Heart on Fire (6 page)

His tone turned downright frigid. “I’m not interested in leaving with you, Rene. You’re still trying to manipulate me into being what you want. I have the best job in the world as far as I’m concerned. You can’t accept that, so find someone willing to play by your rules.”

“You’re everything I want, Kyle. You simply need a realistic job.”

His fiery gaze cut up to the rude blond. “I have a realistic job. One I love, and won’t ever give up. Same as your brother. Goodnight, Rene.”

“You’re wasting your life, Kyle,” she spat before turning to walk out the door.

He shook his head, taking a slow breath. “I’m sorry about Rene. She seems to think the world revolves around her.” One shoulder lifted in a shrug.

Mila knew all about people wanting to control her life. “Don’t worry about it. I know the type.”

His head tilted to the side. “How so?”

“I was with a guy in college. He thought I should give up my teaching degree, move to New York, and play trophy wife. That didn’t go over so well. I left.”

“At least he wasn’t in your town after that.” He leaned back with a sigh. “I was with Rene for two years. She kept trying to convince me to work with her dad.”

“Sorry,” Mila offered.

“What gets me is that her brother is a fireman. Gavin has been my best friend for as long as I can remember. Their step-father was also a fireman, and a much better dad than her real father.”

“Don’t know what to tell you, other than you’re better off without her. You have a great job. One not everyone can do. So what if it doesn’t make you the most money? It makes you happy, and you seem pretty comfortable.”

His eyes delved into hers, a slow smile spreading on his face. “Same can be said of you. By all accounts, I hear you’re a great teacher.”

She couldn’t stop herself from lighting up. “So I’m told. I love science, and it’s exciting to help kids discover they like it better than they thought.”

“See, that right there makes your job worthwhile.”

She melted into the warmth in his eyes. They had a lot more in common than she initially assumed, making her attraction harder to ignore.

Their meal came and the conversation died down while they ate in companionable silence.

Chapter 5

Mila was a mystery. Quiet and reserved at first, maybe even suspicious, but once she opened up and started talking about her passions, she was delightful.

Kyle couldn’t understand what kind of asshat would ever let her go. Why would someone ask her to give up her dreams and be content doing nothing. There were a hundred questions on the tip of his tongue, but he wasn’t sure where to start.

She pushed her plate away and met his eyes with a smile on her lips.

The dam broke and words rushed out. “So, this guy you were with, what happened to him?”

Mila winced slightly, but put on a brave face. “What guy?”

“Cherish’s father?”

Her eyes darted out the window as her hands folded on the table. Looking back, she lifted a shoulder in a resigned shrug. The words were quiet. “I had a one-night stand, and never saw him again. He was from out of town. I didn’t even get his name, so it’s not like I can look him up.” Her eyes closed as she finished her admission. “A condom broke, and at the time I didn’t think much of it. I know, stupid, but it was my first and last one-night stand.” She seemed to hold her breath, waiting for his response.

He placed his hand on hers with a warm smile. “Your little girl is amazing. It’s that guy’s loss.”

She opened her eyes wide, then shook her head. “Wasn’t his fault. I could have asked for a name, I could have done things different…” She looked away as she trailed off.

He lightly squeezed her fingers. “So could he. It’s in the past though. You did nothing wrong.”

She let out a sad laugh. “I feel bad Cherish doesn’t have a father. It’s not fair, but I don’t know how to fix it at this point.”

“Life isn’t always fair, but your daughter has turned out perfect. Obviously, you’re a great mother.” He could see it in their relationship. Mila was everything to that little girl, and gave her all the attention she deserved.

“Thanks. Part of the reason I don’t do bars, or a lot of drinking, is because of that night. Don’t get me wrong—I wouldn’t trade Cherish for the world, and I wouldn’t give up that one night, but I don’t want to find myself in the same position again.”

“Okay, I get that, but I can’t see you as terribly irresponsible. Life happens. Seems to me you’ve made the best of your situation.”

“Yeah, I have. She’s happy, and that makes everything worth it.” Her eyes shone with love as she ran her finger around the rim of her glass. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her.”

“That’s what moms do.”

