Face Value (11 page)

“No way!”

She laughed at
his enthusiasm. Most guys reacted that way when she told them she
knew Aiden. “Seriously. I bet your son would like to meet him,
wouldn’t he?”

Tucker
chuckled. “Man, you sure do move in different circles, girl. Justin
Hunt, Aiden Cooper, Nikki Spencer McCall…”

She hadn’t
mentioned her mother to Tucker, but most of the patrons at Jimmy’s
knew J.T. was married to the famous country singer. “They’re all
just regular people.” That much was true, but she didn’t even want
to think about how her mother would react if she found out her
daughter was dating an ex-con. Not that she and Tucker were dating.
Were they?

“How was your
date tonight? It must have ended early.”

“It was more of
a double date, if you can call it that. Me and Mitch, my cousin
Anna and Justin.”

“Huh. Did y’all
have fun?”

She knew he was
trying to keep it light, but he was failing miserably. “We just had
a bite to eat and a few drinks at Jimmy’s.”

“Where the hell
are you now?”

She was caught
off guard by his sharp tone. “I’m just driving home.”

“After you’ve
had a few drinks?” he shouted. “What the hell are you thinking? Why
didn’t that asshole drive you home?”

Lauren’s mouth
fell open. His hair-trigger temper was frightening sometimes.
“Would you relax? I had one glass of wine.”

Tucker muttered
a curse. “I’m sorry.” He took a deep breath. “I didn’t mean to
shout. I’m just a little sensitive about that.”

She winced when
she remembered his uncle had been killed by a drunk driver. Of
course he would be sensitive about drinking and driving. “Don’t
worry about it. I promise, I would never get behind the wheel if
I’d had more than one drink.”

“You shouldn’t
get behind the wheel if you’re drinking. Period. If you’re out
having a good time with your girlfriends and you need a ride, call
me. Anytime.”

Awww, she was
falling deeper in like with him by the minute. “That’s so sweet of
you.”

“I’m serious,
Lauren. I don’t want you taking any stupid chances.”

“I won’t. I
promise.”

“Are you going
out with him again?”

It took her a
minute to realize he was talking about Mitch. “Yeah, sure.
Why?”

“No
reason.”

She knew the
reason, but his pride wouldn’t allow him to admit it. “We’re just
friends, Tucker.”

“Does he know
that?”

“Yes.”

“Good.”

She smiled.
“You’re cute when you’re jealous.”

He chuckled.
“I’m not jealous.”

“Liar.” She
smiled when he laughed again. “What time do you want me to meet
you?”

“Text me your
address in the morning. We’ll pick you up around 11:00.”

“Sounds good.”
She bit her lip as she considered whether she should quit while she
was ahead. She’d gone that far, might as well go all in. “I’m
really looking forward to meeting your kids.”

“I’m looking
forward to it too. You at home now?”

“I just pulled
into my parking lot.”

“Good.” He
sighed. “Thanks for calling, Lauren. If you hadn’t, I probably
would’ve been up half the night worrying about you.”

He would have
been worried about her? Every time he said something like that, he
stole another little piece of her heart. “Worrying about whether I
got home safely…” She bit her lip, wondering whether it was a good
idea to tease him. “Or whether I went home alone?”

Tucker growled.
“Honey, don’t you know that if you poke a bear, you’d best have a
long stick?”

At least he was
taking her joke as she’d intended it. That was a good sign. “Okay,
I’m going to bed. Alone.”

“You’d damn
well better be.” He exhaled. “Sleep tight, beautiful.”

When Tucker walked
downstairs the next morning, his son was playing a game on his iPad
and his daughter was eating a bowl of cereal and watching
Good
Luck, Charlie
.

“Hey,” he said,
ruffling his daughter’s hair. “I was just coming down to make you
guys breakfast. Looks like you beat me to it.”

“We were
hungry,” Mason grumbled.

His son was at
that age. His moods were unpredictable at best, volatile at worst.
He saw so much of himself in his son, and that scared him. The kid
played hockey, and according to all of his coaches, he was really
good, but his temper got him thrown into the penalty box too
often.

“You’re always
hungry.” Monica scrunched up her face when her brother glared at
her. “It’s true. Even mom says so.”

