Sugar on Top (20 page)

“What was that?” she asked against his mouth.

“You kissing me and me trying to figure out what it is about the women in my life tempting hyperthermia with their clothing choices?”

“I believe you kissed me. Again.”

“You attacked me.”

“I did not.” She looked down and found her hands bunched in his shirt, gripping on for dear life. It took everything she had to let go. She’d dreamed of kissing him like that for a long time. Maybe forever, even.

“This is my uniform and I didn’t know I qualified as a woman in your life.”

“I’m not sure what we are, but I sure as hell don’t obsess about random women and what they’re wearing under their uniform.” His fingers were on the move again, rubbing back and forth across the soft skin right below her ass. “Lace or silk, Boots?”

She smacked his hands away. Not that it helped. “A little of both.”

That earned her a little half smile, which always managed to make her knees quiver. “Are we talking black, pink, red?” He looked at her boots. “Please say they’re red.”

Thinking back to Jelly Lou’s big talk, about how a man’s never going to buy the tractor if they can test drive it all day long, Glory grabbed his wrists, pried them out from under her skirt, and stepped back. “That ranks as date five kind of information.”

His face puckered in confusion. “Date five? Don’t you mean date three?”

“Nope. Five. Four if they’re really special.” And he was special but they obviously still wanted different things. Only moments ago, Glory had thought she could do this, have a fling with the guy she’d had a crush on since she was a teenager. But sadly, she couldn’t. Not with Cal.

Disappointed, she grabbed her purse and headed toward her car, not surprised when Cal followed. Even less surprised when he leaned against her door, blocking her escape.

With a sigh she looked up, amused at the confusion on his face. Poor guy had no clue what had just happened.

“Look, men get stuck on the third date being the portal to automatic sex, so I make them go the extra mile, to make sure they’re interested in more. Because
I’m
interested in more.” And for the first time in a long time, she actually believed that she deserved more. She deserved what her grandparents had, and she wasn’t going to settle for less this time.

“But you are interested in sex?”

“Yes.”

“With me?”

She crossed her arms. “Despite all logic, yes.”

His smile was back. Hers was not. She was too nervous to smile because she was about to grow a pair.

Waiting to experience what everyone else seemed to come by naturally hadn’t panned out for her so well in the past, so she was done waiting. She’d never know “what if” unless she took a chance. And the chance to be with Cal was greater than the fear of rejection.

“But I want more.”

His gaze went wary. “You need to define
more
for me, because I’m not a long-term bet. At least not right now.”

So he’d pointed out. Several times. Yet here he was looking at her like she was the only thing keeping him grounded.

“I’m not asking for a ring or to wear your jacket or anything, just a chance to see if there is more here than simple chemistry.”

His face went soft and he brushed a piece of hair behind her ear. “There’s more, Boots, but I need to think about Payton. She comes first.”

“I get that.” She respected it even. His daughter was going through a difficult time, and the last thing she needed was another woman in her dad’s life making things even more complicated. “I worry about Payton, too.” A lot more as of late. “And I would never do anything that would hurt or confuse her.”

“I know,” he said, seemingly surprised by his own statement.

“Good, then if you’d like to see where I fall between friend and woman in your life, I’m free Monday night. No pressure, and if you don’t show, I won’t bring it up again. Promise.”

She went up on her toes and kissed him good night on the cheek, which he accepted without complaint, damn him. But when she reached for the door, instead of backing up, he moved even closer, taking her hand in his bigger one, turning it over and studying it for a moment before delivering a sweet kiss to her palm.

His gaze went to hers, quiet and reflective. “Don’t go anywhere. Give me a minute.”

She watched his fine ass disappear around her car, tapped her foot as he rummaged through his truck, and almost gave up and drove home before she went back on her word, when a minute later he returned—jacket in hand.

His big body taking up all of her personal space until there was nothing but him, he slipped the jacket over her shoulders and then drew the ends around her, zipping it up tight.

It was too hot for a jacket, but it smelled good. Fresh sawdust and rugged man good. And felt like a promise. Not a forever kind of promise, but one that had her resolve, and her heart, melting.

