Lucky Charm

Grinning back, he cupped my cheek in his hand, looked into my eyes and confessed, "I've been dying to taste these lips since the moment I first saw you."

What a way to turn a girl on.

My breath stalled as he dusted feather-soft kisses over my lips, before he teased me with his tongue, finally sliding it between my lips. Our tongues tangling, he wrapped me in his arms, making my heart pound like crazy as he ran his hands down over my back, till he was squeezing my tooshie.

And ooh, did he ever know how to kiss.

He had me so aroused, I wanted to tear his clothes off and climb him like a tree. If I wasn't wearing the skirt and blouse that I'd worn to the office that morning, I'd have my leg wrapped around his thigh, grinding on him.

Our breathing was pretty choppy by the time we finally pulled apart. I noticed his eyes looked a little glassy, as he smirked, nodding at the house. "I think I'd better let you get inside, before we get too carried away."

I was tempted to invite him in, but knowing what would happen if I got him in my room, I decided just to say good night. Framing his face in my hands, I gave him one last kiss and said, "Night, Remo. Thank you for dinner. I had a really good time tonight."

He grinned, stroking my back. "Me, too."

I liked that he stood and watched to make sure I got inside okay, before he got in his car and drove off. After I'd locked up, I was leaning against the door, feeling all swoony, when I looked up and saw two of my room mates, Carol and Jenny, nearly tripping over each other as they raced down the stairs.

"Wow! Who was the hottie?" They asked in one breath.

"I can't believe you two were spying on me," I said, trying to sound annoyed, though I couldn't help but laugh, since they were obviously thrilled to see that I finally had a date. And so was I, especially considering it was with my dream man.

I shrugged, and tried to sound cool. "He's just the guy that I see every morning on the bus."

"Wow! No wonder you've been taking a little extra time with your hair and makeup lately. Because that guy is seriously hot," Jenny said with Carol nodding beside her.

I winked as I headed up stairs. "You should see him up close."

It took me a while to fall asleep, because all I could think of Remo, and that smokin' hot kiss we'd shared.

Too bad I was going to be busy for two weeks, because now that we'd finally broken the ice, I was already wishing I could see him again.

**

Monday, I was glad to discover that I was assigned to a junior kindergarten class full of adorable little four-year olds. Luckily, I got along great with their teacher, Ann Gibson. She was fun and quite friendly, and she made me feel like I was part of her team from the moment we met.

We were discussing what she had planned for the next morning, while the kids were enjoying playtime, building things with wooden blocks, when an adorable little boy with dark curly hair, came wandering over.

Ann smiled down at him, and asked, "What would you like, Luke?"

Staring up at me wide-eyed, he blinked and said, "You're very pretty, and I really like your yellow hair."

I tried not to laugh, but he was just so darn cute. Ann had warned me that at this age, they had no filter and said whatever came into their heads. Still, I thought it was sweet that he'd come over to tell me the he liked my hair.

When he crooked his finger, I got down to his level. He surprised me when he touched a finger to my cheek and remarked, "Wow! You have really blue eyes."

I smiled and told him, "And you've got very nice brown eyes, Luke."

He seemed to think on that for a moment, before he nodded and wandered back to play with his friends.

"He's such a cutie," I said to Ann as we watched Luke helping another boy build something that looked like a castle.

"You think he's cute, you should see his dad," she said with a little grin.

Just then the bell rang to let the kids know it was time to go home.

I looked over at the door, when she leaned in and whispered, "Speak of the devil."

I could feel my jaw drop as I watched Remo come walking in, before he stopped to stare at me, looking just as shocked.

Then it hit me. Oh, no. He's married. And he has a son.

I felt so disappointed, I didn't even acknowledge him. I was turning to walk away, when I heard his son run up to him, excitedly yelling, "Daddy!"

Remo scooped him up and followed after me, when I went to help a few of the kids with their jackets.

I could feel him standing right beside me waiting, but I couldn't even look at him. Not after he'd tricked me into thinking we might have something, when he'd just been out fooling around on his wife. Though he really didn't seem like the type, I didn't imagine that guys who liked to cheat always told the women they were messing with, that they were married.

