Hot Single Dad(8)

“We want to stay here and play and not get dressed up,” Jack says. “You make us behave when we go out.”

“Too right, and you should behave at home, too.”

They run around creating a riot in the living room, chasing each other and generally not behaving. I roll my eyes at Holly. “What can you do?”

She laughs. “Pasta it is, then. They’ll tire themselves out.”

I keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t kill each other or do themselves an injury while Holly cooks. Is it wrong that I’d rather watch her than them right at this moment?

*

Holly’s pasta is delicious. The kids even clean their plates without being bribed by dessert, and then we play a game of Hungry Hungry Hippos before getting them ready for bed. It’s like we’re a family, with a mom and a dad. I never had that with Mercia.

After the twins are tucked up in bed and endless stories have been read that they begged for, I pour Holly a glass of wine. “You didn’t model your red dress for me. I was looking forward to that.”

“You’ll have to wait.”

“The suspense is killing me.”

“You need more suspense in your life.” She laughs. “There’s a Hitchcock movie on. That should do the trick.”

We watch Psycho as we sip our wine. It may be my imagination, but the atmosphere feels electric between us. My attention is not on the screen for most of that movie. I want to see Holly’s every reaction. Once, I catch her glancing at me. Am I making her nervous? I try to focus on the movie, but I can’t.

After the film finishes, she gets up and goes upstairs. She doesn’t even say goodnight, and I’m left wondering how I’m going to get through this two-month nightmare I’ve created for myself. How can I feel how I do about her and do nothing about it? But what if I scare her off and I never see her again?

And then Holly comes down again, wearing the red dress. And looks straight at me. My cock leaps in my pants.





CHAPTER 9


Holly




I have to get some kind of reaction out of him. I thought I could play babysitter for two months but sitting with him tonight, I know there’s no way I can do that. It’s killing me to be with him, drinking wine, watching a movie together, but nothing more. I can’t go through weeks and weeks of this.

I return to the living room in the red dress and look at him. He’s shocked! Fuck! Why did I do that? I got it so wrong. I run out of the room in tears. I ruined everything.

But he comes after me and catches up with me in the hall.

“Don’t run away. I want to see you.” He takes hold of my arm, trying to calm me, I think, his voice low in my ear. “Model for me.”

I’m anything but calm. He’s just being kind to the stupid girl who throws herself at him, one who can’t take a simple flirty comment without reading too much into it. He must really think I’m nuts.

“Sorry,” I say. “I just…I don’t…”

“Hey!” he says. “I meant it. You look beautiful in your dress. Come here.” He holds me tighter and I feel his lips on my hair, his hands around my waist pulling me against his hard body, and something else, his cock. He’s hard there too!

“So fucking sexy,” he says. “Don’t you know what you do to me?”

I pull away from him so I can see his face. “You’re just humoring me.”

“No, anything but. It’s been torture having you living here, knowing I can’t touch you.”

“You can touch me. I want you to touch me. I’ve never wanted anyone else.”

His eyes widen. I think I floored him. “I didn’t imagine a girl like you thought of me as anything other than your dad’s friend, someone to tease.”

“I look at you and the last thing I think of is Dad.”

He leans down and kisses me. His lips are sweet with wine, soft at first and then more insistent, a first hungry kiss, intoxicating and real. My head is spinning with it, with him, with what this means.

My mouth opens to his, giving permission, asking for more, a surge of excitement running through me. I didn’t know I could feel a kiss everywhere, but my whole body reacts to his mouth on mine.

“Daddy!”

We spring apart.

It’s Jack. “Are you two kissing? That’s ugh. Can I have a glass of water?”

“Yes, you can, but you should be in bed. I was just kissing Holly good night,” Reid says.

“That was like a movie kiss, not a good night, sleep tight kiss,” Jack says, taking the glass of water Reid is handing to him.

“You don’t miss a trick, do you, son? But there are all kinds of kisses, and all of them good.”