Autumn Wish

by Netzel, Stacey Joy

  “In a minute.” He didn’t move his gaze from Nikki’s face. “Nicole, I’m really sorry—”

  “Oh, God, please don’t,” she interrupted with a harsh laugh, lifting her chin as she sniffed. “This isn’t for you, it’s allergies. I haven’t cried over you since the day after you left, so don’t flatter yourself.”

  The guy was her ex? Sounded like he’d dumped her, and damn, she was crying over him, but trying to save face. Joe’s expression of concerned pity as he stood in front of her with a new girlfriend pissed Sam off. He transferred his gaze to the rows of pharmaceuticals in front of him.

  “I don’t remember you having allergies,” Joe said to Nikki in the other aisle.

  There—allergy medicine.

  Leaning back on his heel once more, Sam raised his voice. “Hey, Nik? Did you want the regular Claritin, or the generic brand?”

  She whipped her head around, those shimmering eyes wide with surprise. “Um, generic’s fine.”

  “Got it.”

  He grabbed a box, tossed it over Ella’s carrier, and pushed the cart around the corner. Nikki didn’t resist when he took her overloaded hand-basket and slid it onto the bottom rack of the cart. “All right, then, looks like we’re set. How about—” He straightened and pretended to suddenly notice the other two. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

  “It’s okay.” Nikki eased closer to him and checked the baby carrier. “How’s Ella doing?”

  “Still out like a light.”

  “Good. I’ve got everything I need, too. Let’s go.”

  “Excuse me.” Joe’s raised voice demanded their attention. “Who are you?”

  “Sam.”

  The man’s gaze made a quick circuit from Sam, to the baby, to Nikki, and back to Sam. Speculation glittered in his eyes, and when Sam didn’t volunteer any further information, his jaw tightened.

  “I’m Joe,” he stated, extending his hand.

  Good for you. Much as he wanted to, Sam couldn’t very well ignore the introduction. He gripped tight for a brief shake, then pulled away before Joe could turn it into a pissing contest. Sam offered a pointed greeting to the sophisticated brunette and found out her name was Tanya.

  Returning his full attention to Nikki, he lifted his hand to span the small of her back. “Did you decide where you’d like to go to dinner yet?”

  To her credit, she only hesitated one beat. “How about Mexican?”

  “I’m good with whatever you want, you know that, babe.”

  He grinned at her quick upward glance, and bent to press a kiss to her lips. Her eyes widened in the split second before contact, then her lashes swept down. Sam lingered for an extra heartbeat, rubbing his hand up her back to her shoulder, wishing he could pull her close and savor the moment. Her lips were warm, soft, and as intriguing as the small catch in her breath.

  But now was not the time to explore possibilities, and his desires were not the point of this kiss, so he eased back. She lowered her chin before he could gauge her reaction. Without a goodbye for her ex, she grabbed the cart and bee-lined for the front of the store. Sam started after her, then turned back as if he’d just remembered the other two. Joe’s stunned expression made his impulse move that much sweeter.

  “Sorry, but we’ve got to go. We’ll see you around.”

  “Yeah, you will.”

  Sam ignored Joe’s muttered response and followed Nikki to the checkout stations. She glanced over as she started to unload her groceries from the basket underneath.

  “Thank you.”

  Okay, good, she’s not mad.

  “You’re welcome.” He leaned closer and caught the scent of her almond-scented shampoo. Because he liked teasing her, he asked, “Would you like another?”

  Pink tinged her cheeks and the item in her hands tumbled onto the conveyor belt. “I meant about with Joe.”

  “I know.” Yep, he definitely liked teasing her.

  She smiled as he began to help, but it faded as her gaze shifted past him. His quick glance spotted the over-dressed couple coming toward the checkouts. They didn’t say anything, but Sam noticed Joe watching the two of them, so he made sure to keep close to Nikki. He even got her to laugh as they hurried to his truck through the cold drizzle that’d been falling all day.

  “So, seriously now, where would you like to eat?” he asked after they’d closed the cab doors.