Thankfully Ann was busy tidying up the classroom, putting away a few books and toys. So, she didn't notice that he was following me around the room like a shadow, whispering, "Cait, I think we need to talk."

No shit.

Planting my hands on my hips, I spun around and faced him. When he saw how annoyed I looked, I was glad he had the good sense to take a step back. I don't get angry very often, but now that I knew his secret, I was furious, because I couldn't believe that he'd deceived me.

"So, you're married," I said, doing my best to keep my voice down, as I folded my arms across my chest.

He shook his head. "No, I'm divorced."

Though that kind of took the wind out of my sails, I still wasn't sure if I should believe him, although he did look sincere.

Ann had just finished putting away the blocks, and she looked over at Remo and smiled. "So, you're picking him up today, are you?"

He nodded, smiling back. "Yeah, my mother-in-law had a dental appointment, so I told her I'd come and get him."

It was cute the way his son was softly patting his cheek. We all laughed when he said, "Daddy, your face is all prickly, you need a shave."

Now that the tension was broken, I got my purse, said goodnight to Ann, and walked out with Remo right behind me, carrying his little boy.

The moment we stepped outside, he put his hand on my lower back and steered me over to his car. "I think we should go for a coffee and talk this out, Cait."

I really did want to believe him. And not wanting to make a scene in front of his son, I let him help me into his car.

Once Remo got Luke settled behind us in his car seat, he got in beside me and drove over a few blocks to a little Italian café.

"Daddy, can I have a coffee?" Luke asked as soon as we walked inside.

Remo chuckled, ruffling his hair. "No. But you can have some milk and a muffin, if you want."

"Okay," he agreed, with a spark of mischief in his deep brown eyes, that looked so much like his father's.

I ordered a latte and Remo got a double espresso along with a plate of biscotti. When I pulled out my wallet and Remo went to object, I lifted an eyebrow and he backed off, hands raised, quietly chuckling. "Okay, your treat, I get it."

The coffee was really good, and just what I needed to perk me up. As we drank, we kept eyeing each other, knowing we couldn't really talk with Luke sitting between us quietly enjoying his muffin.

We were so absorbed in watching each other, we both jumped when Remo's phone rang. After he talked to whoever it was, he smiled and told his son, "Sounds like your nonna's got a Happy Meal waiting for somebody."

"Yay!" Luke said, wiping the back of his hand over his milk covered lips. As I watched Remo wet a napkin and gently clean his face, before dropping a kiss on the end of his nose, I could feel my heart clench, touched by how sweet he was with his son.

Knowing dinner was waiting for Luke, we finished our coffee and headed out to the car.

Stopped at a red light, Remo looked back, and when he noticed that Luke had fallen asleep, he began to explain. "My ex-in-laws usually take care of him during the week, and I usually have on him weekends. His mother is kind of flighty, so she's not really in the picture."

I just nodded, not sure what to say. Because I knew if that little boy was mine, I'd never let him out of my sight.

When we pulled into the driveway of a nice big two-story house, I could see Luke's silver-haired grandmother waiting in the doorway, smiling. When she saw me, she waved at me in the car. And I waved back, as I watched Remo carrying his son inside.

As he was leaving, Remo looked over at me and started grinning when Luke's grandmother must have asked who I was. I liked that she patted his cheek and gave him a kiss before he turned to leave, with her giving me one last wave.

"She's a really a nice lady," Remo remarked, as we drove down the street. "I don't know what happened to their daughter, but her parents are wonderful people. They're both crazy about Luke, and they've basically been helping me raise him since he was only a few months old. When his mother and I got divorced, they were already taking care of him so that I could work. They're really good with him, too. So, we've kind of left everything as it was, especially now that he's in school, just up the street from them."

"You're lucky you've got some help, so you don't have to scramble to get him ready in the morning."

"I know. They've been really supportive. My mother-in-law was just saying how happy she was to see me with someone, since I haven't been on a date since before I was married, almost five years ago."

"Wow! That long?"

He reached over and tugged my hand. "Yeah, but the moment I saw you, I started thinking it was time to take a chance and ask you out."

Biting into my lip, I smiled remembering back to when I'd asked my mom how she knew my dad was the one. She had this far away look in her eyes as she told me, "I just knew the minute I saw your father, that he was the man for me."