“Mom doesn’t
know everything, and neither do you.”

Tucker prayed
for patience. Mornings with his kids often started with him
refereeing their disagreements. “Okay, enough.” He sat down on the
end of the sofa. “So listen, I wanna talk to you about
something.”

Mason looked at
him warily. “What is it?”

“A friend of
mine is joining us today.” He still couldn’t believe he’d asked
Lauren to come with them. Even more incredible, instead of
regretting his impromptu decision, he looked forward to seeing her
interact with the two most important people in his life.

“Yeah, we
know.” Mason turned his attention back to his screen. “You already
told us Will is coming to the game with us.”

“I’m not
talking about Will.” He suspected they may be shocked, since he’d
never introduced them to any of the women he’d dated. Probably
because most his dates were young enough to raise a few eyebrows.
Lauren was younger than him, but she was clearly a successful,
mature woman.

“Then who’re
you talking about?” Monica asked, tipping her head to the side.

Nervousness
started to override his anticipation. Amanda had paraded men in and
out of their lives ever since Tucker moved out, and he’d sworn he
wouldn’t be
that
parent. He’d already cost them so much. His
mission since their eighteen month separation had been to give them
a sense of security. Would Lauren’s presence cause them to question
whether they would continue to be his first priority? Maybe he
should call and cancel…

“Dad, are you
introducing us to your girlfriend?” Monica asked, pulling him out
of his thoughts.

“No!” He
cleared his throat when he realized his tone was too sharp. “Lauren
is just a friend… and a client.”

“So it is a
girl?” Mason asked, tearing his eyes away from his game.

Lauren could
hardly be described as a girl. Tonya fell into that category.
Lauren was all woman. But he couldn’t very well explain the
difference to his children. “Um… yeah.”

“Do you like
her?” Monica grinned. She’d just gotten pink braces and loved to
show them off.

“Of course he
likes her, dummy,” Mason said, rolling his eyes. “He wouldn’t ask
her to come with us if he hated her.”

“Shut up,”
Monica said, hurling a cushion at him. “I wasn’t talking to you. I
was asking Dad.”

“Enough,”
Tucker said, putting his hand up. “Yes, I like her. She’s a very
nice lady, and I want y’all to be nice to her. You think you can do
that for me?”

Mason looked at
him a long time before he said, “It’s about time you started dating
again.”

Tucker
sputtered, then coughed to mask his surprise. “What are you talking
about?” He’d dated plenty since his divorce. He just hadn’t told
his kids about it because he knew none of those women would become
a permanent fixture in his life.

Mason shrugged.
“I don’t know. You must get lonely when we’re not around.”

His kids were
worried about him? That was the last thing he wanted. He was happy
with his life. He didn’t intend to get married again, and he needed
to make his kids understand that. “I’m not lonely. I have my work
and you guys. That’s all I need.”

Monica set her
empty bowl on the coffee table and tucked her legs under her. “You
think you’ll ever get married again?”

“No!” Okay,
that was a little too emphatic. He couldn’t very well tell them
their mother had made him so miserable he wouldn’t even consider
signing on for another life sentence. “Like I said, I’m happy with
the way my life is. I don’t need a relationship to make me
happy.”

“So this girl
really is just a friend, huh?” Mason looked skeptical.

“She really
is.” A flashback of their kiss flared to mind. He’d never kissed a
friend like that. But despite their differences, he could imagine
Lauren becoming a good friend. Maybe even a friend with
benefits…

“Okay,” Mason
said, shrugging. “If you say so.”

“I say so.”
Tucker stood up. “Okay, let’s hit the showers, guys. We need to
pick Lauren up at eleven.”

***

Lauren had
already changed three times, which was ridiculous since she was
just changing from one pair of jeans to another. She finally
settled on a pair of black jeans, a long-sleeved gray burn-out top
with tank, infinity scarf, and cropped leather jacket. She didn’t
want to look too young and trendy, but she didn’t want Tucker’s
kids to think she was out of touch either.

She’d tossed
and turned most of the night wondering what to expect. She wanted
his kids to like her… more importantly, she wanted Tucker to like
her.

