by Jodi Redford
“I dunno. I wasn’t allowed to play with Barbies when I was Sunny’s age, and look how fucked up I am. You might have dodged a bullet there, bub.”
He chuckled. “Trig told me you used to make him wear your dresses. Now it’s all making sense.”
“Holy shitballs. I can’t believe he told you about that.” She’d nearly forgotten about the torment she’d put her brother through as a kid. But hell, she’d been forced to be creative living in a Barbie-less household. “In my defense, Trig turned out mostly normal. I didn’t scar him for life.”
“True.” Jack coughed into his fist. “Besides, I hear princess dresses are very metrosexual these days.”
“Uh huh.” She tapped her bottom lip with her finger. “Let me guess, Sunny tried to talk you into wearing an adult-sized version?”
“Yep, and it’s not happening. Wearing lipstick is my absolute limit.”
She snickered. “But did it make you feel pretty?”
“Only when I wore the matching nail polish.” He coughed into his fist. “I’d like to point out that the lipstick was Ava’s. I don’t have a closet makeup fetish.”
“Suuuuuuure.” She took a sip of her coffee and fidgeted with the handle. “You’ve never really talked about her much. Your ex, I mean. Do you get along?”
He grunted.
“That good, huh?”
“We tolerate each other.” The shutters had returned. Despite the fact he’d barely taken a swallow from it, he topped off his mug. “I’d never badmouth her to Sunny. I’m not one of those assholes who’ll try to turn my kid against her mom.”
“And does Ava give you the same courtesy?”
“For the most part. Usually, it’s only an issue when Sunny has sleepovers with her grandparents.” He volleyed her frown with a wry smile. “Ava’s mom and dad aren’t exactly my biggest fans.”
“Because of the divorce?”
“It’s seventy-five percent that. Throw in the baby out of wedlock and a host of other transgressions...you’ll have most of the bases covered.”
She’d had no idea he hadn’t been married to his wife before Sunny came along. Then again, the little she’d known about his life could fit in a thimble, with generous room left over. Her mind drifted to the little girl in the photograph, a slightly younger version of the Sunny she’d met seven months ago. “Surely they don’t hold any of that against their granddaughter?” If they did, calling them raging assholes would be too flattering of a label.
“No, they dote on Sunny nearly as much as my mom does. It’s the sole reason I put up with them and the only thing that matters.” The big stainless steel mixer’s rhythmic whirring filled the air as he blended the ingredients for their waffles. A few seconds later he shut off the Cuisinart and carefully ladled the batter onto the waiting iron before pressing the lid down and leaving the device to work its delicious magic. After fetching a pair of glasses, he poured them some orange juice and passed her one. He eyed her over the rim of his tumbler, his intense scrutiny sparking prickles of heat beneath her skin.
She licked her lips. “You know, you haven’t shown me the rest of the house.”
“Better we get nourishment before I take you anywhere near my bedroom.”
“Oh? Intending to have your wicked way with me again?”
“Absofuckinglutely.”
“Then I suggest you check that waffle maker before it nets us a visit from the fire department.” She jutted her chin toward the smoking device.
He turned his head and followed her gaze. “Shit.” He hurried to the iron and flipped up its lid, revealing an over-crisp waffle. “I think it’s still edible. I’ll take this one and lower the heat on yours.”
“Hopefully the only time today you’ll be lowering the heat on me.” She gifted him a saucy grin and polished off her orange juice, wisely deciding not to distract him further until after they’d eaten.
Less than five minutes later he presented her with a perfectly golden waffle and slid onto the neighboring barstool. With zero preamble, she picked up her fork and dug in. His gaze never left her face while she chewed her first bite. She made a show of licking the syrup from the tines of her fork. Hell, he had some kinky fetish with watching her eat. Might as well make it good for him. His gaze darkened appreciably. She gestured to his neglected waffle. “You haven’t eaten.”
“Maybe I’m thinking of eating something else.”
Her pussy clenched, an eager participant in that plan. She pushed aside her plate. “Cold waffles make an excellent after sex snack.”
