by Molly McLain
“You,” he said back, stabbing his hands on his hips. “I should have realized.”
She laughed—nervously?—and handed him a cup of something that smelled suspiciously like his latest, not-so-masculine guilty pleasure—a jacked up pumpkin spice latte. “Apparently you’re a regular at Cedar Street. So much so that Sammy sends her warmest regards.”
He narrowed his eyes. There was no point in beating around the bush. His time these days was too valuable for that, and there was no way in hell he’d be able to look at this woman, day in and day out, without picturing her in his bed. “You know, this probably isn’t going to work, so maybe we should just end it here.”
Nicole’s eyes, which he noticed were a very pretty blue-green, went big and wide. “Wait, what?”
Maybe he was acting like an ass, but it had to be done. The strain behind his zipper said it all and he’d much rather deal with the wrath of Josh for missing some time at work than have to try and stave off the incessant wood he was sure to have with Nicole in his life.
He lifted the hand that held his coffee and tried again. “Look, I don’t think—”
“No, no, no.” She cut him off and reached out to touch his forearm. Such a soft hand. Warm, too. It’d probably feel amazing wrapped around his cock. Fuck. “Please don’t judge me on what happened earlier.”
Huh? “What happened earlier?”
She pulled her hand back, did a cute little eye roll thing that drew his attention, once again, to her gorgeous eyes, and shifted her weight to one sculpted leg, shown off to perfection in a pair of clingy pants. “You know, when I got all ditzy at the coffee shop? I’m not usually that...blonde.” She shuddered and made a distasteful face. “It’s only...well, I’m just going to come out and say this, but I thought you were really good looking. You caught me off guard.”
Twisting her glossy lips into a shy smile, she gave a shrug and sighed. As if that explanation made everything better. As if it didn’t give him another gigantic reason to suggest they cut their losses immediately.
Dammit. He scrubbed a hand over his face and closed his eyes for a moment. Opening them again, he was met with another expectant and hopeful grin. Christ, she looked like bright sunshine. Intelligent. Confident. Friendly. And unquestionably like she’d be able to handle a six-month-old infant better than he could ever dream to.
She also looked like hard, back-scratching sex against a wall. Long, silky hair he could tangle his hands in while she went down on him. Killer legs that would wrap around his shoulders while he went down on her.
Oh, and she was apparently attracted to him, too.
Son of a bitch. This was the worst fucking idea in the history of worst fucking ideas.
“I’m not worried about your capabilities. In fact, I’m sure you’d do just fine with Brianna. It’s—”
A high-pitched squeal sounded from the living room.
“Brianna?” A small curve on Nicole’s lips and a determined gleam in her eyes told him that if he shut the door in her face right now, she’d knock again. He didn’t know her from Adam, but he got the impression her eagerness to land this job wasn’t because she liked the conquest. She needed this opportunity, probably just as badly as he needed the help.
He’d be a fool to turn her away, especially given the shittiness of his other options. He had to at least try and get to know her a little. Maybe she had a boyfriend stashed somewhere. Wouldn’t stop him from wondering what she looked like naked, but at least it would draw a firm line in the sand.
Angling his head toward the living room, he conceded at least to some conversation, and padded off to check on Bri.
***
Nicole gave a mental whoop of success as she followed Tony inside and closed the door.
She should’ve run when he gave her the chance, because working for him was going to seriously test everything that made her a woman. But he seemed nice enough. And there was something in the slouch of his shoulders that told her he needed a lifeline, probably even more than she did.
Shrugging out of her jacket and unwinding her scarf from her neck, she hung both on a hook in the hall and sucked in a steadying breath. The place smelled delicious. Like fresh, yummy man mixed with baby powder and cozy pine. Homey really, and completely the opposite of what she’d expected.
“Don’t worry about taking off your shoes,” he hollered to her.
“Too late,” she called back as she slid out of her boots and set them neatly next to his massive-for-a-man collection of footwear. She spotted several pairs of boots similar to the ones he wore earlier and a little surge of butterflies whirled in her stomach.
Ally was wrong. Tony wasn’t cute—he was sexy as hell.
And she was going to fail miserably at convincing him to hire her if she didn’t put thoughts like that promptly on ice.
Standing upright and gathering her resolve, she got her first good look around. Lots of dark wood and warm earth tones on the walls, and a kitchen that gleamed with its marble countertops and chic stainless steel appliances. A quaint fire crackled in the fireplace on the far side of the sunken living room decorated with big, leather furniture the color of burned butter.
Clearly her concerns about Tony’s livelihood were unjustified. As was her worry that he’d be an overgrown frat boy with a kid he couldn’t take care of. Watching him scoop up his beautiful, curly-haired baby proved that suspicion completely untrue. He handled his daughter with a gentleness that contrasted his big, bulky body and the hard lines of his face. What was even more endearing, however, was the adoration in his eyes that seemed to belong solely to daddies and their little girls.
When he dipped his chin and kissed the girl’s temple, her heart contracted. This was a guy who loved the hell out of his child and, for whatever reason, seemed to be raising her by himself.
