All the Waters of the Earth (Giving You ... #3) Read Online Free Page A

reason.  Then I picked up Rob from school—again, normal mom stuff.  He did his homework, we ate dinner, and I cleaned up. After dinner, at about eight o’clock, there was a knock at my door.
    Would it be a hunk or a process server? I was seriously hoping for the former. The latter never needed to come again.
    When I opened the door, I found Jake, rumpled in his suit, his tie undone slightly and his hair roguish. One exhausted businessman.
    “Hey,” he said, those sapphire eyes regarding me.  God, he smelled good.  Even tired, he gave off an energy, pheromones.  All I wanted to do was touch him.
     “Hi.  Are you just finishing up work?”
    “Yeah,” he said, resting an arm against the doorjamb over my head, making me react with a throb in my heart and other places.  He gave me a crooked smile. “I worked all weekend too. I wanted to bring you this, one of my clients makes it.” And he handed me a jar of salsa, a very good local brand.
    “Thank you.  I love this brand, it’s delicious.”  He’d thought of me.  Nice.
    “I’m glad.” He looked at me, then glanced over at his door and let out a breath. “Well, I don’t want to keep you. It was a long day.”  He looked like he wanted to say more.
    Who took care of this guy? It didn’t seem like he had anyone looking out for him. “Did you get dinner?”
    “I picked up something at work.  My usual. There’s takeout next door.”
    “No, no, no.”  Eating out all the time wasn’t healthy.  “You need to start eating good food, home cooked, you know.”
    “It’s hard when I work so late all the time. I loved your tamales, Lucy.”
    Yay .  The effort was worth it if it nourished him.  I had to sass him, though.
    “You should try my chile relleno casserole. It’s a recipe from the Dairy Council of America, but it’s the shit.”
    “MOM!” yelled Rob.
    “Sorry, mijo ,” I called back.
    “Don’t swear, Mom,” he called back.
    I ignored him and looked at Jake who had been observing me with amusement.  Then I took the next step, the one I normally avoided.  “You want to meet my son?”  I’d never kept it from people I dated, but it definitely was a damper on relationships.   The test to see if a guy could handle me.
    But right now I didn’t hesitate or feel weird introducing Jake to my son or vice versa. We were neighbors. He was bound to find out that I had a son. 
    Love me, love my son. That’s the way it worked.
    But also with Jake, well, I wanted to get to know him and I wanted him to know me.  So I hoped he’d say yes.
    Jake nodded. I let out a breath. So far, he passed. “Sure. Can I come in?” I stepped back and let him come in my home for the first time, his elegant but athletic frame dominating the front area.
    “Roberto, come here and meet Mister Jake, our new neighbor.”
    Rob came skidding up in his socks and slid right in front of Jake. Skinny, with bony knees and gangling arms, he hadn’t yet grown into himself. He had cheeks meant to pinch and dark brown eyes like his father. I ruffled his short, spiky hair.  “Whoa,” he said, when he looked up to Jake’s height.
    “How do you do?”  Jake asked formally, extending his hand.
    “Uh, fine,” said Rob, shaking his hand limply. Then he looked at me, big-eyed, panicking as to what to do next.
    I laughed. “Okay, enough torture. Go back to the television.” Rob slid off in his socks and Jake’s eyes followed him, then returned to me.  He whispered.
    “Good-looking kid.  Polite, too.”
    Now the way to melt the heart of a mama is to compliment her kid.
    “Thanks” was all that I managed in response.
    “I’d better get in,” he said. “I’m beat. See you tomorrow?”
    I nodded. “I hope so. Goodnight.”
    “Goodnight.” Looking around to see if Rob was watching, he bent over and kissed me, not slowly, not quickly, but enough to matter. I again felt the pulse through my body.  Then he kissed my nose and opened my door and left.
    What was