At the time I just thought it was sweet, but now I knew what she meant, because I had a feeling that I was falling pretty hard for Remo, and had been since the first moment we locked eyes on our morning bus ride.

When we got to a red light and he lifted my hand to lips and pressed a kiss to my knuckles, I could feel a delicious little tingle skittering through me.

The heat in his eyes was scorching as he gazed into mine. I knew we were going to wind up in his bed, but just wasn't sure how soon.

When the light changed, looking straight ahead, he swallowed pretty hard before he said, "I realize that I come with a lot of baggage. I'm thirty-six, so I'm guessing I've got at least ten years on you. I'm divorced, and I've got a kid. And I'm just starting to get my life back on track since my wife walked out and left me with our son. So, I wouldn't blame you if you didn't want this to go any further."

I reached out and squeezed his hand, and I didn't even have to think, when I told him, "I'm not going anywhere, Remo."

He looked so relieved, as he smiled over at me, that I was glad we'd finally connected.

"So, where are we headed?" I asked as we drove into the driveway of a grouping of towering apartment buildings.

He pointed at the building straight ahead. "I thought I'd take you to my place and make us some dinner."

"So, you can cook?"

He nodded. "With both my parents working on the family farm, we all had to learn how to cook."

I could tell the building was fairly new, from the smell of paint and new carpeting, as we took the elevator up to the seventh floor.

When we stepped inside, I noticed his apartment wasn't huge, but it was tidy. Though, he didn't much furniture, just a couch, a chair, and a TV.

As we walked down a short hallway to the kitchen, I could tell at a glance which room was Luke's. It looked like a perfect room for a little boy, with all kinds of animals painted on the walls. Which had me wondering who had done the artwork.

"Nice place," I remarked, as he walked me into the kitchen.

Remo glanced around and shrugged. "When I found out we were expecting Luke, I bought us a nice four-bedroom house, but I had to sell it, along with our van, when my ex and I split up."

"That's too bad," I said, as he started getting things out of the fridge, letting the subject drop.

When he pulled out some chicken breasts and salad fixings and put them on the counter, I asked, "What can I do to help?"

He poured me a glass of wine, dropped a kiss on the end of my nose and smiled. "You can try the wine, and let me know if you like it."

Smiling into his eyes, I took a quick sip and nodded. "It's really good. Now, how about I wash the lettuce, while you work on the chicken."

"Okay, you've got a deal," he said, chuckling as he passed me a big salad bowl.

It was fun working together in his kitchen. And I could tell he knew what he doing, as I watched how fast he sliced up the onions and mushrooms to put in the sauce for the chicken.

I laughed as I felt a little shiver race through me, when he came up behind me, brushed aside my hair and pressed his lips to my neck, giving my earlobe a little lick.

Deciding I needed more than a quick kiss, I dried my hands and turned around to face him. With my eyes on his, I pushed on my toes and slipped my arms around his neck. As he wrapped me in his arms and captured my lips, everything flew out of my head, as we lost ourselves in a smoldering kiss.

As we clung to each other with our tongues tangling; dinner was the last thing on my mind. Sliding my hands into his hair, we both groaned as I felt him smooth his hands down over my back, kneading my backside, till he almost had me dripping. I loved the feel of him pressed up against me, already rock hard, as we both struggled to catch our breath.

Then suddenly, he pulled back.

I blinked, wondering what had happened, till he sheepishly explained, "I really didn't plan for things to heat up this fast, but whenever you're close, I kind of lose my head. I'm thinking maybe we should take a break and have dinner, then..." He shrugged, letting that hang in the air.

The way he was smiling, with the devil in his eyes, I knew we had the same thing in mind. We'd hurry up and eat, toss our dishes in the dishwasher, then race to his bedroom and finally make love.

"Do you want rice with the chicken, or just salad?" he asked, as he turned the chicken in the pan, while I was throwing on some dressing and tossing the salad, trying to hurry things along.

"I'm fine with just salad," I said, knowing the less we had to eat, the quicker we could get could get back to what we were doing, while he was pressed up against me.

"Wow. This chicken is fantastic," I told him. It was so juicy and tender, that I realized, he really did know how to cook.