“So it’s just you two here?” she asked as she stepped tentatively into the room and made her way to the father/daughter pair. She tickled the bottom of the girl’s foot and made silly faces at her until she smiled and bashfully buried her face in Tony’s shoulder.
“Yep.” He held the back of his hand to Brianna’s cheek. “Does she feel warm to you?”
Wrapping her fingers around the girl’s chunky little leg and then touching her hand to her forehead, Nicole shrugged. “Maybe a little. What’s going on with her?”
“Hell if I know.” The helpless flare of fear in his eyes warmed something in her chest. “She started with a fever a couple hours ago. No other symptoms that I can tell.” He glanced self-consciously toward the coffee table where a laptop sat open, WebMD pulled up on the screen.
“Ooh, bad idea to Google illnesses.” Darn nurse instinct. “You’ll have her diagnosed with herpes or liver failure in no time if you keep that up.”
“Herpes?”
He looked so serious, she had to chuckle. “That’s how ridiculous some of those online sites are. If you have questions, you’re better off calling the local ER and talking to a nurse. Like me.”
“Oh.” A boyish vulnerability softened his rugged, angular face. His dusting of five o’clock shadow was even darker now and, without a ball cap on, his hair looked even more touchable. “That’s right. You said that in your message.”
“I worked in the pediatric unit at a hospital in Denver until two weeks ago.”
“Why aren’t you there now?”
She smiled, sensing the question he really wanted to ask. “Don’t worry—I left on my own. I wasn’t fired for stealing the kids’ cookies or anything.” He didn’t so much as crack a grin at her attempt to lighten the mood and she gave a mental cringe. She hadn’t wanted to get into the details, lest he catch on to her financial woes, but... “My grandmother left me her house when she passed. As soon as I can go through everything and put it up for sale, I’m moving to Chicago. I accepted a job at a new pediatric facility a few weeks ago, but I need something to tide me over until then.”
“So you’re only in town for, what, a month?”
“I see you’re also you’re driving Luke’s truck, so people obviously know who you are.” Tony glanced down to his daughter, who was trying to devour her own finger. “But I find it hard to believe I’ve lived in this house most of my life and your grandma in hers for even longer, yet we’ve never met.”
“When I was younger, I only really hung out with Ally. But the last summer I was here—when I was seventeen—I made the most of it. I got to know quite a few people, Luke included.”
One dark eyebrow lifted over one equally dark eye.
“Not like that.”
“Not my business if it was.” He shrugged, but his softening expression belied the gesture.
She bit back a smile.
“How old are you?” he asked suddenly and, this time, she was the one whose brow lifted.
“Twenty-seven. You?”
“Almost twenty-nine.”
“Almost?”
“My birthday’s in a couple weeks.”
She nodded. Mental note to self: find out the exact date and make him some of Gran’s famous cookies.
Wait, no—this was job interview, not a blind date.
“So Denver, huh?” He waved her toward the couch and they each took an end.
“Born and raised.”
“And now you’re here, living in that amazing house. I’ve gotta be honest—I’m a little jealous of all that turn of the century architecture and detailing.”
She turned to face him. “You sound like you know what you’re talking about.”
“You could say that.” He set the baby on his knee and gave her a couple of gentle bounces. “I’m a foreman for Hudson Contracting. It’s a local company.”
“I’ve seen the trucks around town.” Relaxing into the comfort of the couch, she continued to eye the pair. Brianna looked a lot like her dad. Same mahogany hair, same high cheekbones, and same dimple just below her bottom lip. Her eyes were green however, not the same melted chocolate as Tony’s. Probably a gift from her mysteriously MIA mother.
“Mrs. Riley, my regular sitter, had a heart attack last night,” Tony spoke up. “She’s helped me out since I got custody of Bri in July. To say I’m in a pinch would be an understatement.”
“So you’ve lived here all your life?” She remembered Ally saying he was without much family in the area, so she was curious how that equation worked out.
“Yep. My dad died a few years ago and my mom moved halfway across the state after that. No brothers or sisters. You?”
“Nope. And I can see why you need the occasional help.”
“I’ve got friends, but they work as much as I do.”
She eyed him carefully and chose her next words just as prudently, because it seemed important she get them just right. “Look, Tony, you’re a no-nonsense guy, right?” When he gave her a sidelong glance that didn’t say mind your own business, she continued on. “I can also tell you’re a protective dad and you want the best for your little girl. I’m happy to help you out, so why don’t you tell me what it’s going to take to convince you I’m not an axe murderer?”
He made a wry sound and looked back to Brianna.
“I work with kids for living. Sick ones, at that. I know how to handle just about every emergency situation imaginable and, more than that, I adore children. I also have a valid driver’s license and no criminal history, save a speeding ticket three years ago. But I should have contested that because I was only going five over and, really, who doesn’t do that?”
With a lopsided grin, Tony got to his feet and strolled into to the kitchen with Brianna on his hip. She watched him fix a bottle over the low wall dividing the rooms.
“I have a resume, if you’d like to see it,” she offered, almost desperately. Why did she care so much that he seemed reluctant towards her? She could make ends meet without this job...if she didn’t mind living on ramen.
