"Do you want to make a cookie?" Jenny held up an unfrosted sugar cookie.
"Do we get to eat them later?" A teasing look was in his eyes.
The girls shouted, "Yes!"
"Then let"s get busy," he said with a grin. He took the large cookie and pulled up a chair between the girls. He looked up and winked at Tess and she felt a nice warm tingle in her belly.
She grabbed a couple more plates from the cabinet, set one in front of Gage, and then sat on the other side of the table with a plate in front of her.
Soon she and Gage were decorating cookies with the girls. Gage painted a cowboy with a big cowboy hat and Tess made a horse on hers. Jenny"s second one had a house and Katie Sue painted flowers on hers. By now the girls had frosting smeared everywhere and Tess and Gage had it on their hands.
"Can we eat one now?" Jenny gave Tess a pleading look when they had finished with the cookies.
"After dinner." Tess shook her head. "Go wash up, you two. Make sure you get all of the frosting off your faces as well as your hands."
The girls set down their cookies and ran for the bathroom.
Tess stood and Gage joined her. She carried the plate of decorated cookies and Gage helped with the ramekins that had held the frosting. "Put them in the sink for now," she said as she set the plate on the counter. "I"ll let these dry before covering them."
When she set down the plate, she turned to find Gage smiling at her.
"What?" she said. "Do I have frosting on my nose?"
"Being a mom looks good on you," he said and kissed her.
While the girls were washing up, the delivery guy arrived with the pizza and spaghetti. Gage insisted on paying and Tess finally relented. The house was filled with the warm aromas of Italian food and the girls gave excited cries as they ran back to the kitchen.
When they returned to the kitchen, Jenny and Katie Sue chose a big slice of pizza each while Tess and Gage ate spaghetti with giant meatb.a.l.l.s. Between the girls" chatter while they ate, Tess found it hard to hold an uninterrupted conversation with Gage.
After dinner, the girls went to Jenny"s bedroom to play Barbies, and Tess and Gage cleaned up in the kitchen. Cleanup was minimal since they"d used paper plates and disposable plastic cups.
When they finished, Tess watched as Gage peeked out of the kitchen in the direction of Jenny"s room and saw the coast was clear. He backed her up against the counter, put his hands to either side of her on the Formica, and held her gaze for a moment.
"I"ve been wanting to kiss you properly since I walked in that door." His mouth hovered over hers.
"I"ve had a hard time waiting," she whispered and moved her mouth to meet his.
His lips were firm as he took possession, took control. A soft moan escaped her as she returned his kiss. How she loved his kisses. Her belly fluttered and she ached for his touch.
She thought of her night in his arms and she had no doubt she"d be in bed with him again. Not tonight, but soon. She wanted to be there right now, feeling his lips and hands on her body, taking her to incredible heights.
Could she tell him about that side of her that she kept hidden? The side she wanted to explore...maybe with him?
He raised his head, breaking the kiss and he smiled down at her. "We"d better watch ourselves in case the girls come out."
She nodded as she took a deep inhale to catch her breath. "My thoughts, too."
They moved to the couch where they sat close, but not too close. She longed to be snuggled up against him, in his embrace, but she wasn"t going to introduce Gage as a man she was dating to Jenny. That could come later...if he stuck around...and if her and Gage"s relationship developed into something more permanent.
Permanent? The thought took her off guard. She didn"t think Gage was capable of a long-term relationship.
Or was he?
Tess mentally shook off the thoughts as Gage took her hand and linked his fingers with hers. His smile sent crazy sensations throughout her, his touch adding to the wildness building inside her.
The sound of Jenny"s door opening had Gage and Tess releasing their hands. Tess faced the girls with a smile as they ran into the living room carrying Jenny"s beauty parlor set. The set was complete with nail polish, lip-gloss, brushes, combs, and a mannequin head with long blonde hair.
"Will you play beauty parlor with us?" Jenny put the set on the coffee table in front of Gage and Tess.
Tess glanced at Gage and he gave a little grin and a shrug. She turned back to Jenny. "What do you want to do first?"
Jenny put her hands on her hips. "We need to do something about your fingernails, Mommy."
Tess held back a laugh as she extended her hands for examination.
"I"m going to make them pretty with nail polish." Jenny reached for the bottles.
Katie Sue moved beside Jenny. "I want to paint Uncle Gage"s nails," Katie Sue said as she took one of Gage"s hands.
Tess held back a snort of laughter as she looked at Gage"s expression.
He glanced at Tess. "Will the stuff come off?"
She grinned. "We have nail polish remover."
He turned his attention back to the girl. "I"m all yours, Katie Sue."
She clapped her hands and reached for a bottle of green nail polish. Gage looked at Tess again and she laughed.
Jenny already had a bottle of bright red polish out and she started to paint Tess"s fingernails as she held her hand out for her daughter.
Katie Sue took Gage"s thumb and painted the nail green. Instead of painting the next nail the same color, the girl chose canary yellow. She painted the nail of his forefinger with the bright color. She got some of the polish on his finger, too.
Gage"s hands were large, his nails big, and the different polishes were vivid on them as Katie Sue went through all the colors that Jenny had and used them on Gage. Blue, pink, red, purple, and orange in addition to the green and yellow. Tess started giggling at one point at the silliness, and Jenny admonished her to be still.
Jenny, on the other hand, painted all of Tess"s nails in the vivid red color she"d chosen. The polish was uneven, but most of it stayed on Tess"s nails rather than her fingers.
