“Hi.”
He held up Ruby. “Someone might be missing this.”
Her eyes widened, and she reached for the elephant. “Oh my God. I didn’t even notice she’d brought Ruby.” She met his eyes. “Thank you.”
“No problem.”
“We’re just having lunch. Would you like a sandwich?”
“Uh…”
“It’s no bother.” She stepped back so he could come in. “I’ll just take a few minutes to make one more.” She saw the conflicted expression on his face. “But if you don’t have time, it’s fine.” She smiled. “Just thought I’d be neighborly and offer.”
Why did she keep doing this? Nick was clearly a loner. She didn’t want to call him antisocial but…
“Sure. A sandwich sounds good.”
She kept her expression matter of fact despite the pleasure that filtered through her. “Grilled cheese.” She closed the door and headed to the kitchen. “I’ll make you my grown-up version.”
He followed slowly. “I need to wash up, if that’s okay.”
“Sure.” She nodded at the powder room, and he disappeared inside.
“How’s your sandwich, Zee?” She turned on the stove and buttered some whole grain bread.
“Good. Can I have a cookie?”
“When you’re done with your sandwich.” Jodie smiled, layering cheddar and Monterey Jack with sliced avocado between the bread. She got the sandwich toasting in the skillet and arranged cookies on a plate.
Nick emerged from the bathroom, looking big and badass in ripped and stained jeans and a thick plaid shirt which was open over a white T-shirt. A tee that totally hugged his flat abs and wide chest. Dark scruff roughened his strong jaw. Damn.
“If you’d like something to drink, there’s juice and bottled water in the fridge. Help yourself.”
“Thanks.” He moved to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water.
Zyana tracked his movements with suspicious eyes and a solemn little mouth. Jodie’s own lips twitched at her reaction to Nick.
Nick drank from the bottle, then said, “Why are the knobs off the stove?”
She glanced down. The only knob on the stove was the one for the element she was using. “Safety. I don’t want Zyana to play with them and accidentally turn them on.”
He nodded, sweeping the room with his gaze, taking in the covers on the stone corners of the island, the lock on a lower cupboard door and safety plugs in electrical outlets. “I see.”
“I firmly believe that parental supervision is the best safety measure.” She flipped the sandwich over, admiring the perfect golden color of the bread. “But just in case…”
“Never would have thought of half these things,” he admitted. He took a seat on one of the stools and nodded at Zyana’s last finger of crustless grilled cheese. “Can I have that?”
A tiny pucker formed between her eyebrows as she stared at him. “No.”
He laughed.
Jodie went still, standing at the stove. Nick’s laugh was low and rumbly…and delightful. She swallowed.
“I was just kidding,” he said. “You eat it.”
Still regarding him warily, Zyana picked up the sandwich and took a bite.
Jodie slid Nick’s sandwich onto a plate, cut it in half, and carried it over to the island. “Here you go.”
“Thanks.” He peered at it. “Avocado?”
“Yes.” She held up her own uneaten half. “It’s in mine too, but Zee doesn’t like avocado.”
“Abocado is yuck,” Zyana added.
Nick grinned. “You’re missing out, kid. Avocado is awesome.”
Jodie blinked. Laughing and smiling Nick was…wow.
Zyana finished her sandwich. “I’m done, Mommy.”
“Okey dokey. You can have a cookie.” She handed her one.
When Zyana had finished her cookie, Jodie wiped her hands and face and let her run to the big box in the living room where she’d created an imaginary world for her elephants and dolls.
“Those are cool toys,” Nick said, eyeing them. “The elephants.”
“Thanks. I made them.”
“What?” His eyes widened.
She grinned and shrugged. “I made them. With a 3D printer.”
“Jesus. I don’t even know what that means.”
She laughed. “Sometime I’ll show you. I’m sorry again that we bothered you.”
“It’s fine. I’m just not used to having people around.”
“Do you refinish a lot of furniture?”
“Yeah. It’s a hobby.” He took a bite of his sandwich.
“I’m curious to see a finished piece.”
“I’ve got a bunch. Come see them sometime.”
“Okay.” She wasn’t sure if he really meant that or it was one of those polite invitations that really meant, Don’t bother me.
“I noticed you have a few antiques,” he said.
She frowned. “I do?”
“Yeah.” He gestured at the oak bookshelf against the wall. “Your coffee table. Your desk over there. And you have a good dresser in your room. I saw it when I was making the bed last night.”
“Oh. Those are old flea-market finds. I just thought they were cheap, not antiques.” She laughed. “The coffee table is actually an old kitchen table with the legs cut down.”
“I figured that. They’d all be gorgeous refinished.”
“Huh.” She eyed the old bookshelf. “You think?”
“Sure.”
“Well. Probably not gonna happen, since I have no clue about stuff like that. I did get the chair in my bedroom re-covered—it was another find, ugly as sin, but I liked the shape of it. I like how it’s big enough for me and Zee to sit in it together, with soft squishy cushions, so I got that flowery slipcover made for it.”
He nodded.
“And I don’t have them all out here—I probably won’t bother, since we won’t be here long—but I collect elephants. I’ve found some cool ones at flea markets.”
