Page 125 of Fierce-Baker

He offered to stay with Micah tonight. To get him ready for bed, so she didn’t have to pick him up at her parents’, but she’d already set this up and there was no reason to make her change plans.

In his mind, this was a way for her to talk to her parents without him around.

Maybe it was for the best.

Only he didn’t think so.

37

EVEN PLAYING FIELD

Two days later, Tasha sat on a bench in the park after work.

October had barely begun. The air carried a hint of crispness, but it was still warm in the high seventies instead of ninety. The sun pressed against her face, bright and relentless, as her gaze swept the park waiting for her ex to appear.

Hoping he would. That she could write this off as a nightmare.

But she couldn’t. She had to put one foot in front of the other.

Baker wasn’t far away. She knew that much, even if she couldn’t see him yet. There was comfort in knowing he had her back, mixed with a sting of embarrassment. That he might witness what she was about to do. What might spill from her mouth once Shane was in front of her.

The last thing she wanted was for Baker to compare himself to her past. To measure himself against a man who no longer mattered.

What she wanted, what sheneeded,was the man she loved now.

The one who stood steady beside her.

The one who was nothing like the men she’d chosen before.

“I knew you’d change your mind,” Shane said.

Her head turned from where he’d come behind her. Sneaking around like he had perfected it for ages.

Well hell, he had.

“About what?” she asked.

She didn’t stand for him. Didn’t give him that courtesy.

In her eyes, he didn’t deserve to be taking up the same air as her.

“That you’d want another piece of us.” His eyes roamed over her. “You still look good. I didn’t get a chance to tell you that. Got some more curves on you too. I like it. All in the right places.”

Her fist clenched on her thigh, she closed her eyes, took a steadying breath, then opened them back up and focused on his face.

“I don’t care what you think of how I look. That isn’t why I called you here.”

His smile dropped. His blue eyes, she realized now, the same color blue as Micah’s that she’d thought her son got from her. She was wrong. His eyes were intent on her, no humor, no niceness, more like annoyance.

Good. They could be on an even playing field then.

No. He’d never catch up to what she’d felt once the truth came out.

Or maybe she was wrong. Maybe he would feel it.

“Then why did you?” Shane asked. “Is this some kind of game you’re playing?”

“I don’t play games,” she said. “I need to tell you something and it’s best to do it face to face.”