“That right?” Jack tugged her off her stool and onto his lap. He left his hands on her hips and massaged her through the fabric of her Capris, his expression promising all sorts of sinful delights to come. Heavy emphasis on the come part.
Wrapping her arms around his neck, she wiggled against the delicious bulge tenting his fly. “Selfish bastard. I see you kept the sausage all to yourself.”
“No way, baby. That’s all for you.”
“Mm, then you’re completely forgiven.”
He fed her a drugging kiss, demonstrating with his tongue precisely how he’d devastate her pussy. Breathless and dizzy, she pulled away from him and dragged in a ragged breath. “I could really go for that tour of your bedroom.”
His midnight blue irises aglow with an inner fire, he pushed up from the stool, taking her with him. She slid her feet to the ground the exact moment the computerized voice of his security system announced, “Front door open.”
She gaped at Jack. “Are you expecting guests?”
He appeared equally bemused. “No.”
The unmistakable pounding of tiny footsteps preceded the arrival of Jack’s daughter in the kitchen archway. “Daddy!”
Jane quickly patted her blouse to ensure she was decently buttoned and not flashing boob or something equally offensive. Damn good thing Sunny didn’t arrive two minutes earlier.
Jack’s tongue finally jogged loose. “Sunny, what are you—?” He broke off as a statuesque blonde-haired woman strode into view, the tap-tap-tap of her high heels an angry staccato.
The woman hauled short behind Sunny, her frosty stare ping-ponging between Jane and Jack. The contemptuous look she raked Jane with hinted that she was well aware of what they’d been up to. The female leveled her full attention on Jack. “I hate to break up your little party, but I need you to take Sunny. Jenna called in sick and I’m due in court in less than an hour.”
“Fine. Though it would have been nice if you’d called first to give me a heads up.” Jack steered his focus to his daughter. His irritation evaporated, replaced by an enormous smile as Sunny hurled herself into his arms. Smooching her on the cheek, he shifted in Jane’s direction. “You remember Ms. Jane, right? Trig’s sister?”
Sunny nodded, sending her dark curls bouncing around her angelic face. “She rode the carousel with us.”
“That’s right.”
Jack’s ex made an ugly face. “This is what you’re up to these days? Screwing your employees’ sisters?”
“Ava, this isn’t the time or the place for your BS.” Jack gave a pointed look to the top of his daughter’s head before he sat Sunny on her feet. His calm front only seemed to drive the stick further up his ex’s ass. Despite her earlier avowal of being late for court, she began spouting an angry tirade she didn’t appear ready to end anytime soon. Jack crossed his arms over his chest, unruffled by her ire.
Convinced he could more than hold his own with Ava, Jane snuck around the pair and approached Sunny. The little girl didn’t need to be further witness to her mom’s one-sided bitch-fest. Recalling Jack’s earlier comment about his daughter’s doll obsession, she hunkered in front of Sunny. “Hey, you wouldn’t happen to know where I can find any Barbies around this joint, would ya?”
Her expression brighter than a Christmas display, Sunny grabbed Jane’s hand and led her up the stairs. She spied a doorway in the distance. Presumably, it led to the master bedroom. Giving a wistful sigh at wh
at could have been, she trailed after Jack’s daughter.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
He didn’t know what he needed more at the moment—a shot of whiskey or Jane naked underneath him. Unfortunately, neither option was on the menu in the immediate future. He jogged up the stairs and headed toward Sunny’s bedroom. He assumed that’s where his daughter and Jane had wandered off to. Relief, gratitude, and a hefty portion of bemusement had welled inside him when he’d watched the pair leave the kitchen hand-in-hand earlier.
Those emotions and another one he couldn’t quite put a name to washed over him when he stalled in Sunny’s doorway. She and Jane sat cross-legged on the floor, chattering away like they’d been best friends forever while they took turns accessorizing the small militia of Barbie dolls piled between them.
Much as he adored his daughter, he currently couldn’t take his eyes off Jane. She’d always been an irresistible magnet. And right then the force of her pull was stronger than Kryptonite.
