Kisses After Dark by Marie Force Page B

and I want to get to know you better.”
    “Fancy meeting you here,” Laura said from behind them, where she stood with Holden in her arms.
    “Oh, hey,” Shane said to his sister, as casual as could be, as if he hadn’t just tipped Katie’s world upside down with what he’d said to her. “What’s up?”
    “I could ask you the same. Didn’t expect to see you at a family thing tonight.”
    “Katie wanted to meet my tuna.”
    She held up a forkful of the succulent fish. “He’s delicious.”
    “I wish I could have some,” Laura said wistfully.
    “Why can’t you?” Shane asked.
    “Tuna has a lot of mercury, which isn’t good for the babies.”
    “That’s a bummer. I would’ve caught something else for you if I’d known that.”
    “But I see there are potatoes,” Laura said, her eyes widening.
    “One of her cravings,” Owen explained.
    Shane reached for the baby. “Let me take him while you guys eat.”
    “Are you sure?” Laura asked. “You’re still eating.”
    “I’m positive. Come see Uncle Shane, buddy.”
    Holden’s arms and legs went wild as he tried to get to his uncle, making his mother and Katie laugh.
    “It’s so not fair,” Laura said. “You’re sick as a dog while you carry a baby for nine months, and then he picks your brother over you every time— and sleeps through the night for him when he won’t do it for you!”
    “What can I say?” Shane kissed the baby’s chubby cheek. “We’re buddies.”
    “Not fair,” Laura said again before she went off to see about some dinner.
    “You’re so good with him,” Katie said.
    “I’m crazy about him.”
    Watching him snuggle the sleepy baby made Katie’s heart melt. Right then she decided she wanted to get to know Shane better. For the first time in her life, she wanted to take a chance on a man and let him show her what she’d been missing for all the years she’d kept her distance from such things.

    Shane was grateful for the distraction Holden provided as he tried to process what Katie had told him. This was her first date. Ever. Which meant she hadn’t done anything else with any guy. Ever. He had to force air into his lungs as he absorbed the implications of her confession.
    Suddenly, this evening out with her was about much more than his first date after a crushing divorce. This date was much more important to her than it could ever be to him. Imagine living thirty-two years without ever going on a date. Shane had been dating since he was sixteen with a newly issued driver’s license in hand. His father had lectured him endlessly about safe sex, even going so far as to buy him his first box of condoms.
    Shane would never forget the mortification of that conversation, but he’d been damned grateful to have them six months later when he had sex for the first time with his high school girlfriend.
    Katie had skipped that entire phase of her life, preferring to be alone rather than risk being treated the way her father had treated her mother. She hadn’t needed to draw him a map for him to understand the why of it. He knew just enough about the Lawry family to get the picture.
    But was he the right guy for her to take this monumental step with? He wasn’t sure about that, and before things went any further between them, he needed to tell her about Courtney and what he’d been through so she could decide if she wanted to continue seeing him. The thought of talking about all that garbage with Katie turned his stomach and ruined what was left of his appetite.
    He pushed his plate away and focused all his attention on Holden, rubbing his back. Shane loved the way the baby snuggled into the space between his head and shoulder, making himself comfortable in his uncle’s arms. And then he noticed that Holden had wrapped his hand tightly around Katie’s index finger. He shared a smile with her.
    “He’s so perfect,” she whispered.
    “I know. Being an uncle is the best thing ever.”
    “It looks good on