Treat Her Right

by Lori Foster

  “Her hair is soft,” Dani informed Josh in a loud whisper, then poked him in the thigh.

  “Is that right?” Showing none of the reserve Zack had exhibited, Josh reached out and fingered a bouncing curl at her temple before gently tucking it behind her ear. “You’re right, Dani. It’s very soft.”

  Wynn twittered and took another step away. “I’ve got to finish up here. But it was nice meeting you both. Dani, sweet dreams!”

  Josh murmured low and suggestively, “You, too.”

  She gave another ridiculous, girlish twitter and turned to hurry away. Josh stood there, hands on his hips, watching her go with his gaze southerly enough to singe her backside, until Zack elbowed him. Hard.

  They all trooped back into the kitchen, Josh rubbing his ribs as if he’d been mortally wounded. Dani now had her head on Mick’s shoulder and she yawned. They were all three aware of how quickly Dani would collapse into a sound slumber, and they shared smiles.

  Zack scooped his daughter into his arms. “Time for you to hit the sack, sweetie.” Once Dani started fading, she went fast. She’d run right up until she ran out of gas.

  She blinked sleepy eyes at Josh and Mick. “G’night.”

  Josh bent and kissed her nose. “Night princess.”

  Mick tickled her toes. “Good night, honey.”

  As Zack turned to leave the kitchen, he saw Mick sit at the table, and Josh go back to the open window. He grumbled under his breath as he hauled his small bundle upstairs. He was just lowering Dani to her mattress when she said in a low, drowsy voice, “Josh likes her.”

  Pausing, Zack said, “You think so?”

  Dani nodded. “I like her, too. Don’t you?”

  “She’s fine.” Zack pulled the sheet up to Dani’s chin, smoothed her hair and kissed her forehead. That didn’t suffice, so he kissed her again, then cuddled her close, squeezing her until she gave a protesting squeak. “I love you, baby.”

  “I love you, too, Daddy.”

  “Do you need to potty?”

  “Nope.” She rolled to her side, cushioned her cheek on one tiny fist, and let out a long deep breath.

  With a last peck to her brow, Zack stood. Dani was already snoring softly. For a long minute, he just looked down at her. She was by far the most precious thing in the world to him. It seemed every time he looked at her it struck him anew how much he loved her. That she was his, a part of him, was beyond remarkable.

  Josh was still at the damn window when Zack reentered the kitchen. “You look like a lovesick pup.”

  Mick choked on a laugh. “As compared to you, who’s playing the part of the snarling junkyard dog?”

  At Mick’s taunting words, Zack paused, but only for a second. He knew his friends, and if they had half an inkling of how Wynn affected him, he’d never hear the end of it. Casually, a man without a care, he took his own peek out the window. Wynn was nowhere to be seen, thank God. Out of sight, out of mind.

  He grunted, then dropped into his seat, sprawling out and rubbing the back of his neck.

  “No comment, huh?” Mick asked.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Ignorance was a lame defense, but he was too tired to think of much else at the moment.

  Mick leaned forward over the table and whispered, “Possessiveness.”

  Josh turned. “She went in just a few seconds ago.” He took his own seat. “Did you see the legs on that woman?”

  “Since they’re a mile long,” Mick said, “they’d be a little hard to miss.”

  Josh lifted a brow. “She’s put together right, I’ll say that for her.”

  “You didn’t have to put up with her first thing this morning.” Wishing he could bite off his tongue, Zack took a long cooling drink of his cola.

  Saluting him with his glass, Josh said, “She can get me up anytime.”

  “Ha ha.” Mick shook his head at the double entendre, but amusement shone clear on his face as he looked between the two of them. “You have a one-track mind, Josh.”

  “And it’s definitely on track right now.”

  Zack growled before he caught himself. “I hate to curtail whatever fantasy you’re indulging, but she’s off limits.”

  Josh hesitated with his drink almost to his mouth. “Says who?”

  “Says me. I have to live by her. I’ll be damned if you’re going to date her, dump her, then leave her to me to deal with.” Zack shook his head in adamant finality. “No way, so forget it.”