Looking at her
reflection in the hall mirror, she wondered what happened to the
carefree woman who didn’t give a rip about catching a man’s eye.
Sighing, she applied a fresh coat of glossy nude lipstick and
pinched her lips together. She could almost feel the burn of his
lips on hers as she stared at her reflection. Her skin tingled as
she closed her eyes and pictured him kissing her as if he couldn’t
get enough…

The ringing
phone crudely forced her back to reality. “Hello.”

“Hey,
beautiful.”

Two little
words and her resolve melted like hot chocolate. “Hi, Tucker. Are
you guys downstairs?”

“Yeah, Monica
and Mason are at the convenience store on the corner grabbing some
drinks. You want me to come up?”

“No, it’s okay.
I’m ready. I’ll be right down.”

“Sounds
good.”

She hung up and
caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She was grinning like an
idiot, and her cheeks were flushed
. Stupid, stupid woman.
She quickly locked up and made her way downstairs, grateful no one
else was on the elevator. She was too nervous to make small talk
with her neighbors.

Lauren caught
sight of Tucker as soon as she rounded the corner. He stood with
his back to the door looking positively edible in trim, faded jeans
and a black leather jacket. His longish dark hair was windblown,
and he had the ever-present dark shadow of whiskers masking his
jaw. She couldn’t see his dark eyes because of his sunglasses, but
his attention was obviously fixed on something down the street…
which gave her plenty of time to admire his masculine
perfection.

He was tall,
very tall, with impossibly broad shoulders and a narrow waist. She
suspected he was a little too bulky to have the six-pack the gym
rats favored, but he didn’t need it. He was delicious exactly the
way he was, and the polar opposite of every other man she’d ever
dated.

As though he
sensed her staring, he turned around slowly, a grin spreading
across his face. The flash of white teeth amidst the dark stubble
made her stomach do a little back-flip. She was in so much
trouble.

“There you
are,” he said, opening the door for her. He brushed a kiss across
her cheek. “I was just keeping an eye out for the kids. They’re at
that age where they want to assert their independence.” He
chuckled. “The problem is, I don’t think I’m ready to let
them.”

She loved that
he was so protective of his children… and her. “I hope they don’t
mind me tagging along?”

“Are you
kidding?” He smiled. “They told me it was about time I started
dating again. Apparently they were worried that I was lonely.”

“Are you?”
Why did you ask that? It’s none of your business.

“Not at all. I
like my life exactly the way it is.”

Of course he
did. He got to have all the fun without the headaches that often
went with commitment.
Typical.

“What’s wrong?”
he asked, sliding his index finger over her forehead. “You’re
frowning.”

“Nothing,” she
said, forcing a smile. She pointed at the black Range Rover by the
curb. “Is this yours?” She was used to seeing him drive the black
pick-up truck.

“Yeah. The F150
is my work truck. This is better when I have the kids. Mason
usually has hockey on weekends, so I have to keep his gear
protected.”

“He’s not
playing hockey today?”

“No, he’s out
with a heel spur. It’s been a few weeks, so he should be back at it
by next weekend.”

“I’m sure he’s
looking forward to that.” She smiled when she saw a boy and a girl
leaving the convenience store. There was no doubt that was Tucker’s
son. He looked exactly like him, with shorter hair. “They must be
yours.”

He laughed.
“How could you tell?”

“I’ve seen
pictures, remember?” Not that she would have needed them. As they
got closer, she saw they were just as cute in person.

Tucker chuckled
when he eyed the plastic bag in his son’s hand. “Did you leave
anything in the store?”

“You didn’t say
you wanted change,” Mason grumbled.

“Forget it,
it’s fine.” Tucker set his hand on the small of Lauren’s back.
“Guys, I want you to meet my friend Lauren.”

Lauren smiled
as she offered her hand to his son, then his daughter.

“This is Mason
and Monica.”

Both children
greeted her politely, but she could tell they were sizing her up,
trying to establish whether she was really just their father’s
friend or something more. She couldn’t blame them. She would have
had the same questions. “I hope you don’t mind that I’m joining you
today?” She wondered whether they would be resentful, since they
got so little time with their father.