“You didn’t have to do that.”
“What can I say, I was bored. When I’m bored, I like to put my hands to use.”
Before I can help myself, my gaze drops to his hands—big, calloused hands—and my thoughts race, thinking about other ways he might put those hands to use…on my body. Roughly.
Oh, God…
“Daddy, the big bear is named Mr. Giggles,” Daisy says and chuckles.
“Is that right?” Zander asks, and holds his arms out for his daughter. She darts toward him, and he scoops her up. “Did you have fun?” She nods her head, and her ponytail bounces around her tiny shoulders.
Zander looks at me, his eyes holding so many questions.
“She did just fine,” I say. I step closer and tap Daisy on the nose. But when I do, tension arcs between Zander and me.
Holy! Never in my life have I felt such electricity, such deep desire stirring in my body. This kind of thing never happens to me. Nevertheless, I’d be smart to ignore it. I can’t let anything distract me from my business. Not when I’m in the danger zone. All my focus and energy must go into my career, getting it in the black so I can start paying things down.
“I guess I should book another appointment.”
“Same time next week?” I ask. Then again, maybe he has better things to do on a late Friday afternoon. Like get ready for a hot date or something. “Unless you have plans,” I say.
He thinks about it for a second, then nods. “No plans. That will work.”
“We’re getting ice cream,” Daisy says.
“That’s right. Those are our big plans for the night.”
“Sam likes chocolate too. Daddy likes vanilla, but I don’t.”
“Vanilla is good,” he says, his nostrils flaring, like he can smell the body wash I showered with earlier.
“Can Sam come with us?”
Zander’s gaze shoots to mine. “Uh…”
“Thanks for asking, Daisy. But I’m not able to come,” I say. “I have plans.” Not really a lie. I have a meal that needs to go in the microwave and a date with Netflix.
Zander gives a curt nod. “We’ll get out of your way then.”
He’s about to leave but stops when I say, “Thank you for fixing my door. I really appreciate it. Can I pay you for it?”
His eyes narrow, like he’s surprised by that. “It was nothing. But maybe…”
“Maybe what?”
He scrubs his chin, looks at his daughter as she cups his cheeks, and then shakes his head, as if to get it on right. Is he changing his mind about what he was going to say? He winks at me. “Maybe a cup of coffee or something next time I’m by.”
My cheeks heat, mortified. My God, my mother would kill me for my bad manners. I always offer a beverage to the parents. But this time I was so thrown off by his good looks and charm—the way he dominated my space—my manners packed a bag and headed south…meeting up with my suddenly overactive libido.
“I’m…I’m so sorry,” I say. Don’t stutter Sam. “Excuse my bad manners.”
His smile falls. “No, no. It’s okay. I was just kidding. I had a coffee in the car on the way here.”
Okay, so if he was teasing about the coffee, what was he really going to say?
Oh, maybe you can make it up to me with a hot, dirty roll in the sack, where I hold you down hard and give it to you even harder.
My entire body buzzes to life.