  Mick nudged Josh with his foot. “Besides, he’s got his own plans.”

  Zack did bite his tongue this time. The more he said, the more they’d read into it, so denials would do him no good.

  Eyeing Zack, Josh asked, “Is that right?”

  “No, it is not right.” He hoped like hell he sounded more definite than he felt. “Now can we talk about something else?”

  “Because I can back off if you’re making a personal claim.”

  Through his teeth, Zack said, “I’m not making a personal claim, but you will back off.”

  Josh stared at him a moment, then chuckled and switched his gaze to Mick. “I think you’re right.”

  “Are we going to play cards or sit here mooning over women?” Zack barked.

  “All right, all right,” Josh soothed. “Don’t get all fired up. We don’t have to moon.”

  “Speak for yourself,” Mick grumbled. “I’m mooning. I’d much rather be home with Delilah right now.”

  Josh shook his head in pity. Even Zack managed a credible chuckle. “You’re still a newlywed, so you’re allowed.”

  “And,” Josh added, “Delilah is enough to make anyone moon.”

  Predictably, Mick bristled. Why in hell Josh continued to make those types of comments, Zack couldn’t figure out. He knew there was a time when Josh had fancied himself taken with Delilah, too, but since she’d married Mick—an event Josh had supported whole-heartedly—Josh had roamed from woman to woman with a near insatiable appetite.

  Mick half came out of his chair. “I wish you wouldn’t speak so intimately about my wife.”

  Josh looked supremely unaffected by Mick’s ire. “I was only agreeing with you.”

  “You—”

  “Sheesh, men in love are so touchy,” Josh complained. “First Zack breathing fire on me, and now you. A single man can’t make a legitimate observation any more.”

  “Zack isn’t married, I am.”

  “Zack wants to be married,” Josh pointed out. “It’s almost the same thing.” Then he redirected his comments to Zack. “Is that it with Wynn? You considering her suitable wifely material?”

  “No.”

  “Did you really see her backside?”

  “No.”

  Josh grinned. “I’ll take that first ‘no’ at face value. No way in hell am I accepting the second without some kind of explanation.”

  If he knew it wouldn’t wake Dani, Zack would consider knocking Josh off his chair. Resigned, he gave up with a sigh. “She was bent over…” He faltered, unsure how to explain.

  Josh protested his hesitation by saying, “I’m all ears.”

  “Actually,” Mick admitted, “so am I.”

  “She had on short shorts—”

  “I noticed that.”

  “So did I.”

  “Do you two want to hear this or not?” Zack glared at them both, waiting, but they now held themselves silent. “She was bent way over trying to drag a box into the backyard and her shorts rode up. That’s all there is to it. I didn’t see her whole behind.” But he’d seen enough to know her backside was as delectable as her legs.

  “A half moon, huh?” Josh made a tsking sound. “And here I missed it.”

  Zack gave up and explained in full the extent of his association with Ms. Wynn Lane. He told them about her family who’d soon be moving in, her brother who was built like a chimney, and her penchant for being outspoken and brazen and pushy.

  “She is not,” Zack reiterated, “wife material.” />
  Josh had listened quietly, but now he waved away Zack’s disclaimer. “Why do you want to get married anyway? I mean, just because Mick here found the perfect woman—”

  Mick growled.

  “—and he’s blissfully happy, doesn’t mean we all need to stick our necks into the noose. I know a lot more divorced couples than I do happily married ones.”

  Now that the cannon had been redirected, Zack relaxed and began shuffling the cards. “Dani asked me about feminine napkins the other day.”

  Both Mick and Josh froze, then gave near identical groans of emotional pain. “Commercials?” Josh asked.

  “Yeah. She was watching cartoons when bam, there was a commercial for napkins. Can you believe it? She wanted to know what they were for and why women who used them got to go horseback riding and climbing and stuff.”

  Chuckling, Mick shook his head. “I can just imagine this conversation.”

  “Whatd’cha tell her?” Josh asked with interest.

  “I fumbled my way through it.” Actually, he’d made a total mess of things, but Zack wasn’t about to admit that. “She wasn’t ready to hear about the whole reproductive cycle thing—”

  “Neither am I,” Josh joked.

