Mel continued to stare him down until the corners of her mouth curled, giving her away, and since he already had her half-smiling, he decided now was as good a time as any to dial it up a notch. He stepped over to the breakfast counter and picked up the to-go cup he had filled and handed it to her. “For your subway ride,” he said in way of explanation.
Mel stared down at the cup, awestruck. “Thanks.” She glanced back up at him, gratitude warming her eyes.
How did any man resist those eyes?
Then her lips quirked, and she added, “Who knew voyeurs had time to brew coffee before their peeping.”
Blake laughed and shook his head. She had a sense of humor, he’d give her that. “We can’t have PopNewz’s new Executive Editor working without caffeine, now can we?”
Her smile spread. “I guess not.” She tipped her cup toward him. “Thanks.” Then she turned and blew kisses to each of the kids, already engrossed in cartoons, as she headed to the door.
CHAPTER TWELVE
MEL
Mel hustled into the office with only five minutes to spare. Though she had little time, she needed a quick chat with her girls, so as she moved past their cubicles, she motioned for them to follow. “Freebie room. Now,” she hissed.
“Yes, Boss,” Marti mumbled as she followed, and Caroline joined her.
Mel flung open the door and plunged herself between the racks of spring wear and flopped down onto the bench in the middle of the room. “I think I have a thing for my manny.”
“Of course you do,” Caroline chirped.
Mel blinked at her as her jaw dropped. “What? How. . .”
“Hello? After you hired him, you should’ve heard how you described him. It was like you were describing your favorite dessert. It was practically sinful. Then once he started doing a great job.” Caroline slashed the air with her hands. “You were done for. Every other time you mentioned him, you may as well have been moaning his name.”
Marti nodded in agreement.
Mel exhaled in defeat. Had she really been so transparent? Even she hadn’t realized . . . “But isn’t that kind of a problem? I mean, he’s my manny, and he has a girlfriend.”
Caroline shrugged. “It sucks. That’s for sure. But you have to question how good their relationship is if she’s making him watch your kids just to prove he has what it takes to be a good husband and father.”
“Well, technically, her father is the one who demanded Blake do this in order to gain his blessing.” Why was she defending her? She hadn’t exactly been fond of Jen upon meeting her. Quite the opposite. Even though Mel didn’t know her well, she sensed Jen was immature, naive, thoughtless, and privileged in a way that gave her a single view of the world. Right or wrong, Mel’s tolerance for people like that was limited.
“Meh.” Marti waved this notion away. “She’s a grown woman, and if she really loved him, she should tell him to forget her crusty old dad and run off with him.”
“Now, that’s romantic.” Caroline piped up. “Except for the crusty part.” She winced.
Mel didn’t have the nerve to tell them Jen was a Garwood, as in The Garwoods.
“He also saw me naked,” Mel blurted.
“Whoa.” Caroline’s eyes widened to saucers as she slowly sunk down beside her, a smile blooming over her face.
Marti arched a brow. “Was the naked thing intentional? Because this story will be a lot more interesting if so.”
Mel dropped her head into her hands and groaned. “No. The naked thing was this morning and a complete accident.”
“Details. We need details,” Caroline said, practically salivating as she scooted closer to her.
“It was this morning. I was running late, and I walked into my bedroom after a shower to get my clothes, and he was in there, checking on the kids.”
Marti grinned. “Got an eye-full, huh?”
“I’m trying to repress the memory.” Mel grimaced.
“Hmmm. I’m sure he’s not.”