“Elephants?” One eyebrow rose.
“Yeah. I like elephants. Zyana’s fascinated with them too. I took her to San Diego last year, and we went to the zoo. That’s where we got Ruby. She has a bunch of books about them.”
“Huh. Cool. So are your elephants, like…stuffed? Or carved?”
“Mostly carved. I’d show you, but I don’t want to bother unpacking them all.”
“You don’t have to move out tomorrow.”
“I know. But this is just temporary. I know you value your privacy. I’ll keep looking for somewhere else, and hopefully we’ll be out of your hair before long.”
His lips tightened as he looked at the sandwich in his hand. “Sure.”
She eyed him and when he looked up at her, a buzzing tension vibrated around them and inside her. And she who usually couldn’t shut up found herself with nothing to say. Nick’s presence in the small house filled it with an energy, with his smoldery eyes and beautiful mouth and big shoulders. Her nipples tightened, and she briefly caught her bottom lip between her teeth when his gaze dropped. The buzzing intensified as she knew he’d noticed her nipples through her thin bra and T-shirt. He did a slow blink and returned his gaze to his sandwich.
She swallowed. This attraction to him was…inconvenient.
Despite her intuition that the attraction was mutual, it was clear he had no intention of acting on it. Much as Jodie liked men and liked sex, mattress dancing with this man could not happen. It would be totally awkward to hook up, with her and Zee living here so close to him. Plus he was a friend of Max and Kendra’s.
She was going to have to make do with a little DIY action. That was fine. She was good at that.
But as she slid her gaze over his shoulders and broad chest, she couldn’t help but wond
er about what was lower down and how good it would feel to have him inside her….
She swallowed a sigh.
“That was really good,” he said gruffly, picking up a paper napkin from the pile she’d set on the island. “Thanks.”
His sandwich done, he picked up his plate and carried it to the dishwasher.
“Have a cookie,” she offered.
“Mommy, can you put music on again?” Zyana bounced over.
“Sure, honey.” She tapped her phone and started the music app again.
“Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard” played, and Zyana danced back to the living room, tossing her curls. She was actually a good little dancer. Jodie would look into dance classes when she was a bit older—probably most started at age three. Maybe ballet or tap.
The music got Jodie too, and she stood and bopped as she carried plates to the counter.
Nick watched Zyana with a bemused expression. “Where does she get that energy?”
“I know, right? But then, you don’t exactly strike me as a lazy guy.” There was no way he could have that body and play such a physically demanding sport for a living if he was a sloth.
Once again, her personal comment seemed to make him uncomfortable. “I, uh, better go. More work to do.”
“More furniture refinishing?”
“Nah, done with that for today. Things to do inside the house.” He started toward the door.
“Oh yeah? Like what?”
He gave her a look. At first she thought he wasn’t going to answer, which would be rude, but then again, maybe she was being too nosy asking questions. But she was interested.
“House needed a lot of work when I bought it,” he said. “Been doing drywall and replacing and refinishing woodwork.”
She tipped her head to one side. “Fascinating.”
His forehead creased into perplexed lines. “It is?”
“Sure.” She shrugged. Did he not get how interesting people were? And…especially him. “Well, good luck. Hope your day is productive.”
“Thanks.” He glanced over at Zyana as if he was going to say goodbye, but she was oblivious, dancing with one of her dolls. “See you.” He left with a nod, shutting the door firmly behind him.
Yeeeeaaah. Damn, he was annoying. She was just being friendly. So what if there was a bit of sexual attraction? Or a whole boatload of sexual attraction, for that matter. What the hell was he so afraid of?
* * *
—
Monday morning Jodie found herself out of sorts—unable to find things she needed to get ready for work, searching for a pair of tights to wear under her skirt that should have been easy to find, hunting for Zyana’s mittens, then trying to find a bag that she could pack with some snacks and toys to keep Zyana busy while she attempted to get some work done.
They managed to find their way to the office using the train. It wasn’t a long or difficult trip, just unfamiliar. Luckily she was one of the bosses, so showing up five minutes before their scheduled conference call wasn’t an issue.
Kendra was already there, looking gorgeous and put-together in a pair of tailored black pants, a crisp white shirt, and a necklace that was several strands of multi-sized pearls and gold chains. “Good morning!” Her gaze dropped to Zyana. “Cupcake! I missed you. C’mere and give me a hug.”
Zyana ran at Kendra and threw herself into her arms. “Hi, Kendra.”
While they hugged and then Kendra helped Zyana with her parka, Jodie took off her own coat and hung it on the black coat tree in the corner of their shared office. For the move to new premises, they’d splurged on new office furniture—sleek and modern black desks, chairs, and file cabinets, white shelves, and a black and white patterned rug on the scarred oak floorboards. The exterior walls were exposed taupe and beige bricks, but one inside wall was glossy black with the words CREATE THE THINGS YOU WISH EXISTED painted in big white script on it. One white door led to what they called the “lab,” where prototypes were developed, as well as a small kitchen area and bathroom, and another led to a large meeting room, also furnished with a big modern black table and chairs.