* * * *

On the way home, Kyle nudged her shoulder. “I have some double chocolate fudge ice cream, if you want a treat before heading home. If not, no big deal.”

Still have all those papers to grade. Plus, he makes me crave things I haven’t wanted in years, and really don’t need.

None of that stopped her mouth from watering—not only for chocolate—her brain clearly ignoring reason. What harm could dessert and friendly conversation be? Despite a walk down memory lane, she enjoyed the evening, and wasn’t ready to part ways.

Looking back at him, she nodded slightly. “Sure.”

His eyes locked on hers, his dimples deepening. “All right then.”

The desire to reach out and trace the sexy indent beside tempting lips drew her. A dozen reasons saying no was the wise move filled her head.

Pulling herself together, she amended, “But not for long. Okay?”

“An ice cream cone, and then I’ll see you home. That’s all.” He gave her a slight bow and nodded toward his driveway. “Your virtue is safe with me.”

She couldn’t stop the giggle. “You’ve done nothing wrong. I’m sorry if I tend to be overly cautious. I haven’t been around a lot of decent men, besides my brother and dad.”

“I always wanted a brother, or a sister. What’s your brother like?”

“Mason is amazing. He’s a cop, like my dad was.” She looked away as he opened the door.

Once they were both inside, he asked, “Was? What happened to your dad?”

Her eyes landed on a picture of Kyle and a man who could only be his father. A soft smile pulled at her lips. “He passed away a couple years before Cherish was born. He would have understood.”

He turned to her, his head tilted to the side. “Understood what?”

She flinched, realizing she shouldn’t have taken the conversation there, but now she had to explain. “Don’t get me wrong. I love my mom, but we don’t always see eye-to-eye. She never understood my decision to keep Cherish when I wasn’t married, and couldn’t name the father. Those conversations were the hardest.”

A look of outrage flashed across his face as his hands clenched into fists.

Mila sighed, lifting a shoulder in a shrug. “She’s very old-school where marriage and kids are concerned. Once Cherish was born, she loved her completely. Her new mission in life became finding me a husband.”

She let out a bitter laugh. “She hasn’t figured out that most men want nothing to do with me once they realize I’m a single mother. The ones who do, like to remind me of my so called
mistake.
Cherish is my world, so they can all go to hell.”

His hands flexed and his nostrils flared before relaxing. “How anyone can see a child as a mistake is beyond me. They sound like assholes unworthy of you, or Cherish.”

Warming further to Kyle, she smiled. “I agree.”

His tone softened. “For the record, some of us don’t find your situation to be a detraction.”

She felt her face scrunch up as she tried to think of a response that was neither bitchy nor a wistful teenaged sigh.

He reached over to squeeze her hand, sending sparks all the way through her system. “I’m simply stating facts, Mila. A lot of men don’t know an amazing woman when she’s staring them in the eye.” Then he stopped and looked at her with wide eyes, “Don’t take that the wrong way. I wasn’t making a move.”

Relieved, and slightly disappointed, the tension flowed from her shoulders. “No worries. Thanks for listening.”

“Anytime. I mean that too. Don’t hesitate to come over if you want to hang out. Feel free to bring Cherish. You
both
make great company.”

“Thanks…” She frowned, but attempted not to dwell on the mixed signals.

One minute he seemed interested, but the next, he backtracked. Mila didn’t know what to think, but tried to take comfort in the fact she wasn’t looking for anything. Though a small voice in the back of her head told her she could make an exception for the fireman with a big heart.

Changing the subject, she blushed slightly. “Does everyone like cherry pie? It’s Cherish’s favorite.” She rolled her eyes. “If you haven’t noticed, she often gets her way. When I can, I let her have it, but she generally deserves special treatment.”

Amusement danced through his eyes. “I love cherry pie, and a happy little girl is always a bonus. I’m sure it’s going to be great. I honestly don’t remember the last time I had homemade pie.”

One corner of her mouth lifted, as she remembered his earlier offer. “We have treats fairly often. Not every night, and not usually a ton, but I do enjoy baking with Cherish. If you have a sweet tooth, you can come over and get a bite. There are always cookies stashed somewhere, if nothing else.”