“You can put just about anything on a resume.” He kept his back to her and reached the can of formula back into the cupboard. His t-shirt rode high on one side, giving her a nice view of his muscled lower back and the waistband of dark gray underwear that had escaped his low-slung jeans. He also had a fabulous ass. She’d bet her next cup of coffee she could bounce a quarter off it.
Clearing her throat, she tried again. “Talk to Ally and Luke. They can vouch for me.”
With his finger over the nipple on the bottle, he turned to face her, shaking the plastic, ladybug decaled container away from Brianna. “I pegged you as the friendly, nurturing type the second I saw you on my porch.”
“But you’re still not sure. Why?”
He shook his head. “Are you married?”
“No.”
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
“No.”
“That’s why.”
Chapter Five
“Excuse me?” She blinked at him, torn between being insulted and confused.
“Never mind.”
“That doesn’t need to be a problem between us.” A little white lie, but she could do it—to help herself and to help him. She could pretend he wasn’t drop-dead gorgeous.
“It’s not just—”
“That I said you were good looking?” Might as well put it out there. Maybe talking about it would make it less awkward.
“Look, I need this be easy, okay. If you don’t work out, I’ll be in the exact same spot a week from now.”
“Okay, I understand your hesitation. A single woman suddenly drops into town. I must be running from something, right? I’d be skeptical too, but I assure you—I’ve got nothing to hide. I’m just here because my grandmother gifted me her home and I want to do right by her before I sell it. Simple as that.” When he gave her another uneasy look, she shrugged. What else could she say?
With the suckling baby in his arms, Tony reclined on the other end of the couch and studied her, while she tried desperately not to notice how thick and corded his forearms were. “I think there’s more to it,” he said.
“Sorry to disappoint you, but no.”
“What else is in Chicago besides the new job?”
“A long-awaited new start.” She met his curious eyes head on and regretted it immediately, because when Tony looked at her, he really looked at her. Like he was honestly interested in what she had to say. Because he was thinking about trusting her with his child or because he was just that kind of guy?
“That doesn’t sound simple to me,” he said, his voice easy. Coaxing.
“I’ve lived in Denver all my life. My family is there. Don’t get me wrong—I love my parents dearly—but sometimes a girl just has to do her own thing. You’re not really going to condemn me because I don’t have a man holding me back, are you?”
He glanced back to his daughter and made a wry, throaty sound. “Holding you back? Tell me how you really feel, Nicole.”
“Do you have a girlfriend?”
“When the hell would I have time for that?” he snapped bitterly.
“Then you understand.” She grinned and held out her arms, waggling her fingers at Brianna. “Why don’t you let me feed her so you can drink that extra special coffee before it gets cold?”
Finally Tony gave her a genuine smile, and it was gorgeous as hell. Even sexier than this morning. “It’s really not that special.”
“Riiight. Of course, it’s not. Must have been cayenne pepper Sammy sprinkled on top, not cinnamon. My bad.”
Tossing his head back, a hearty and infectious laugh bellowed from his chest. “C’mon, lots of guys drink lattes.”
“Mmm-hmm. Keep telling yourself that.” She shoved her hands in the baby’s direction again. “I�
��m serious, I don’t bite. Promise.”
Rolling his head to the side against the cushion, he met her gaze. His Adam’s apple bobbled as he swallowed and studied her for a long moment. The humor that lit in his dark eyes looked good on him, though she suspected it was a luxury he didn’t allow himself as often as he should. The shadows beneath them were all the evidence she needed. “I meant my friendship with Sammy, by the way. There’s nothing special going on with us, if that’s what you’re thinking. I fixed her bike chain once when she was a kid. Pretty sure she’s crushed on me ever since.”
“Ah, the classic hero fantasy. I can see that. Now hand over that baby.”
He glanced down at his daughter and sighed. “If she poops, you’re changing her diaper.”
“If you hire me, it’ll be the first of many.”
***
There was something about Nicole that Tony couldn’t pin down. A mystery. A pull that left him staring at her, brows pinched, more than once during her visit. And that should have given him ten thousand additional reasons to send her packing.
But he also recognized a kindred spirit when he saw one. It was in her nature to try and be helpful, even to people she didn’t know. And there was also the fact that she was good with Brianna.
She’d fed her and, though it was almost Bri’s bedtime, he didn’t complain when Nicole began to coo and babble and flub her lips, making his daughter laugh so hard her face turned red.
“I think she’s feeling better,” he said, relief easing the tension in his shoulders.
“Sure looks that way, doesn’t it? Sometimes fevers just happen.” Nicole nuzzled in close and rubbed her nose against Bri’s. “Who’s a pretty little girl?” she jabbered. “Pritty, pritty, pritty.”
He chuckled. How could he possibly turn this woman away? She had Brianna wrapped around her finger. Or maybe it was the other way around. “So no criminal background, huh?”
Tearing her eyes away from Brianna, the corners of Nicole’s mouth turned up, pleased. “Nope. You can run a check on me if you’d like. I promise it won’t hurt my feelings.”