“What’s this?” she asked, snuggling deeper into the Cal-cocoon.

“My jacket.” He held out his arm like the gentleman that he was. “Now, Boots, I know it’s too late for dinner, but how about a little dessert? And I promise to have you back in time to study for your exam.”

She would pull an all-nighter if it meant going on a real date with Cal McGraw.

She laced her arm though his. “I think the Creamery is still open.”

“Vanilla?”

“What’s wrong with vanilla?” Cal asked, opening the shop door and following Glory out into the evening. A bell jingled behind them and he couldn’t help but notice that, even though his jacket dwarfed her tiny frame, Miss Glory had a jingle all her own when she walked—a sexy sway of the hips that had her bottom moving and her boots clacking with every step.

“There were over a hundred flavors and you went with vanilla,” she said on low laugh, as though she were accusing him of wearing tighty whities. Then she took a lick of her double-scoop Firecracker Surprise in a confetti-dipped cone. “Old people order vanilla.”

“Why change when I know what’s best?” he explained, then wondered why he even bothered when she snorted. So he liked vanilla, so what? It went with every kind of pie and cake, didn’t give him heartburn, and never left him disappointed.

“Ah-huh,” she said dryly, in that female tone he was more than familiar with.

“I’ve had enough surprises tonight,” he admitted.

Even though it was dark on Maple Street, as most of the storefronts had already turned off their welcome signs, Cal could still make out the genuine concern in her eyes as she looked up at him. “I can’t see Payton moving.”

“Neither could I.” Until he’d seen Payton’s face light up at dinner. “But a house with no rules, no expectations, and no limitations is pretty tempting for a teenager.” That it housed the one person Payton would do anything to be close with made it a slam-dunk. “Did I mention it’s on the beach?”

“Although the beach does sound pretty tempting, it doesn’t have you,” she said quietly, taking his hand. Hers was cool from holding her ice cream, but managed to pack one hell of a hot jolt.

“You mean it doesn’t have the guy who is always telling her no?” He slid her a glance. “And by the way, saying no as a parent is so much worse than hearing it as a teen.”

“Ah-huh.”

He stopped and turned Glory around to face him. “
Ah-huh
is woman-speak for ‘Are you really that clueless?’ And I’d like to think that when it comes to my daughter, I’m not. So please, enlighten me.”

She studied him for a long moment, most likely gauging his seriousness. He was dead serious. If he was missing something that could help him with Payton, he needed to know.

“Fine. Don’t say no all the time.”

Right
, because it was
that
easy. Between hormones, boys, and the arrival of boobs, the only way to make sure Payton stayed safe was limits. And limits meant having to say no. Something Tawny would never understand.

“If I did that, I’d have an out-of-control teen.”

Glory coyly licked her cone, not believing him at all. Yeah, so he’d told her about the two-hour bathroom sit-in.

“Okay, a
more
out-of-control teen.”

“Payton is not out of control,” she said dryly. “She’s just figuring out how to go from a daddy’s little girl to a young lady, which is normal, trust me.”

Strangely he did. He’d bet Glory saw a lot of things at the hospital, things that he would do anything to keep Payton from experiencing. “So you think I should let her move to Houston?”

“I think you should start small.” She was swinging their hands, and he had to admit it was kind of adorable. Irritating, but adorable. “Find ways you can feel comfortable saying yes, so she can figure things out in a safe environment.”

“Like?”

“Like…” She dragged out the word as she tugged him along the sidewalk. Not that she had to do much tugging; he was pretty sure that he’d follow her just about anywhere. “Instead of a hard, no-dating-until-you’re-sixteen rule, maybe you drop her off at the movies with her friends for a safe, casual co-ed Friday night.”

“There are no dating rules for Payton, since Payton can’t date until college.” Glory snorted. “I’m serious. Do you know what teenage boys think about ninety percent of the time? Sex. So group date or not, that kid is going to be thinking about sex ninety percent of the time he’s out with my daughter.”

“What will he think about the other ten percent?”

