The Mighty Quinns: Jack. Kate Hoffmann
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That brought a laugh. “And you’re not a very good liar,” she countered. “Don’t you think this whole thing is kind of strange?”
“Hitchhiking tacos?”
“No, my dad and your mom. It’s kind of unexpected.”
He drew a deep breath and nodded. “My dad died twenty-two years ago. I was nine. And since then, Mom’s never shown the slightest bit of interest in dating. But she and your dad are old friends. Their families used to spend summers together. It’s just a chance to revisit the past.”
“My father told me, about a year ago, that he could never see himself with another woman. That my mom was his one true love. I believed him.”
“They’re looking for companionship,” Jack said. “Isn’t that what people their age want? I can’t imagine they’re in it for the sex.”
She clapped her hands over her ears. “Stop. I don’t want to listen to that.”
Jack reached out and pulled her hands away. “At one time they were our age,” he said. “I’m sure there were times when they felt that kind of gut-deep attraction for someone. You know, when you feel like you can’t breathe and your head gets all fuzzy?” He was very familiar with that feeling, since it had happened to him the moment he’d first seen Mia.
She forced a smile. “Yeah, I know.” Mia reached for her beer and took a long sip. “So do you really think that all stops at fifty?”
He shook his head. “No. But then, I’m a guy. I can’t believe it’s ever going to stop. I’d like to think I’ll be interested in sex until I’m at least eighty or ninety years old. What about you?”
“I can’t imagine my father having thoughts like that,” Mia murmured.
“I wouldn’t worry about it. My mother is very comfortable in Chicago and your father is comfortable here. When you get to be that age, you just don’t turn your life upside down and move away from the only home you’ve known for the past thirty years.”
She finished her taco and nodded. “We shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves. But we should be prepared to discourage a romance.” Mia sighed softly. “It would just be so awkward. The holidays would be the worst. Having a stranger there, in place of my mother. It wouldn’t feel right.”
“Who says she’d want to spend the holidays here? She’s always spent Christmas in Chicago with our family.”
“See, that’s what this leads to. It would be a nightmare. I’m glad we agree that there should be no romance. If it looks like it’s getting too hot and heavy, we’re going to have to step in.”
“Now I’m starting to feel like the parent,” Jack said.
“It’s what happens. My father only dated one woman in his entire life. He’s not ready for romance.”
They finished their tacos and beers, then carried their tray back to the window. Jack walked to the driver’s side of the car and reached for the door, but Mia suddenly turned around to face him. “But what if there is an attraction?” she murmured, her gaze fixed on his. “And what if they act on it?”
He stared down at her. They were standing so close he could smell the scent of her perfume, could feel the heat from her body. Jack clenched his hands into fists to keep himself from reaching out and touching her. The breeze toyed with a strand of her hair and he imagined how it might feel between his fingers.
“I suppose we’ll deal with that when it happens,” he said softly.
Jack leaned in slightly, testing, searching for an equal and opposite reaction. Her lips parted slightly and the need to taste her was almost overwhelming. His gaze drifted down to her mouth. But somewhere, in the back of his mind, a tiny voice told him to stop.
Indulging in his own attraction would be a huge risk. Though Mia was beautiful, she could also distract him from his purpose, which was getting his mother back to Chicago, safely and with her heart intact. And yet, even though his instincts told him to back off, Jack couldn’t help but wonder what it would feel like to just let go.
He sucked in a sharp breath, then reached around her and opened the car door. “We should probably get going,” he murmured.
“Right,” she said, avoiding his gaze.
He smiled to himself as he circled the car. This was the last place on earth he would have ever expected to find a woman who tied him up in knots. Had he known he’d meet someone like Mia, he might have decided to stay at home. Though it would be difficult, he was going to have to keep their relationship strictly platonic.
Unless, of course, she convinced him otherwise.
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