"Glad you like it. The salads good, too," he said, trying to keep a straight face, because all it was, was lettuce tomatoes and cucumber that I'd tossed around in a bowl.

After we'd cleaned up, and put everything away, Remo nodded toward the hallway. "I was thinking I should show you the rest of the apartment." He took my hand, flashing me a teasing grin. "Starting with my bedroom."

Considering we'd been flirting for months I was more than ready to slide between the sheets with him.

Though I thought it was odd, that his bedroom barely had any furniture. There was only a bed, a single night stand, with a small brass lamp and a clock radio sitting on top. It looked like he'd just moved in, and hadn't had time to decorate.

He shrugged as he looked around. "One day, I'm hoping to buy another house. And I haven't been buying much, because I've been saving every cent I can."

I knew where he was coming from. "I've been doing the same thing, trying to pay off my tuition."

We stepped over to see the view from the window. Remo was gazing out at the kids, playing soccer in a big, open field, as he told me what happened. "I met Luke's mother at my cousin's New Year's party. He has a big bash every year. I don't remember much, except that everyone kept re-filling my wine glass, so I knew I had way too much to drink that night.

"In the morning, I woke up with a killer headache, in one of the bedrooms upstairs. When I opened my eyes and looked beside me, she was in bed with me, passed out cold. I could only remember bits and pieces of what happened the night before, like her crawling on top of me, telling me she was on the pill, so it was okay. But I don't remember what happened after that. A few months later, she called me up and told me she was pregnant, and said the baby was mine."

"Wow. You must have shocked."

"I remember I had to sit down, because I couldn't believe what she was saying, that after us meeting just once at a party, that I was going to be a father."

"That must have been a lot to take in," I said, gently stroking his back.

"I thought it over for a few days, and I called her back and offered to do what I thought was the right thing, by marrying her. She was thrilled about the wedding, and wanted to invite all her friends and family. But she wasn't too happy once the party was over. As soon as Luke was born, she told me she wasn't cut out to be a mother, and basically handed him over to me. He was only a couple of months old when she asked me for a hall pass to go to Vegas with her friends. I asked her if she wanted a divorce, so she didn't have to worry about coming back. Since she was never around much, I was relieved to have her out of my life when she agreed to call it quits.

"We were never in love, and we only got married because we were having a baby together. After he was born, I did check to make sure that Luke was mine. Though it was tough at first, trying to hold down a job with a baby at home, thankfully my in-laws were happy to help out. As hard as it was, I was still glad that she left him with me, because I don't know what would have happened to him, if she had tried to raise him on her own."

I felt so bad for him. Thinking he was doing the right thing by getting married, yet it sounded like his wife wasn't interested in settling down - or being a mother.

"Well, at least you have your son."

He finally managed a smile. "I know. Luke is the only good thing that came out of that whole mess."

I slipped my arms around him and gave him a side hug as we watched the colors lighting up the sky as the sun began to set.

Heaving a sigh, he told me the rest, "When she left, she also cleaned out our bank account, and maxed our credit cards, which is why it's taking me so long to get back on my feet."

He turned and faced me, touching his forehead to mine. "Now you know why I said that I wouldn't blame you if you didn't want to get involved with me."

Smiling into his eyes, I wreathed my arms around his neck, pushed up on my toes and pressed a kiss to his lips. "Well, I think you're lucky to have such a sweet little boy, no matter how it happened. And I think it's wonderful that he's got you for his dad. And the fact that you stuck by him, makes you even more attractive to me."

"I don't know what I'd do without him," he said, with a catch in his voice as I stroked his back.

To lighten the mood, I nodded at his bed. "Well, now that you've shown me around, there's only one thing left to show me."

"What's that?"

"I want to know how comfortable that bed is, 'cause I've been wearing these heels since I woke up this morning, and my feet are killing me."

"Then we'd better get them off you," he said, making me laugh, when he picked me up, tossed me over his shoulder and carried me over to his bed.

Smiling up at me, he sat me on the edge, got down on his knees and gently slipped off my shoes. Then I watched as he lifted my feet to his lips, and with his eyes on mine, he pressed a lingering kiss to the top of each one.

Smirking, he cocked an eyebrow. "Anything else you need me to take off?"