Lullaby for Two / Child's Play. Karen Rose Smith

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      “She’s a neonatologist. She fills her life with helping newborns.” Then remembering ingrained manners, Tessa asked, “Coffee?”

      “I had two cups while I was waiting for Sean. I think that’s enough for now.”

      Tessa motioned to the sofa and Vince lowered himself to it. After setting the bag with her blouse on the end table, she sank down beside him, then realized she shouldn’t have. Their elbows were almost brushing. She turned sideways a bit but then her knee grazed his. Neither of them moved away. “Did Carly let you stay for the session?”

      “Some of it. She spent a long while just making sure Sean was comfortable with her.”

      “I understand that’s what she’s good at. She needs her patient’s cooperation and she usually gets it.”

      Silence fell between them and when Tessa glanced at Vince, she felt all twittery inside.

      “You look as if you’re going to jump up and fly away,” he remarked in a dry tone.

      She made herself consciously relax and settle back into the sofa cushion. There was about a half inch of space between them and she was thankful for that, at least. She couldn’t move farther away without seeming too obvious.

      “I feel like a teenager again,” he muttered, stepping into the void between them.

      “Why?”

      “I don’t know what to say or do with you, Tessa. At least when we were teenagers, I didn’t get the feeling you’d rather be anywhere else than sitting next to me.”

      “That’s not the case,” she admitted, then wished she hadn’t.

      His eyes darkened with memories and, gazing at him, she felt the old sizzle, the old pulsing awareness, yet something new, too. Still, she protested, “We’re not teenagers anymore. We’re old enough to know what’s right for us and what isn’t, what’s good for our lives and what isn’t.”

      “Maybe we’re fighting too hard not to remember, fighting too hard not to regret. We can’t deny what we had, what happened. Don’t you think we can get past it? I can’t live in a vacuum while I’m here, Tessa. And Sean needs people around him who care about him.”

      “Maybe I don’t want to care about Sean,” she confided. “Maybe it hurts too much.”

      “Tessa,” he said gently, reaching out and touching her face, just like he used to when he was trying to comfort or console her. Her instinct was to back away, yet her heart was telling her not to move.

      Could they move beyond the past?

      “I came over to do more than thank you.” Vince dropped his hand. “Remember I said I was in touch with Ryder Greystone?”

      “Yes, you said he’s on the Lubbock P.D.”

      “He’s having a party tonight and invited me. He told me I could bring a guest. Would you like to go?”

      Could she become friends with Vince? Could she get to the point where being together with him again was natural, not awkward? If he was going to be around town, she probably would see him and after all, Sean was her patient. But going to a party with him?

      “Would this be a date?” she asked cautiously.

      He tossed her a wry smile. “It would be whatever you want it to be.”

      “Can I think about it and call you in a couple of hours?” She saw his frown. “Unless you’re going to ask someone else if I say no.”

      “No. I’m not going to ask anyone else. A couple of hours will be fine.” After a look at her that told her better than words he was thinking about kissing her, he stood. “I’d better get Sean and take him home for lunch.”

      As Vince turned to head toward the kitchen, Tessa clasped his forearm. “I don’t want to jump into anything I’ll regret.”

      “I understand, Tessa, believe me I do. But it’s just a party. We’re simply going as friends. There doesn’t have to be more to it than that.”

      Maybe that was true for Vince, but it wasn’t true for her. If she went to this party, she’d be saying “yes” to letting him back into her life. Would that be a foolish decision or a mature one?

      She needed a few hours to figure it out.

       Chapter Five

      Beside Vince, at the door to Ryder Greystone’s house, Tessa wondered if she’d made a mistake by accepting his invitation. Vince had the rough appeal of a tough guy, always in control of himself in any situation. Yet the seductive appeal for her had always been his gentle hands and his tender heart. He only let that show, however, when he knew it was safe to do so. He was showing that side of himself with Sean and that’s what made him so hard to resist.

      Ryder’s door suddenly flew open and the tall, good-looking cop stood there grinning at them both. “Well, well! Like old times. I told Vince to bring a guest but I never guessed it would be you.”

      She and Vince had been awkward with each other in the car because this felt too much like a date. It didn’t help that he looked incredibly sexy in a black V-neck T-shirt and chinos. She didn’t need Ryder’s words to remind her what they’d been. “Not old times,” Tessa replied agreeably. “Just two friends running into each other and catching up.”

      Vince tossed a quick glance her way at her explanation and took off his Stetson. “We both need some R & R and thought we could get it here.”

      As if Ryder was suddenly aware of the tension between the two of them, he stepped back and motioned them inside. “There’s plenty to eat and lots of folks to mingle with.”

      Vince offered his friend the box of imported chocolates he was carrying. “You can add this to the buffet.”

      “Great. There aren’t any more classmates here, but, Tessa, you probably know a few of these people because they bring their kids to you.” He addressed Vince. “Some of the guys are here from the station, so you’ll have plenty to talk about. There’s music on the patio in case anybody wants to dance.”

      Tessa was surprised by how many people were crowded into the small house.

      Vince must have been thinking the same thing because he said, “You could get lost in here.”

      A bit of the tension seemed to ebb between them.

      “I haven’t stepped into a room where I didn’t know anybody for a long time,” she admitted.

      “Not a partygoer?”

      “Hardly. You know me, Vince. I focus on what’s in my life and don’t see much around it.”

      “Do I know you, Tessa?” His gaze was penetrating, trying to see into corners where she didn’t want him to see.

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