Harlequin Desire January 2022, Box Set 2 of 2 by Maureen Child

Author:Maureen Child
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2021-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Any disappointment Ren felt was allayed the moment she saw her little boy’s face. When she opened his bedroom door, he sat up and grinned.

“Ma... Ma... Ma...”

“Mama missed you, too, sweetheart.” She sat on the edge of Mercer’s bed and hugged him tight.

Ren extended her hand and Mercer gladly swiped the fruit-flavored gummy supplement. Then he hopped down from his bed, grabbed a book of nursery rhymes and handed it to her before climbing back into bed.

Renee slipped an arm around Mercer and read him a bedtime story. Then another and another. By the end of the third story, Mercer was sound asleep again. She clicked off the light and slipped out of his room.

She went to her room and got ready for bed, putting on an old T-shirt and sleep shorts. She wrapped her hair, tied it up with her satin scarf, then put on her glasses. Ren crawled into her bed—the same bed she might’ve been sharing with Cole right now if Mercer hadn’t awakened.

Ren sighed. Everything that had just happened between her and Cole replayed in her head. The feel of his strong hands on her skin. The taste of his mouth. The weight of his body on hers. The shudder that rippled through her when Cole had taken her over the edge.

She really needed to pull it together. She also needed to lock up after Cole.

Ren went downstairs to turn off the lights in the kitchen and nearly screamed. Cole was sitting at the table with the empty food container in front of him and a half-eaten slice of cake.

“I thought you left.” Ren pressed a hand to her chest.

“I thought we should talk.” Cole moved the container aside.

The hint of joy she’d felt at seeing Cole quickly faded. Cole didn’t need to say the words. They were written all over his face.

This was a mistake. It can never happen again.

And maybe he was right. Trying to figure out how to navigate whatever was happening between them was a lot to ask on top of everything else going on in her life.

So she would save him the trouble.

“No need. We got caught up in the moment.” Ren shrugged. “We’re both adults. Stuff happens. It’s forgotten.”

Cole stared at her, blinking.

Is he surprised or relieved?

It didn’t matter. Now that she’d said the words, he wouldn’t have to. That somehow seemed better.

“Ren,” Cole said, “I don’t want to hurt you again.” The pained look on his face seemed genuine. But still, it was another rejection.

“I’m not the lonely teenage girl desperately hoping you’ll ask her to prom anymore, Cole. And I’m not looking for a relationship any more than you are.” Ren stood taller.

Why did he look...gutted? Wasn’t this the part where he breathed a sigh of relief and then got the hell out of Dodge before she could change her mind?

“I just wanted to say I’m sorry, Ren. I crossed a line I shouldn’t have. I should know better than—”

“If there had been a line I hadn’t wanted you to cross, I would’ve made that crystal clear without hesitation.

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.