, and we spend the next half hour going through her wardrobe to find something that we can both accept.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.