Because Gage"s nails were so big, and because Katie Sue was using so many different colors of polish, it was taking her longer. So while Katie Sue continued to work on Gage, Jenny grabbed a brush and pulled it through Tess"s short curls, fluffing her hair up even more.
When the girls were finished, they stood back and admired their work. "It looks great, Mommy," Jenny said.
Katie Sue nodded. "So does Uncle Gage."
Tess glanced at the clock. "That"s enough beauty shop for the night, girls. You can have one cookie and then it"s time for bed."
The girls started toward the kitchen but Tess called them back to put away the beauty shop.
After they ate their cookies, Tess ushered the girls to Jenny"s bedroom. Both put on their nightgowns and climbed into Jenny"s bed.
"Now get some sleep, girls," Tess said. "No talking."
The girls giggled and Tess knew they wouldn"t be falling asleep immediately. While they waited for the girls to drift off, Tess helped Gage take off the nail polish, and she couldn"t help giggling as she did.
When everything was quiet, they picked out a movie, this time an action flick. As she thought about the last movie they"d attempted to watch, and how they"d ended up in her bedroom, she felt a tingle in her belly. That wasn"t going to happen tonight. Unfortunately.
Before they started the movie, Tess checked in on the girls. They were still giggling in bed and Tess had to tell them again that it was time to go to sleep.
During the movie, Tess checked on Jenny and Katie Sue twice more and finally the girls had fallen fast asleep.
Tess flopped on the couch beside Gage. "About time." She curled up next to him and he put his arm around her shoulders. She tilted her face up to his and he brushed his mouth over hers.
"Is it safe?" he murmured a fraction from her lips.
She smiled. "For a kiss, yes."
He kissed her long and slow, the kind of kiss that made her dizzy with longing and desire. He didn"t move his hands over her body like she wished he could. She wanted to be with him so badly it made her head spin even more.
Her heart beat faster and her breathing came a little harsher. As they drew apart she stared up at him. "I want to be alone with you," she said before she realized the words had left her mouth.
He caressed hair from her face. "Can you get a sitter tomorrow?"
She nodded. "My sitter, Glenna, said she"s free in the afternoon."
"Good." He kissed her softly then drew away again. "Dinner. My place."
"I"ll be there," she said before he kissed her again.
Chapter 21.
Tess finished her last bite of the grilled barbeque chicken breast and sighed. "Dinner was wonderful." She smiled at Gage. "And I only gave you takeout spaghetti last night."
He put his fork down. "The spaghetti was perfect last night, and the sugar cookies were great."
Tonight he"d eaten two of the barbeque chicken b.r.e.a.s.t.s he"d grilled outside over mesquite wood, two helpings of mashed potatoes, and another couple servings of green beans.
After dinner they worked side-by-side, washing the dishes and putting them in the dish drainer. When they were finished, Gage said, "Beer or wine?"
"I"m more of a wine person," she said. "What do you have?"
He went to a large pantry and pulled out a couple of bottles. "Looks like I have Sauvignon blanc and Merlot.
"I"ll take the Merlot," she said.
He put the white wine back in the pantry and took the red to the counter and opened it with a wine bottle opener he picked out of a drawer. He selected a wine gla.s.s from a cupboard and she saw that he had a mismatched set of wine gla.s.ses. After he filled her gla.s.s rather generously, he grabbed a bottle of beer from the fridge and cracked it open with a bottle opener that had been stuck to the fridge with a magnet.
Nerves made her belly flip-flop as they headed into the living room and sat on the couch. Her short black skirt slid up her thighs and she automatically smoothed it down. She thought about the s.e.xy lingerie she"d worn just for him and she felt more tingles in her belly.
The wine warmed her as she took a sip and it traveled down her throat. Gage sat close to her and took a swig of his beer before setting the bottle down on the coffee table.
He turned so that he was facing her on the couch. "I want you to come with me to one of our family get-togethers." He took her fingers in his. "You"ve already met my brothers. I want you to meet my mom and dad."
Tess bit her lower lip before saying, "I don"t know."
"Your sister will be there." He smiled and pushed hair from her face. "There"s nothing to be nervous about."
"Do you take all of your girls to meet your parents?" Tess needed to know the answer.
He shook his head. "You"re the first...in a very long time." A flicker went through his eyes and she thought she saw a flash of pain.
"She hurt you." Tess said the words softly.
Gage studied her, as if deciding what to say. "Yeah, she did."
Tess squeezed his fingers. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"I don"t like to." He pushed his hand through his hair with his free hand. "But we talked about your past. I suppose it"s only fair we talk about mine."
She searched his gaze. "If you don"t want to..."
He stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. "I want everything to be out in the open with us."
She didn"t say anything.
He let out a long breath. "I haven"t talked about Valerie in a long time. Maybe not since...not since things ended between us."
Tess waited for him to go on.
"I was in love with her and I asked her to marry me." He shook his head. "She said she wasn"t ready to commit and I understood that. But then she got pregnant."
A tingling sensation crawled over Tess"s skin. She wasn"t sure why, maybe a premonition.
"I asked her to marry me again." His throat worked as he swallowed. "Valerie said she wasn"t ready to settle down and she wasn"t ready to be a mother."
The tingles became stronger and Tess held her breath.
"I told her I would raise the child. She could do whatever she wanted to with her life." He looked away from Tess. When his gaze met hers again, he said, "She refused and had an abortion."
Horror swept through Tess and her eyes widened. "I"m so sorry, Gage."
He gave a sad smile. "I"ve always wanted children. She couldn"t have done a crueler thing than that." He sighed. "After that we went our separate ways."