He licked his lips. “I’ll keep it in mind.”

Forcing herself to move, she took in the living room. Custom work on the molding, the banister, even some of the furniture was handmade, and all of it lovely.

After running her fingers over one of the shelves, she turned to find him watching her. Her voice was breathy. “You have a beautiful home. Did you do all this yourself?”

“Most of it. I like to work with my hands. It’s a hobby of mine.”

“I’m impressed.” Kyle was so different than she expected. Sweet, caring, funny, and especially easy to be around. She craved his company more than she wanted to admit.

“It’s a relaxing way to spend a quiet Sunday.”

“Now I know who to talk to when I decide to remodel,” she teased.

“I’ll remind you of that if you try any do-it-yourself projects without me.” He moved to the fridge and took down the ice cream before reaching into the pantry for chocolate-dipped cones. “One scoop or two?”

“Only one. I need to get back to work on those papers. I’m trying to knock out as many as I can tonight so I don’t have to worry about them on Sunday.”

His brow arched as he made eye contact. “Religious reasons? Or want a day to yourself?”

“I like having a day off here and there. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job, but grading papers will never be the fun part.”

He chuckled. “I’m sure it’s not. I can only imagine how great it must feel to see a kid catching on to something they didn’t understand. Tommy, from across the street, is excited about science for the first time in forever. Or so he tells me.”

“What? You were talking to one of my kids?” She nibbled her lip, wondering why it seemed he showed up everywhere. Not that she was complaining. In fact, the opposite was true, she was flattered for some lame reason. But a piece of her kept waiting for Kyle’s not-so-good side to come out.

“He saw me helping with your flowers over the weekend, and asked me what I thought of you.”

Her breath caught, her eyes widening. “And you said?”

He grinned. “I told him you must be an excellent teacher, because you were certainly a loving and attentive mother. Then he proceeded to tell me everything Verna told you tonight. Students thrive in your class.”

“I don’t know about all that. They’re all smart kids, well behaved. Better than the kids back home. They weren’t terrible, but it was a rougher neighborhood, with some territorial violence. Not gangs per se, but cliques that were far rougher than they should be.” She felt the heat in her cheeks and had to mentally put the brakes on her runaway rambling streak.

“Tommy seems to believe you’re the best teacher he’s ever had, and he’s not prone to exaggeration.” He brought her one scoop of ice cream, while he ate two. “There’s more if you want it. I always have ice cream around for when my sweet tooth acts up.”

That made her giggle. “Yeah, well you can’t tell by the looks of you.”

“Oh?” One eyebrow rose. “And what makes you say that?”

“All that muscle.” The heat rose in her cheeks. “Not that I’ve been looking, but it’s pretty obvious you keep in shape.” She wished she could hide her face without making the blush more obvious.

“Why, thank you. You don’t do too bad yourself. I’m guessing you have some kind of program to keep yourself fit?”

“Yeah, yoga. Cherish does it with me, I swear that little monkey’s better at it than I am.” A nervous laugh escaped her lips.

He moved closer, his eyes locking on hers. “I don’t know about that, but the kid has some moves. I caught sight of her dancing in the yard the other day. Where did she learn to dance?”

She nibbled her bottom lip. “We like to dance, but I do it behind closed doors and drapes so I don’t make a fool of myself. We turn on videos and have super-secret dance parties.” She fanned herself, feeling her cheeks flame.

“Mila, you move with grace. I’m sure your dancing is anything but clumsy. In fact, I’m betting it’s a blast. One day, when I have kids, I’ll dance with them, without the drapes closed.”

“Yeah, well, you can show off and probably not look like a fool. Not so much for me.”

His eyes narrowed, as he took another step closer. “Why do you beat yourself up? Now don’t take this the wrong way, you’re beautiful, no denying it. I get dressing conservatively as a teacher. And I get not making a big fuss about clothes and makeup, because frankly you don’t need them. But you act like you aren’t worth the attention, and woman, you most certainly are. You’re funny, delightful, and easygoing. A joy to be around. So why put yourself down?” He moved closer, leaning against the island, next to the stool she was perched on.