As if she’d felt the same draw to him, she glanced up and met his gaze. She smiled, the sight giving him an odd kick in the gut. “Everything okay?”
It took a few seconds to remember his recent altercation with Ava. That was the thing with Jane. She possessed the ability to wipe all other thought from his mind. “Yeah.” He scratched his jaw, his irritation at his ex itching beneath his skin again. “Sorry you had to witness that foolishness. When Ava gets on a roll it can be a little ugly. Thank you for getting Sunny out of there.”
“Not a problem. We’ve been having a blast, haven’t we?” She gave his daughter a high-five, which prompted Sunny’s giggle.
He grinned. “Is this a girl’s only party, or can I join in?”
They made room for him and he copped a squat. He reached for Skipper and Sunny automatically snatched the doll and tucked it behind her. Damn, couldn’t sneak anything past the kid. He caught Jane’s lip twitch.
“I take it that’s the infamous, Skipper?”
“Daddy is not allowed to play with her.”
He leaned in close to Jane. “I mistakenly call her a boy once, and its hands off the rest of my days. Harsh punishment, if you ask me.”
“Hardly. I’d do the same thing if you mistook me for a boy.”
“That will never happen in a million years.” He sent her a smoky look before ducking his head and sliding his mouth over hers. Recalling they had an impressionable five-year-old in the room, he wrapped up the kiss before it became too combustible. He pulled his head back and noticed Sunny gaping at them. Uh oh.
“Is Jane going to be my new mommy?”
He and Jane choked on a cough. Desperately wishing this kind of thing was covered in the parenting books, he cleared his throat. “No, Sun Bun. You already have a mommy.”
His daughter’s face scrunched. “Mindy has two mommies,” she countered, referencing one of her little friends at daycare.
“That’s because Mindy’s mommies are married to each other.”
“If you married Jane she could be my mommy?”
Shit, this convo was flying high speed into dangerous territory. “In a roundabout way. But Jane and I aren’t getting married. We’re just friends.” He could feel the heat of Jane’s gaze on him and he quickly amended the last part of his explanation. “Really, really good friends. Who like to kiss a lot.”
Jane didn’t exactly look mollified by the additional descriptors. She pushed to her feet. “I could use a trip to the bathroom.”
“I’ll show you where it is.” He stood and followed her through the doorway. The instant they were safely out of earshot of Sunny, he cupped Jane’s rigid shoulder. “Don’t be mad at me.”
“I’m not. And I mean it, I need a bathroom. Stat. Otherwise, I’m going to start doing the pee-pee dance. Believe me, it’s nowhere near as sexy as my twerk.”
Still unconvinced she was being entirely honest with him, he led her to his bathroom. Rather than return to Sunny’s room he parked his ass on the foot of his bed. Yeah, Jane could easily find her way back, but better to get this out in the open before it blew up into a fight.
Several minutes passed, awarding him some blessed time to build his defense case. No matter how he approached this, he was likely going to remain in the doghouse. At this rate, he should decorate the damn place and make it habitable for the long haul. The door cracked open and Jane stepped out. She frowned at him. “You didn’t have to wait for me.”
“Yes, I did. I pissed you off by calling us friends. I get it. Just like I get how we’re a few levels beyond that term. But I didn’t want to confuse Sunny or give her the wrong impression.”
Jane remained quiet. When she re-met his gaze there was no mistaking the pensiveness residing in her eyes. “You also said it for my benefit. To remind me that this—whatever we have—is going nowhere beyond the bedroom.”
He expelled a weary breath. “I said I don’t want a relationship in the traditional sense. It doesn’t mean we can’t work this out.”
“What exactly are we working out, Jack? Occasionally hooking up for kinky sex?” Although she worded it casually enough, there was no mistaking the wobble of uncertainty in her tone.
“No, we’re more than that. The times we spend with each other don’t even have to involve sex. And I want you to get to know Sunny. She obviously likes you. So does her daddy. A lot.” He caressed her cheek. “You’re the only woman I’ve let in this way. With Sunny. With me. This is huge and scary as shit for me. I want you to know that and maybe understand a little bit where I’m coming from.”