  “—so I just told her women used them like they used perfume and makeup and panty hose.”

  Mick snickered. “Let me guess. She wants some.”

  “Yup. So you see, this is why I need a wife. I foresee stuff like this coming up all the damn time. I mean, what the hell will I know about fashion trends for teenage girls, or buying training bras?”

  Josh considered that a moment, then said, “I could handle it if you want help. I wouldn’t mind.”

  “Oh God, that’s all I need! I can see the headlines now, Womanizer Extraordinaire Attempts Parenting 101.”

  “A female is a female is a female.”

  Mick tapped his fingers on the table. “Delilah would have something to say about that sentiment.”

  Josh grinned. “I know. She loves to give me hell.”

  “Girls start this puberty stuff earlier than guys, as early as eleven or twelve,” Zack pointed out. He was amused despite himself, at the picture of Josh sorting through adolescent underwear. It was a far cry from lingerie, which admittedly, Josh knew a lot about. He bought enough of it for his girlfriends.

  “I could handle it.” Josh looked thoughtful, then grinned. “Hell, it might even be fun. I do enjoy shopping you know.”

  Zack did know. Every Christmas and every birthday, Josh took Dani shopping. They’d make a whole day of it, and Josh would spoil her with gifts and a movie and the amusement park. It was surprising, given Josh presented the world with only his preference for bachelor-hood, yet Zack trusted him completely with his daughter.

  In many ways, both Josh and Mick were pseudo-daddies, picking up the slack whenever Zack ran short on time. And they did a great job. They’d helped him get through the loss of his wife, and helped even more in the transition from grief to thankfulness, because despite losing his wife, he still had Dani, and that was a lot, more than he’d ever asked of life.

  Zack had inadvertently wandered down a maudlin path, so he changed the subject while dealing out the cards. “Mick, did Josh tell you his station is making a charity calendar?”

  “What’s this?” Mick asked.

  Josh picked up his hand, rearranged the cards a few times, then said, “Some pushy promotions broad is organizing the whole thing. She wants a bunch of the men to pose in some cheesy way to go on the calendar, then they’ll sell it and the proceeds will benefit the burn center.”

  “Pushy promotions broad,” Mick repeated slowly, as if savoring the words. “Does this mean she had the audacity to exclude you from modeling?”

  “I never gave her the chance. Anyone who was interested was supposed to call her to set up an appointment.” He peered over his cards at Mick and Zack. “To get ogled, no doubt. Can you believe that?”

  Frowning, Zack asked, “Have you met her?”

  “I don’t need to. I heard all about her from a friend at a different station. She a rich daddy’s girl who plays at this charity stuff out of boredom.”

  Mick and Zack shared a look. Mick laid his cards facedown and crossed his arms on the table. “Since when do you care about a woman’s character?”

  “Yeah,” Zack said. “I thought it was the size of her bra cups that attracted you.”

  Josh suddenly looked harassed and annoyed, not that Zack minded after what he’d just been through. About time someone else took a turn on the hot seat.

  “She’s supposedly really beautiful, okay? And I’ve had it with women like that. I want someone more like Delilah.”

  Mick choked and his face turned red.

  “Oh for God’s sake.” Josh quickly got out of Mick’s reach and explained, “I wasn’t—not for a second—saying Delilah’s not beautiful! She is. Flat-out gorgeous.”

  Mick stood, looking far from placated.

  “But she doesn’t go in for all the props. When was the last time Del painted her nails or colored her hair? Never, right? She’s genuine. Well that’s the type of woman I want.” He waved a hand toward the window. “Wynn what’s-her-name would do, too. I want a natural woman, not a glamour doll who thinks she can crook her little finger and a guy will come running.”

  Mick subsided, but he looked far from appeased.

  Zack shook his head. “Mick, you’re going to have to get a handle on these jealous tendencies of yours. You know Josh won’t poach.”

  “As if it’d do him any good to try!”

  Zack sighed, but it turned into a laugh. “I wasn’t suggesting it would. And seeing as you know that, why do you let his every comment rile you? You know he doesn’t mean anything by it. It’s just how he is.”