“How to
have
sex with my daughter.”

She slid him a sideways look. “And what do guys your age think about?”

“I already told you, lace,” he admitted with a grin, tucking her against him and slipping his arm around her. “Ten percent of the time I’m wondering what color you’re wearing; the other ninety percent I’m plotting how I can get it off you as fast as possible.”

“What percent are you thinking about now?”

“I’m still hoping for red.”

Her hand did some slipping of its own, around his waist and into his back pocket. “And even though you wonder, I also know that in the end you’re a gentleman and will respect my boundaries, which is why I said yes to dessert.”

Which meant he wasn’t going to get to see her panties tonight. And surprisingly, he was okay with that. It had been a long time since he’d felt this kind of connection with someone, had this much fun just eating ice cream and talking. “How can you be sure I’m a gentleman?”

Because around Glory he sure as hell didn’t feel like a gentleman. He felt like a man possessed, willing to do whatever it took to strip her naked and make her smile.

Jesus? Make her smile?
Not make her scream or pant and yell out his name? He wanted to make her smile.

“I know because I’ve been around enough jerks to pick out who the good ones are. Payton needs experience with boys, friends, hobbies, life, if she is going to figure out who she is and what she wants.”

He let out a breath. “So you’re saying I should loosen up.”

“I’m saying that if you don’t give her space to grow, she’ll either find a way to do it without you knowing, or even worse, she’ll never be able to stand on her own two feet.”

Without another word, she rested her head against his side and slowly strolled with him down Maple Street, their bodies brushing with every step as they ate their ice cream in silence.

Unlike the other women in his life, Glory didn’t push her opinion, didn’t give him a million and one examples or stories to prove her point, didn’t even ask redundant questions that were the equivalent of “I told you so.” She just walked next to him, her hand cupping his ass through his pocket, letting him have the time he needed to process.

They strolled down the cobblestone sidewalk, along the gas lamp–lined street, licking their ice cream and making their way back toward the Saddle Rack. Well, Glory was making headway on her cone; Cal hadn’t touched his. He was too busy thinking about Payton, thinking about what Glory had said.

“What if I let her go and she doesn’t come back?” he asked quietly as they reached the bar’s back parking lot.

No matter how much time he took or how many different ways he looked at the situation, Glory was right. He knew it. It was just that he didn’t do letting go so well, never had. He’d been forced to let go of his parents, then his brothers, one by one, and finally Tawny. Every time he lost someone, they took with them a little part of his soul, a part of himself that he didn’t know how to get back, leaving a space he didn’t know how to fill. So he ignored those spaces, put everything he had into loving his daughter, and he didn’t know if he could let her go. But deep down, he was more terrified that if he didn’t, he might lose her. For good.

Glory stopped and reached up to cup his cheek with her free hand. “No matter how fun living with her mom sounds or how many times you tell her no, Payton will always come back home because you’re here. Stubborn, overprotective, embarrassing, it doesn’t matter. You are her whole world, Cal, and she loves you and knows that you love her. Unconditionally.”

He swallowed hard, wondering how she knew exactly what he needed to hear. Then he realized that
that
was Glory, in a nutshell. After all of the amount of crap slung her way over the years, most people would have packed it in and moved on. Not Glory. She’d stayed here and stuck it out when starting over, anywhere else, would have been a hell of a lot easier.

“Is that why you never left? Because of your grandma?”

She looked at her boots and shrugged. “She’s not really my grandma,” she said so quietly he thought he’d misunderstood. “I was only six when my mom blew that secret. She took off and my dad didn’t want anything to do with me. He said to put me in foster care but Jelly Lou wouldn’t hear of it.”

“You were hers,” he said, and she lifted her gaze to his, looking surprised by his statement, which told him more than he needed to know about Billy Mann. It also explained a lot about the woman standing in front of him.

“Billy made her choose, and Jelly Lou said that since I was a little girl and he was a grown man, she didn’t see much of a choice to be made. He took a job in Tuscaloosa a few weeks later and never came back.” She didn’t need to mention her mom; the whole town watched as that drama unfolded.