  “We don’t have to stop anywhere. I can make something at home.”

  “Dinner is the least I can do after everything you’ve done for me.”

  “Sam, I know you were just trying to help in there. I really don’t expect you to take me to dinner,” she insisted.

  “The thing is, you might be able to make something at home, but my fridge is empty. And I’m starving. And I have all this stuff to unpack when I get home and Ella will probably wake up as soon as—”

  Laughing, she held up her hand. “Okay, I get it. You can buy me dinner.”

  “Great. Where’s a good Mexican place?”

  She directed him to a little place called El Azteca on the west side of Green Bay. Ella woke up and began fussing as they pulled into the parking lot. In the interest of saving time, Nikki handled the diaper change, and then he fed the bottle while they waited for their food. Thanks to the practice he’d had on his own earlier that day, he only felt slightly self-conscious handling the squirming infant. Once she had the bottle clutched in her little hands, though, she got right down to business sucking down her dinner.

  “You’re doing great with her.”

  “I’ve got a good teacher.”

  Nikki smiled at the compliment, but seemed contemplative as their food arrived and they began to eat. He wondered if she was thinking about what had happened in the grocery store. If she was, he hoped it was his kiss, but the odds were she was thinking about her ex. Was she still carrying a torch for the guy?

  That he didn’t like. Not one bit, but he also hadn’t liked those tears in her eyes.

  Joe, on the other hand, hadn’t seemed to like seeing her with someone else, even as another woman clung to his arm. Of course, Sam had no clue why they’d broken up, but maybe seeing Nikki with him made the guy realize the grass wasn’t always greener on the other side of the fence.

  The idea lingered in his mind as they drove home and unloaded the truck. When she followed him outside for a second armload of his purchases, he reluctantly offered her a way out. “I appreciate the help, but you’ve done way more than enough.”

  “I don’t mind,” she argued, reaching to take the bag containing the new baby monitor. “Unless you’ve had enough of me?”

  She clearly tried to pass the comment off as a joke, but he heard a vulnerable undercurrent in her words, and she didn’t lower her gaze quick enough to hide a glint of insecurity. It made him dislike Joe even more.

  “I haven’t had near enough,” he stated, his voice low. Her quick upward glance prompted him to add in a less serious voice, “I just don’t want you to think I’m taking advantage.”

  “I don’t.”

  They spent the next two hours setting up a nursery for Ella in one of his two spare bedrooms upstairs. Once the last diaper was unpacked, and the clothes put away in an extra dresser they’d carried over from her house, everything was set except for the crib.

  Her brother-in-law had offered to bring it over, but after all they’d given him already, he didn’t want to put the guy out in the nasty weather. Plus, Nikki assured him the playpen he’d bought would suffice for tonight, so Sam had insisted he’d pick up the crib tomorrow.

  Once back downstairs, he expected her to hand Ella over and say goodnight. Instead, she laid her in the playpen, and they stood together watching the little girl smiling up at them as she kicked her feet. He couldn’t believe how important she’d become to him in a mere twenty-four hours.

  And Nikki, too. They got along like they’d been friends for years, yet working side by side with her, he’d kept biting his tongue to keep fr
om asking about her past. God, it was bugging the hell out of him, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to analyze why.

  Well, he knew part of the reason why—he wanted to kiss her again. A real kiss, with give and take, touching and tasting. Anticipation sped up his pulse when she straightened after giving Ella a rattle.

  He couldn’t take it anymore. Slipping his hands into his front pockets, he did his best to sound casual. “So…this Joe guy…were you two together long?”

  Her shoulders stiffened, and her fingers tightened on the edge of the playpen. “About a year.”

  Hm. More than few dates. Coupled with the tears at the grocery store, it didn’t bode well for him. “Do you mind me asking what happened?”

  She shrugged, her gaze still fixed on Ella. “We didn’t want the same things.”

  “Such as?”

  “Marriage. Kids. I wanted them, he didn’t, so he left.”