She peered up at him, her unspoken worries a solid presence between them. He bracketed her face in his hands and rubbed noses with her before sliding his mouth over hers. He might suck at this communicating business, but he knew where his strengths resided and he had no qualms availing himself of them. Her lips parted beneath his with a shaky breath and he sucked on her tongue. He could have spent the entire day kissing her. Even better, he could have spent the entire day kissing her while they were naked in his massive California King bed. Sadly, not to be with Sunny right down the hall. Maybe later tonight, after his daughter fell asleep, he and Jane could have some private adult time.
Assuming she’d be amenable to spending the night. He reluctantly broke the kiss and searched her gaze. “Do you want to give this a try?”
“I already told you I do. That hasn’t changed.”
Relief bloomed in his chest. “Good. Then stay with us today. Hell, the whole weekend, if you want. I know it’d make Sunny happy to have you here.”
“And her daddy?” Although she valiantly tried to hide it, a fraction of her vulnerability slipped through.
He rested his forehead against hers. “Yes, it’ll make him very happy too.”
Jane smiled and twined her fingers with his. With their hands linked, they walked to Sunny’s room.
His daughter met them in the doorway. “Daddy, I’ve decided you can play with Skipper. Also, she says she wants to go to the zoo.”
From the corner of his eye, he caught Jane’s valiant effort to rein in her mirth. He shook his head. “There’s always a catch with you women.”
Jane’s lips twitched. “Does that mean we’re going to the zoo?”
“Apparently it’s what Skipper wants.” He ruffled Sunny’s hair. “I have to clean up the kitchen. Then we’ll go.”
“I’ll help you,” Jane offered.
“But I wants you to help me pick an outfit to wear to the zoo.” Sunny took a hold of Jane’s hand, the universal line drawn in the sand.
He grunted. “Looks like little Queen Bee has won this round.”
Jane chuckled. “Sorry.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll make it up to me later.” He backed up the promise with a growl.
“Daddy, you sound like a bear.”
It could have been worse. She could have said he sounded like a hyena or something equally less cool or badass than a bear. He offered Sunny another growl, earning her giggle.
&nbs
p; Leaving the females to continue their girl bonding, he headed downstairs. He tossed the dishes into the sink just as his cell phone buzzed on the counter. He swiped up the device, half convinced it was Ava with more of her bullshit. God knows she was going to be on the rampage now she’d seen him with Jane. Not that he gave two shits. Ava would get over herself—say in a decade or twenty.
The name on the caller ID instantly eased the tension in his shoulders. He pressed the Talk button. “Hey, what’s up?”
“Figured I’d better make sure you’re still alive. Glad to hear I won’t have to testify at the murder trial. Woulda made things awkward between me and my sister.”
He grinned at the drollness in Trig’s voice. “The bad news is you lost the bet about the black eye.”
“No way. Did she at least rough you up a little?”
“There might have been a moment where she used me like a pinata. It’s all good, though. In fact, she’s spending the day with me and Sunny.”
A lengthy silence stretched on the other end of the line. His best friend’s sudden loss of words was disconcerting. Frowning, Jack leaned against the island. “I hope you’re okay with me seeing Jane again.”
“I never had a problem with it before. But it’s a damn miracle my sister is being unusually reasonable about everything.”
He tore a piece of paper towel from the roll and blotted the water spots on the marble counter top. “We worked out a lot of our issues last night.”
Trig cleared his throat. “Okay, let’s leave it at that. I really don’t want to hear any weird kinky stuff involving my sister.”
More than happy to oblige the request, he changed the subject to Trig’s upcoming bachelor party. “What do you think about having a BBQ here? Invite the guys from Hunks, Sinners, and anyone else you want included, of course. But if you’d rather do the whole nightclub and stripper thing—”
“Nah. I’ve had enough of that to last me a lifetime. A BBQ with the guys is way more my style these days. I can live vicariously through Marissa with whatever insanity Jane cooks up for her bachelorette party. Seriously, are you sure you don’t need your head examined for jumping on that crazy train again?”