  Mick grumbled, “That wasn’t your sentiment when he was trying to seduce Wynn.”

  It was Josh’s turn to choke. “I wasn’t trying to seduce the woman! Hell, all I did was hold her hand.”

  “You’re both nuts,” Zack concluded out loud. “Let’s forget Wynn and the calendar and women in general. Mick, you can go on pining for your wife since I know you can’t help it.” He grinned. “Now, let’s play cards.”

  Three hours later Zack was ready to call it a night. His neck was still stiff and his mind refused to pay attention to his hand, so he’d lost more than he’d won. Mick, too, was yawning, and mumbling that Delilah had likely finished writing for the night. Josh, the only one to look fresh, decided to call a woman from Zack’s house and made plans to visit her that night.

  Mick and Zack both shook their heads.

  The night was cool and crisp and black as pitch when Zack waved goodbye from the doorway. He stood there until the headlights had disappeared out of the driveway, then he locked the door and tidied the kitchen.

  On his way through the house, he picked up toys and drawings and a lone frilly sock peeking out from beneath a chair. He checked all the locks and headed upstairs.

  Dani slept peacefully, her small body barely visible beneath the sheet. Zack smiled and pulled her door closed.

  On his way to his own room he stripped off his shirt and stretched his aching arm and shoulder muscles. He kicked his shoes into the closet, then sat on the edge of the bed to remove his socks. After he turned out the light, he went to the window, breathing in the night air as he unzipped his slacks.

  And from there, in a shaft of moonlight, reclining in the damn hammock like a sexual offering, he saw Wynn. For a single heartbeat lust raged through him, making his blood churn and his imagination grind.

  Then a clearer picture formed; she looked to be sound asleep, which nearly made his mind explode with incredulity. She was a single woman, alone, in a new neighborhood, and she was stupid enough to pass out asleep outside, unprotected.

  Jaw locked, Zack left his room with a stomping stride and iron determination. He’d known the moment he saw her that she was going to be nothing but trouble, both to his sanity and
his libido.

  5

  THE WELL-TRIMMED GRASS was wet and slippery beneath his bare feet, and a gentle evening breeze stirred his hair. His temper remained hot; it rose in degrees as he closed in on her.

  Wynn didn’t so much as move an eyelash when he stood directly over her lush, limp body. She had one arm above her head, palm up, her fingers slightly curled. The other drooped over the side of the hammock, almost touching the ground. Those mile-long legs of hers were crossed at the ankle, her feet bare.

  She’d changed clothes.

  Zack surveyed her, at his leisure. Without those piercing hazel eyes watching him or her sharp tongue challenging him, he felt steady, more in control, free to look his fill.

  The halter and shorts were gone, replaced by a long, loose white nightshirt that almost reached her knees. Or at least he thought it was a nightshirt—until he read the front. Lane’s Gym—Workout For A Better Body. Obviously an advertisement for her brother’s gym.

  Clouds drifted across the moon, darkening the sky so that only the faint light from her porch illuminated her. Her lashes looked feathery in the dark shadows, her mouth very, very soft.

  The scent of shampoo and lotion rose from her warm body to mingle with the damp night scents.

  Zack felt himself reacting to the sight of her, and it angered him. “Wynn.”

  She didn’t move.

  He didn’t want to touch her. “Damn it, Wynn, wake up.”

  Her lashes stirred and a soft sound escaped her slightly parted lips, causing his abdomen to clench, his pulse to race. Then she resettled herself with a husky groan.

  Zack’s eyes flared. His stomach knotted with carnal awareness. He reached down and caught her shoulder for a brisk shake. “Damn it to hell, Wynn, will you get your ass awake before I—oompf!”

  One moment he’d been indulging his temper and the next he found himself flat on his back in the dew-covered grass, the wind knocked out of him and Wynn’s knee in his chest. Her fist was drawn back, ready to clout him.

  Zack reacted as suddenly as she had, grabbing her legs and holding on as he flipped them both, putting her flat out beneath him. “What the hell is wrong with you?”