  Ah ha. That sounded familiar. It was the exact reason he’d avoided serious relationships since he was seventeen. He’d always believed he was better off on his own, and putting himself in the position to be left again was never an option. Hell, up until he’d decided to buy this house, he’d never even stayed in one place long enough to worry about what would happen if he met someone he could imagine spending more than a couple nights with.

  Yet, when he’d least expected it, he found himself responsible for a baby and watching a woman who made the idea of a family something appealing enough to consider.

  “How long has it been since he left?”

  “About a month.”

  He made himself ask the next question, though he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the answer. “Do you still have feelings for him?”

  After a slight hesitation, she turned to face him. “The night he told me it was over, I thought he was going to propose. I would’ve said yes.”

  Sam hunched his shoulders, keeping his hands in his pockets when he really wanted to reach out and hug her. “I can see where it would hurt that he moved on so fast.”

  “That’s the difference between being prepared to spend the rest of your life with someone and not.” She moved away, snagging the diaper bag to carry it into the kitchen. Sam joined her, leaning back against the counter as she removed the empty bottle and rinsed it.

  “If it’s any consolation, he didn’t look too pleased at the idea of the two of us together. I got the impression he was a little bit jealous.”

  “Joe never got jealous.”

  “Did you look at his face?”

  “No.”

  “He was jealous.”

  She paused, her head tilted. “You think so?

  Yeah, he thought so. He just wished she didn’t sound so hopeful about the possibility. Like she’d take the guy back if he decided to hop over to her side of the fence again. The thought made him want to growl in disapproval.

  Sam opened the dishwasher to set the empty bottle inside and an idea popped into his head. His initial response was to shove the ridiculous notion away. Then he thought better of it and decided, what the hell, why not? She’d probably say no, and if she didn’t, it would give him a reason to get close to her besides Ella. He liked that possibility because if she said yes, he could make his own case in the process.

  Make your own case?

  Without giving himself a chance to rethink the insanity of his proposal, he closed the dishwasher and blurted out his offer. “I’ll help you get him back if you want.”

  Chapter 7

  Nikki blinked at Sam, shocked by his suggestion. Where’d he get the idea she wanted Joe back?

  Did she want him back?

  No.

  The instant answer brought relief. She lifted her gaze to Sam’s, curious why he’d offer such a thing. “Why would you do that?”

  “You’ve been helping me with Ella, so I’m returning the favor.” He averted his gaze, picking up the dishrag to swipe across the counter before folding it once, twice. “Based on your response in the grocery store, obviously you still care for him.”

  And she hadn’t denied having residual feelings a moment ago when he’d asked her outright. The truth was, her emotional reaction in the store had more to do with the realization that Joe’s rejection had made her need Sam to want her. Even if he only wanted help with the baby, she was desperate enough to take whatever she could get.

  Not a good way to start a relationship, and yet, face to face with Joe and his new girlfriend, that truth had blindsided her.

  Standing with Sam now, contemplating his offer, frustration swirled like fog in the wind. Darn it, she wanted to move on with her life, and she liked him. She wanted to get to know him better, and definitely wanted to explore the surge of electricity that had tingled through her when his lips met hers in the store. Unfortunately, he’d said outright he wasn’t looking to add the complication of a relationship to his suddenly upside down life. Which left her with no reason to spend time with him once he settled into a manageable routine with the baby.

  Unless...she took him up on his proposal. Could she figure out a way to make him want her for more than Ella?

  Lounging a mere three feet away with one lean hip against the counter, he was the definition of sexy. He’d rolled up the sleeves of his hunter green flannel shirt, revealing muscled forearms, and the way his jeans fit should be outlawed. She’d love to tell him what she really wanted instead of pretending, but she wasn’t brave enough to put her desires front and center. Joe’s supple Italian leather dress shoes had already done damage. Sam’s steel-toed work boots were too big for her bruised heart to survive any kind of emotional stomping.

  However, if he thought he was ‘helping’ her, she wouldn’t have to risk admitting anything.

  “How exactly would we go about this?” she ventured, her pulse kicking up a notch.

  “Make him jealous.”

