“That’s one of the things I wanted to tell you.” She smiled as she took a bite of her plain lettuce leaf. Yuck, was there any dressing on that greenery at all? “I’ve been seeing someone myself.”

   Jacob had a mouthful of hamburger when she dropped that bomb, and it damn near went down the wrong way. Out of all the things he’d expected her to say, that wasn’t one of them. Not that it bothered him that she had a new man in her life—as long as it was someone who was good to his daughter. But to his knowledge, she hadn’t been involved with anyone in quite some time. It might sound vain, but she’d spent most of the last few years trying to get him back into bed. He wasn’t naïve enough to believe there hadn’t been someone here and there, but she certainly kept it very quiet. Casey had never mentioned a new uncle appearing out of the blue or anything, and his daughter would have certainly told him all about it if Mom had a new boyfriend. When he finally managed to swallow his food, he said, “Well, good for you. Is it serious?”

   She toyed with her hair, watching him carefully. “It’s possible. His name is Dean and he’s a plastic surgeon.”

   Impressed despite himself, he asked, “So we’re talking face-lifts and such?”

   She actually blushed—something he wouldn’t have thought her capable of before motioning to her chest. “Er—breastaugmentation.” She said it so fast that the entire thing came out as one word, but he knew he heard the breast part and couldn’t control the chuckle that came out.

   “Oh, grow up, Jake,” she snapped as she rolled her eyes. “It’s a very lucrative field and Dean has a busy practice.”

   “I’ll bet.” He smirked. Breast enlargements in a beach town were probably like money in the bank. Heck, even he felt the urge to meet Dean now. When she looked ready to have another one of the tantrums she’d thrown on their last visit here, he wiped the smile off his face and got it together. He’d rather not have his membership canceled when she threw her dry salad at him. “I’m just kidding, Chris. Congratulations. I hope everything works out. Maybe we can all go out to dinner soon.”

   “Sure,” she sniffed. “I’ll mention it to Dean. He stays really busy, though, so it could be a while before our schedule is free.”

   After that, they made small talk, mainly centered on their daughter. It was quite possibly the most pleasant hour he’d ever shared with Chris. He’d let his guard down until there came another slide of something against his inner thighs. This time, when he attempted to shift and close his legs, he felt what had to be her foot just inches from his crotch. Unless her legs had suddenly grown a helluva lot longer, that couldn’t be an accident. She had to be stretching to reach that far. Say something or let it go? “You are aware that you have your foot in the vicinity of my dick, right?” he asked bluntly, and then lowered his voice when the teenager at the next table turned to stare. Fuck, he’s probably Facebooking this conversation right now.

   “Whoops, sorry about that,” she purred. “My bad.”

   My bad? Really? What is she, fifteen? “Do you think maybe you could move it then?” he asked. Just when he thought that maybe she’d moved on, she’d started a game of footsie with his cock . . . and less than a minute after telling him all about Tits Man Dean?

   Sliding his chair back slightly, he planted his palms on the table and prepared to have an uncomfortable talk with her. As if sensing that, she jumped to her feet in a move so fast, it left him blinking in surprise. “Would you look at the time? I have an appointment in thirty minutes across town.” Hurrying to his side of the table, she dropped a kiss on his cheek and ran her hand over his shoulder as she buzzed past him.

   “Hell’s bells,” he muttered to himself.

   He was still trying to figure out what had just happened when the teenager at the next table turned around and gave him a thumbs-up. “Dude, that was totally hot. You’re like my new hero. That chick was smokin’ and she wanted to get all up on you.” The kid was with an older man that he assumed was his father. Unfortunately for Jacob, he was on the phone and not paying any attention to their conversation. The teenager looked completely mystified as he asked, “Why’d you run her off? You got someone better on the line?”

   Jacob pulled his wallet from his pocket and peeled off a stack of notes to take care of the bill with a generous tip. Finally, he looked at the kid and said, “I’m married.”

   Shrugging his thin shoulders, the teenager said, “So?”

   Jacob laughed as he got to his feet. “Stay in school, kid,” he tossed over his shoulder. “I have a feeling you’re going to need a plan B in the future.” That backup plan would probably involve some type of porn empire, Jacob thought wryly. Never underestimate the youth of today.

   As he walked to his truck, he couldn’t help wondering what the whole point of that lunch was. Chris had told him that she had a new man in her life, but he didn’t really get the sense the information was the point of the meeting. Then there was the whole foot in his lap twice. She’d always been fairly upfront in the past when attempting to put the moves on him, so today felt strange. It was almost as if she was tossing a little of everything his way to get a reaction.

   If he lived to be a thousand, women would still be a mystery to him. One that he’d love to solve, but feared that he’d never sleep again if he did.

Chapter Eleven

   “Your father and I are back from your aunt’s house. I haven’t talked to you in a few weeks, so I thought I’d check in,” her mother said. Try a few months, Lydia thought dryly as she listened to her mother drone on and on. As she was an only child, one would expect that she’d have a closer relationship with her parents, but that had never really been the case. Instead, she’d left for college and her visits home had grown farther and farther apart even though they lived only about an hour away. It wasn’t that she was abused or anything along those lines. They just believed in parenting directly from a childcare book but without many nurturing feelings thrown in. Apparently, that would make her a more independent adult, which possibly they were right about. She certainly hadn’t had any issues cutting the cord and striking out into the world on her own.