Page 55 of Broken Vows

“Women like that.”

He starts asking about Drew, but I hang up before he can get far. I don’t want to talk about Drew right now.

The doctor was wrong. This is physical. That’s all. Any healthy man would react the same way around a woman like Carmen. My body’s doing exactly what it’s supposed to do. Pushing me toward the finish line.

Nothing more.

I smack the heel of my hand against my sternum.

“Don’t like her,” I mutter. “And I’m not fucking shy.”

This bake sale is a sure-fire plan. She’s already slipping. After this, she won’t stand a chance.

I get home in a foul mood. The doctor’s words are still rattling around in my head.

I slam the car door and head next door to grab Theo. That’s when I hear it—loud, bright, carefree giggling coming from Carmen’s backyard.

God help me.

I stop at the gate.

Carmen and Theo are playing catch in the grass. She’s barefoot in shorts and a T-shirt, her hair twisted up in a messy knot that looks one throw away from falling apart. She’s got a surprisingly decent arm, but Theo still has to run for most of her throws, laughing so hard he almost drops the ball every time.

She lunges dramatically for a wild throw and collapses onto the grass in an exaggerated heap. Theo bursts out laughing. Carmen laughs too, breathless and bright, lying there with grass on her knees and her face tipped toward the sun.

My chest starts acting up again.

For fuck’s sake.

Carmen spots me first. She sits up, brushing grass off her arms, and smiles. “Hey.”

Theo waves excitedly. “Levi! Come play!”

“No,” I say, walking through the gate and stepping around Carmen’s little rat as she sniffs at my boots. “Not happening.”

Carmen raises an eyebrow, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Oh, come on.”

I lift my bad arm. “Kinda hard with one arm. Look what happened last time.”

Carmen throws the ball straight at my head.

I catch it one-handed without thinking.

Her smile widens. “Impressive.”

Heat crawls up my neck. My heart gives one hard kick, then starts that stupid clenching bullshit again.

I throw the ball to Theo. He catches it against his chest and grins. “Again.”

He throws it back. I catch it easily and send it to him again.

Then Carmen jumps in, and everything changes. Her first throw sails wide. I have to lunge and snatch it before it smacks the fence.

Her next throw goes even wider, I catch that one too. Her grin grows bigger.

Before I know it, the three of us are scattered across the yard. Theo laughs every time Carmen sends the ball flying somewhere it has no business going, and I keep stepping in to save it.

“You’re trying to lose it on purpose,” I tell her.