here, I promise.”
Dylan voiced his agreement. “You’ll get to watch movies and stuff yourselves on cookies and popcorn, and you can tell everyone in your class that you’re having an extended sleepover. Think of how jealous they’ll be.”
Neither Miranda nor Dylan succeeded in calming down the twins, whose faces were red and splotchy and covered with tears and snot.
Seth resisted a groan. Christ, how was this happening? In his house? How could he have possibly thought letting Miranda and the rugrats stay here was a good idea?
Miranda murmured words of comfort, but eventually she excused herself and ushered the kids out of the room, leaving the men alone to clean up.
“I can see why you like her,” Dylan confessed, gathering everyone’s dirty plates.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. She’s gorgeous, smart, amazing with those kids. The thing is, I don’t get why you like her.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
He followed his roommate to the sink and opened the cupboard beneath it, where they kept the trash can. Together, they began scraping leftover food into the garbage, while Dylan took his sweet-ass time responding.
“You don’t go for chicks like Miranda,” Dylan finally said. “You only do temporary, and I hate to break it to you, bro, but that woman has permanent written all over her.”
His jaw tensed. “I know.”
“Do you? Because it doesn’t seem like you do. Let me spell it out for you. That gorgeous, smart woman out there?” Dylan gestured beyond the kitchen doorway. “She’s a mom, and she loves those kids something fierce, in case you haven’t noticed.”
“Oh, I’ve noticed,” he said grimly.
“And you, for some unexplained reason, have an aversion to anyone under the age of eighteen.”
“Why does everyone act like I’m auditioning for the role of those kids’ father? I’m attracted to Miranda, plain and simple. I want to sleep with her, not marry her.”
Dylan started running the plates under the tap before shoving them in the dishwasher. “Well, she ain’t gonna sleep with you,” he said bluntly. “She’s not the type for a casual fuck. Anyone can see that.”
Seth couldn’t even argue, because he knew Dylan was 100 percent, categorically right . Miranda herself had made that loud and clear only hours ago. So why the hell couldn’t he bring himself to abandon the cause? Why was he chasing after a woman who didn’t want a fling? And even if he did succeed in wearing down her defenses, she’d said so herself—she didn’t do casual. She would want more from him.
He wasn’t ready to give anyone that more . The only commitment he wanted in his life was the one he’d made to the United States Navy SEALs. He was a soldier first and foremost, and he had plenty of solid ass-kicking, world-saving years left in him.
Truth was, no matter how many successful ops his squad had carried out, he still didn’t feel he’d scraped even the tip of the iceberg in terms of making a difference in this sorry world. Not that he was some tree-hugging do-gooder, but he did feel the need to be doing something worthwhile. Something that had value. Something that gave him value.
“Ugh,” Miranda’s voice came from the doorway. “I calmed them down, but they still won’t tell me what’s freaking them out so bad.” She headed for the kitchen table and began clearing the remaining items.
“You don’t have to do that,” Dylan called from the sink.
“Yes, I do.” She handed him the empty water glasses, then grabbed some paper towels from the dispenser on the counter. As she wiped the table, she let out a sigh and said, “Hopefully Soph and Jase don’t cause too much trouble when I’m at work tonight. They’re acting so damn weird.”
Both men froze, exchanging panicked looks.
Seth attempted to sound casual. “You’re bartending tonight?”
As in, leaving the rugrats here with him and Dylan? The mere thought of it sent a jolt of terror through him.
“It’s
Dylan voiced his agreement. “You’ll get to watch movies and stuff yourselves on cookies and popcorn, and you can tell everyone in your class that you’re having an extended sleepover. Think of how jealous they’ll be.”
Neither Miranda nor Dylan succeeded in calming down the twins, whose faces were red and splotchy and covered with tears and snot.
Seth resisted a groan. Christ, how was this happening? In his house? How could he have possibly thought letting Miranda and the rugrats stay here was a good idea?
Miranda murmured words of comfort, but eventually she excused herself and ushered the kids out of the room, leaving the men alone to clean up.
“I can see why you like her,” Dylan confessed, gathering everyone’s dirty plates.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. She’s gorgeous, smart, amazing with those kids. The thing is, I don’t get why you like her.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
He followed his roommate to the sink and opened the cupboard beneath it, where they kept the trash can. Together, they began scraping leftover food into the garbage, while Dylan took his sweet-ass time responding.
“You don’t go for chicks like Miranda,” Dylan finally said. “You only do temporary, and I hate to break it to you, bro, but that woman has permanent written all over her.”
His jaw tensed. “I know.”
“Do you? Because it doesn’t seem like you do. Let me spell it out for you. That gorgeous, smart woman out there?” Dylan gestured beyond the kitchen doorway. “She’s a mom, and she loves those kids something fierce, in case you haven’t noticed.”
“Oh, I’ve noticed,” he said grimly.
“And you, for some unexplained reason, have an aversion to anyone under the age of eighteen.”
“Why does everyone act like I’m auditioning for the role of those kids’ father? I’m attracted to Miranda, plain and simple. I want to sleep with her, not marry her.”
Dylan started running the plates under the tap before shoving them in the dishwasher. “Well, she ain’t gonna sleep with you,” he said bluntly. “She’s not the type for a casual fuck. Anyone can see that.”
Seth couldn’t even argue, because he knew Dylan was 100 percent, categorically right . Miranda herself had made that loud and clear only hours ago. So why the hell couldn’t he bring himself to abandon the cause? Why was he chasing after a woman who didn’t want a fling? And even if he did succeed in wearing down her defenses, she’d said so herself—she didn’t do casual. She would want more from him.
He wasn’t ready to give anyone that more . The only commitment he wanted in his life was the one he’d made to the United States Navy SEALs. He was a soldier first and foremost, and he had plenty of solid ass-kicking, world-saving years left in him.
Truth was, no matter how many successful ops his squad had carried out, he still didn’t feel he’d scraped even the tip of the iceberg in terms of making a difference in this sorry world. Not that he was some tree-hugging do-gooder, but he did feel the need to be doing something worthwhile. Something that had value. Something that gave him value.
“Ugh,” Miranda’s voice came from the doorway. “I calmed them down, but they still won’t tell me what’s freaking them out so bad.” She headed for the kitchen table and began clearing the remaining items.
“You don’t have to do that,” Dylan called from the sink.
“Yes, I do.” She handed him the empty water glasses, then grabbed some paper towels from the dispenser on the counter. As she wiped the table, she let out a sigh and said, “Hopefully Soph and Jase don’t cause too much trouble when I’m at work tonight. They’re acting so damn weird.”
Both men froze, exchanging panicked looks.
Seth attempted to sound casual. “You’re bartending tonight?”
As in, leaving the rugrats here with him and Dylan? The mere thought of it sent a jolt of terror through him.
“It’s
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