“Good morning,” I replied, pleased I hadn’t stuttered like a shy virgin—no matter how fitting that would have been.
“You’re early. I was just getting Abby and I ready for the day. Come on in.” He motioned past the foyer to the living room beyond, and I hurried past him, doing my damnedest to get my hormones under control. But it wasn’t my fault. The guy opened the door looking like a magazine centerfold—what woman wouldn’t have felt her blood pressure rise a few—or a few hundred—notches?
“So, did you have any trouble giving your notice?”
“Um, no.” Not that I had expected any. I’d been fairly certain I would accept my own resignation graciously. I was just that good of an employer.
But maybe this was the perfect time to set things straight. All I had to do was stop staring at the hard
planes of his chest…and the rippled muscle of his abdomen that disappeared behind the towel just above…
Damn it!
And I could tell by his smile, he knew exactly what he was doing to me.
“Look, Ryan…” I began, more harshly than I’d intended. Two minutes with the man, and I was already flustered. If he kept this up, I was going to be off my rocker by the end of the day!
“Emma!” Abby squealed just then as she came running down the hall in pink pajamas, a pair of big, fluffy slippers and a pink tiara. She looked like a cotton candy princess.
She came to an abrupt halt about six feet away and her mouth dropped open. “Daddy! You’re naked,” she chastised, and of course, I couldn’t help but to follow her gaze, wondering if—or secretly hoping—the towel had vanished into thin air.
Nope. The towel was still there, but it might as well have not been for the surge of arousal his gorgeous body sent through my veins.
“I’m not naked, honey. Guys go without their shirts all the time.”
“Oh. Can I go without my shirt? Can Emma?”
My cheeks were flaming red, I just knew they were.
Caught in a trap, I could tell Ryan was grappling for an answer, which is a small amount, eased my own consternation.
“Well, Emma’s a grownup. I suppose she can go without her shirt if she wants.” He eyed me as he spoke, and I could see the heat flaring in his eyes. “And when you’re a grownup, you can decide for yourself, too.” He nodded succinctly, obviously well-pleased with himself.
“I’ve got stuff for us to do today!” Abby announced, bored with the previous topic.
And I was only too pleased to grasp onto the new subject. “Oh? What stuff is that?”
“We’re gonna make a tent in my room, and build a tower with my blocks, and give my new dollies a bath, and bake cookies. Only, you won’t make the kitchen smoky, will you, Emma? ‘Cause I don’t like that noisy thing.”
Ryan and I laughed. At least he seemed to take the criticism well.
“All right, but before you get started, honey, how about we get you dressed?” he said, and I jumped at the opportunity to escape.
“I’ll do that while you go put on…more,” I finished lamely, realizing my colossal mistake when the smile he’d been wearing grew to Cheshire cat proportions and the heat in his eyes threatened to scorch my skin with his gaze.
Nevertheless, I offered my hand to Abby and she took it eagerly, leading me down the hall and up the stairs to her room.
But a thought came to mind as we passed by a room that could only have been Ryan’s bedroom, the door open and the king-size bed not yet made. Ryan was attracted to me. Even I could figure that out, though I don’t suppose it took a sexpert to recognize it. And to say I was a little attracted to him was like saying an atomic blast was a little noisy.
Maybe it was time to get it over with. At twenty-one years of age, it wasn’t like the opportunity had never presented itself. But by the time I went away to college—after a rather strict childhood—everyone I knew had long since lost their virginity—generally in the back of their father’s car to overloud rock music. And then there was me. A virgin. And so I stayed that way, too afraid of anyone discovering just how inexperienced I was.
But Ryan was a stranger. What difference did it make if he found out? And just look at him—that was one hell of a way for a girl to lose her virginity.
All right, I’d do it. Now all I had to do was figure out how one went about seducing a man like Ryan. But since he was already interested, it couldn’t be that difficult.
Could it?
3