It wasn’t a huge space and it was an old building, so the rent was reasonable, and it was theirs. While Jodie had been winding things down in New York, Kendra had been getting them set up here.
They’d created a small play area for Zyana in a corner, and Jodie quickly got her settled so they could set up in the meeting room for their conference call. This wasn’t always easy with a two-year-old. Luckily Zyana was making up for her meltdown the other day by being a perfect angel, only interrupting once to hold up a juice box for Jodie to open for her.
After the call with a supplier, they gathered Ethan, Lashanda, and Fiona in the boardroom for a meeting about some new products they were discussing.
“I totally agree that we should be manufacturing lube,” Fiona said.
“What could we offer that’s not already available?” Jodie asked, leaning back in her chair.
“Well, I think we could market it as made especially to work with our products,” Kendra said. “But yeah, to keep people buying it, we need it to be good.”
“It enhances the vibration,” Ethan suggested.
“I like it. Not sure how to make that happen, but I like it.” Jodie made a note.
“Well, we can talk about water based versus silicone based,” Fiona offered. “Water based is nice and slippery but dries up quicker. Silicone lasts longer but needs soap and water for cleanup.”
“What if we came up with an entirely new formula? Not water or silicone,” Lashanda said.
“I like that too,” Jodie said with a grin. “Again, not sure what that is.”
“Can’t be oil,” Ethan said. “Doesn’t work with condoms.”
They all nodded. “But that doesn’t necessarily matter,” Jodie said, “if we market it as made to be used for ‘a girl’s night in.’ ”
They all grinned.
“So maybe an oil-based lube could work…something safe and natural.”
“Flavors…been done. Warming and tingling…done.” Kendra tapped her pen on the table.
“What about a synthetic oil?” Ethan asked, sitting up straight. “They make them for cars.”
Jodie smiled. She knew better than to criticize an idea when they were brainstorming. “Four kinds of lubricant,” she said, going back to college days. “Oil, grease, penetrating lubricants—”
“Ha!” said Ethan and Lashanda at the same time.
They all burst out laughing.
“And dry lubricants,” Jodie continued. “Made up of lubricating particles such as graphite, molybdenum disulfide, silicone, or PTFE. At the molecular level, these particles are super slippery, so they reduce friction.” She paused. “There is work being done on artificial mucus.”
“There’s a sexy word,” Ethan said. “Mucus.”
“Right? But still, that’s what vaginal lubrication is. Hmmm…” She leaned forward and tapped in a Google search on the laptop in front of her. “Okay, they’re engineering mucin-inspired polymers and synthetic mucus. What they’re trying to do is find a solution to antibiotic resistance.” She read on. “Mucin glycoproteins are secreted by epithelial goblet cells.” She tipped her head to one side. “Okay, let me think about this. Challenge accepted.”
“Now what about the smartphone app,” Kendra said. They’d been discussing a new vibe that could be controlled by a smartphone. “How’s that coming, Ethan?” Everyone burst out laughing again. Kendra grinned, shaking her head.
“The coming is great,” Ethan said, still laughing.
“People, people, this is serious business.” But Kendra laughed too.
“The app is almost ready to start trials. As well as controlling the vibrations of the device, there’s also a secure chat function with visuals.”
Jodie and Kendra nodded. “Whole new level of phone sex,” Jodie said.
“Right.”
“What about security though?” Kendra asked, forehead creasing. “It’s wireless, so it’s susceptible to spying and remote access.”
“Jesus. The last thing you want when you’re having hot phone sex is someone hacking in and watching.” Jodie covered her eyes with her hand. “Can you imagine?”
“We’re on it,” Ethan said. “There’ll be authorization and identification procedures that limit the use of Bluetooth services to the registered user. As long as the measures are enabled on the user’s phone or other device, unauthorized access is unlikely. Also, someone can switch their Bluetooth mode to ‘non-discoverable’ and avoid connecting with other Bluetooth devices.”
Zyana wandered into the meeting room and climbed onto Jodie’s lap. “Hey, sweetie,” Jodie murmured to her, pressing a cheek to her curls. “You bored?”
Zyana nodded. “And hungwy.”
“Okay, we just have a few more things to talk about and then we’ll go get lunch.”
Chapter 8
Nick had just finished cleaning up after his dinner and was debating whether to watch a movie or do more work on the wainscoting in the living/dining room. He glanced at the clock on the wall. He could probably do both. He was headed to the living room to check what he’d need in terms of tools when a knock on the back door had his head jerking around. He frowned and strode back toward it. Had to be Jodie. Was something wrong?
As he entered the mudroom he saw them through the glass, Jodie and Zyana. For the first time it struck him that Zyana looked a lot like her mother—the same mouth and smile, same eyes, just miniature.
He’d been thinking a lot about Jodie’s mouth.
His day had been busy, luckily, with practice, meetings, video reviews, and a meeting at CMHA, the Chicago Mental Health Alliance, where he volunteered, so he hadn’t been able to think about Jodie’s mouth all day. Just random moments when he got distracted.
He opened the door. “Hey.”
“Hey. We brought your bedding back.” They were both holding piles of bedding, Jodie’s arms full of pillows and duvets.
Big Stick: An Aces Hockey Novel Page 7