He’d spent a long time watching her with her family at one of her two teenage girls’ soccer games, and he’d paid close attention to her husband’s behavior. The handsome Black man had cheered on his daughter and hugged Tracey’s mother and his other daughter a number of times. When the game was over, he’d high-fived the daughter that had played and had spun her around in an embrace, which seemed to embarrass her. Did they have room in that shiny life for one more?

He hoped he wasn’t leading Tracey toward heartache. He knew she’d be pissed that he’d tracked them down behind her back, but that hadn’t been his intent. He hadn’t wanted to give her false hope—or worse, have her tell him not to try to track down her mother. He couldn’t have done that, knowing she had that gaping hole in her life. Now he had to find the right time to tell her, and he had no idea how he’d know it was the right time.

But he trusted his gut to clue him in.

He pulled out his phone as he headed into the clubhouse and saw a text from Tracey on the screen. Hope you’re having a great ride. Miss you. She’d added a kissing emoji, and that ridiculous thing made him smile. A fucking emoji. He’d always hated them. Until Tracey.

She was making him question everything he thought he knew about himself with her elfin magic, and she wasn’t even trying. She never asked for a thing, didn’t bitch about who he was or how he acted, and she accepted him for the man he was, faults and all. That made him feel things he had trouble keeping inside and want things he’d never imagined wanting, like to show her the world. Just the two of them on his bike, cruising across the country, enjoying the mountains, plains, gardens, and whatever else her sweet heart desired.

He sent her a text on his way upstairs. Hey, babe. When are you wrapping things up?

He headed into his bedroom, where a small pile of Tracey’s clothes was folded neatly on the chair and her hairbrush sat on the dresser beside a note she’d tucked into his sock drawer at some point. He’d found it earlier that morning—Thinking of you. xox, T. He pictured her hiding it while he brushed his teeth or slept. Like always, those thoughts led to more, of her sweet whispers when she wanted his attention, of her sexy mouth and the scorching things she did with it, and her gorgeous hazel eyes that said I trust you, please don’t hurt me, and I want you, all at once.

Just thinking about her got him fired up.