  Good answer, except... “I told you, Joe isn’t the jealous type. He knew he never had anything to worry about.”

  “He does now.”

  Does? Or thinks he does?

  “I can assure you,” Sam continued. “He did not like it when I kissed you.”

  “No?”

  “Definitely not. If you’d have said goodbye to him afterward, you would have seen it.”

  “You surprised me,” she defended. “I didn’t want him to see that on my face.”

  “Sorry.”

  “It’s okay.”

  It was so okay she wanted him to do it again.

  He pushed the dishrag across the counter, bunched it in his hand, and tossed it in the sink while taking a step closer. “Your reaction could be a problem, though. I would suggest we practice so the next time you’re not caught off guard.”

  Next time. “You’re full of suggestions tonight.”

  One shoulder lifted as he gave her a cute grin.

  “Okay.”

  The grin widened, yet he didn’t move. So she took a step forward. And smiled. All the while her heart beat so fast it practically climbed her throat. Heat flooded her face, filled her body. Expectation stole her breath. She closed the remaining distance between them, lifting her hands to his broad shoulders. His rose to rest lightly on her hips.

  The absurdity of the situation made her draw back. Their gazes locked, and her humor reflected in his gold-hued eyes. Encouraged, she returned to her position, but this time flattened her palms on his chest. Beneath those flannel-covered muscles, his heart pounded as hard as hers. Thank God. He began to lower his head as she tilted her face up to his and closed her eyes.

  His breath caressed her lips, and out of nowhere, amusement bubbled up. Rocking back on her heels so she didn’t laugh right in his face, she lifted her lashes to see his smile lined with confusion. His fingers tightened on her hips, checking her withdrawal.

  “That’s a new one for me.”

  “I’m sorry.” She drew in a breath, and tried to stem her mirth. “It just...struck me as funny—or pathetic, really, that I need to practice kissing.”
>
  He tilted his head a bit to the right, eyes narrowed. His smile faded. With a firm, decisive tug, he drew her body flush with his. The full contact curbed her amusement, and then his mouth covered hers.

  Nikki’s senses rocketed into overdrive, registering his stimulating strength. Despite his take-charge move, he took his time easing into the kiss, exploring her lips, giving her a chance to get comfortable and enjoy his sensual expertise.

  It was nice—really nice—and yet, the moment she murmured a throaty approval, the intensity of the kiss changed. Passion replaced courtesy, and the controlled power in his embrace stirred butterflies in her stomach. She was good with that, too.

  Winding her arms around his neck, she pulled herself closer, opening her mouth to invite him in. He took full advantage, sliding his tongue inside to caress hers.

  Time slowed as reality narrowed to only Sam and the sensations coursing through her. Her brain registered movement, and then she found herself sandwiched between the small section of wall near the kitchen doorway and his equally unyielding body. His warm, calloused fingers eased under her sweater at the waist. When they inched upward, her pulse leapt and her nipples tightened at the thought of the rough pads rasping across her sensitive skin. Intense longing throbbed deep in her core.

  He uttered a low groan. Fisted his hands on the hem of her sweater, and pulled it down in a frustrating show of restraint. He trailed kisses across her cheek until his labored breathing tickled her ear when he murmured, “Nothing pathetic about that.”

  She struggled to get enough air into her lungs so she could think straight. “I guess not.”

  A husky chuckle filled her ear. “You guess? Oh, hell no.”

  He turned his head and captured her lips once more. Those large hands rose to bracket her face, angling her head to allow him maximum access.

  Damn, the man could kiss.

  She welcomed his possession, and gave into the overwhelming need to touch him. Feel the heat of his skin. Explore all those muscles her eyes had feasted on the night before.

  A couple determined tugs dragged his shirt from the waistband of his jeans, and then she set to work on the buttons of the soft flannel. Her fingers wouldn’t cooperate, or the buttons were conspiring against her, so she gave up and slid her hands under his shirt and T-shirt at the waist. Another groan rumbled from deep in his throat as her fingers made skin to skin contact. His warm, firm flesh made her want more.