Bringing Home the Bad Boy (Second Chance #1)(14)

She scooted the stool aside and rolled up the screen depicting a bright blue, sunny day. Today, the lake was cloudy, the sky gray-green, and the light not ample enough for a shoot. She’d have to get some shots of Lyon on the beach on a nicer day.

“Charlie! Ready!”

She shut off the light in the closet and tracked back to the front room where she kept her desk.

“I picked a lot.”

“That’s okay, sweetie.” His face could eat every drop of her printer’s ink and she couldn’t care less. “Let’s see.”

One by one, they reviewed them, and when he paused on one of the black-and-whites of him looking to the side, a look of consternation on his face, she gasped.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

His brows were drawn, his eyes catching light, and the angle of his face…

“Nothing. You look like your dad in this one.” He did. Just like Evan, a sharp, but contemplative expression—buried in puffy little boy cheeks, but still. So much like Evan. She’d always thought Lyon looked more like Rae, but now that he was getting older… “Handsome,” she murmured.

“I didn’t know you were taking that one.”

“I know. Those are always the best ones.” This one in particular needed to be matted and hung on the tallest wall opposite Evan’s dining room. Against the pale pine walls, it would look great with a white matte and thick black frame. “Do you like it?”

He thought for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah.” Then the moment was over.

“I have to check Clashing Clans.”

“Go ahead, honey, I’ll print these off for you.”

Evan had informed her not to let him play the game on the iPad all day long, but she’d kept him occupied with the photography for two hours, and she considered that a win. She’d have to tell Evan his son had an interest in art after all.

The printer whined to life, pulling paper in and beginning to print. She scooted away from the desk, her mind on Evan when he’d dropped off Lyon. More specifically, on Gloria, who’d arrived with them.

Charlie had never met the raven-haired literary agent, and when she saw her—long, silken hair, sexy but professional style of dress, tall shoes, red lips, and blue eyes—she felt a pang of jealousy so strong, she could hardly breathe.

In a weird way, Glo reminded her of Rae. All vivacious beauty and fiery attitude wrapped up in quick wit and brains. Charlie, her light hair and simple dress, plain shoes and quieter voice, paled in comparison. That thought led to Russell, and Darian, the spunky redhead he’d married instead of Charlie. Before she could follow that thought into a downward spiral of inadequacy, she heard her front door pop open.

“Honey, I’m home!”

She reached the room to see Evan standing in her doorway, the gray sky behind him, soft lamplight highlighting the angles and planes of his face. He was dark and almost beautiful, one hand casually resting on the doorknob, a slow smile creeping onto his mouth. She wanted to tell him not to move a single muscle so she could grab her camera.

But that would be weird.

“Hey, how’d it go?” she asked as he came into her house and shut the door.

He strolled over to her, no closer than he’d ever stood to her, but somehow it felt too close. She thought of the moment he helped her stand when they were on the dock yesterday. He’d been too close then as well. She could smell his skin, hear him breathing.

Too close.

Stepping a foot away from him, she pointed to the dining room–turned-office at the back of her house. “I took some pictures I want you to see.”

In the kitchen, Lyon didn’t bother looking up from his electronic device. “Hey, Dad.”

Evan shot her a look.

“He hasn’t been playing long. Come on.”

She gestured to the printer. It happened to be printing her favorite photo. When the sheet slipped onto the tray, she lifted it carefully.

“Isn’t it great?” She admired the photo again, pointing to the set of Lyon’s mouth, the mood in his eyes, the way she’d captured a thought frozen in time. “He looks like you in this, don’t you think?” she asked, then became suddenly nervous when she realized she’d gushed over how handsome Lyon looked in the photo. By default, she’d also confirmed she found Evan handsome as well.

“He looks sad.” Evan’s brows pulled as he studied the picture, not sharing her neurosis.

He did? She looked again. “I thought he looked contemplative.”

“I don’t like to see him look grown up,” he murmured quietly. A penetrating sigh, then, “Rae’s missing it.”

She was. Missing everything.

Charlie’s heart sank. She’d overlooked an obvious factor, seeing the photo as a work of art, a beautiful piece. To Evan, it served as more evidence his son was growing up too fast, and Lyon’s mother wasn’t here to see it.

“I didn’t think of it that way,” she said. “I’m so sorry.” She bit her lip and regarded the still-printing pile of photos, worried there were more like it.

A warm hand slid up her back, coming to rest between her shoulder blades. Her skin tingled where he touched, a tingle that raced down her limbs. She clutched the photo, wrinkling one edge.

“Sorry, Ace.” She caught a hint of spice on his skin, the radiating attraction growing in circumference. His lips were next to her ear when he spoke again. “Didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”