She climbed from the pool and the water dripped off her barely clad body. She had long dark hair cascading down her curvy body. She definitely had curves in all the right places. His hands itched to explore those curves.
She finally looked up and her stunning dark eyes noticed him standing there. They rounded in surprise as they both stood there, staring at each other for what felt like hours. Emily finally pulled out of the trance, wrapped the towel around herself and started walking over.
She took a deep breath and introduced herself. "Hi, I'm Emily and you must be my boss," she said with a bright smile. She was hoping if she faked her confidence enough he would see past the fact she had a son and allow her to keep the job.
He was seriously the sexiest man she had ever seen before. He was well over six feet tall and solidly built. He had muscles in all the right places and the tight shirt and fitted jeans hid nothing from her view. He had dark hair, covered by a worn Stetson hat and his sea blue eyes seemed like they didn't miss anything. She was having a hard time looking away from those mesmerizing eyes.
He looked her up and down, before finally replying to her. "I'm Mark Anderson. You're the new cook my Father hired?" he questioned her, although he knew the answer.
Trevor had noticed the new man and came running out of the pool. "Hi, I'm Trevor. I like your hat," he said, grinning at the man, while dripping all over his cowboy boots.
"Trevor Honey, back up a little. You're dripping water on Mr. Anderson's boots," she said, a little horrified. She was trying to blend in and there she was with Trevor dripping all over the poor man.
Alex bent down so he was eye level with Trevor. "It's okay Little Man. You can call me Mark. Are you enjoying the pool?" he asked.
"It's the biggest and best pool ever and the puppies are so cute and did you know there are horses everywhere and Doug said he's going to teach me how to ride them and everything," Trevor stated all in one breathe. He couldn't contain his excitement.
Mark laughed at Trevor's enthusiasm and then ruffled his hair. Emily finally allowed herself to relax. The man seemed to genuinely like children. He was drop dead gorgeous and had a soft side for kids. She didn't know men like him existed anymore. She started to feel her first stirrings of relief as she realized he most likely wasn't going to fire her over bringing an extra person into his beautiful home.
"Maybe you can help me pick which one of the puppies we keep and give it a name," Mark said.
Trevor's face seemed to fall instantly and there were tears in his eyes. "What's wrong baby?" Emily asked, as she dropped to her knees next to Mark.
"Why do the puppies have to leave?" he asked Mark, as tears streamed down his face. All Trevor heard was only one puppy would get to stay and he was devastated about it.
Mark was completely taken aback. If he saw a child or woman crying, all he wanted to do was fix the problem, no matter what it was.
"We'll keep all the puppies. There's plenty of room for them to run around here. You can name them all," Mark said in a bit of a panic. He would've given the kid a handful of hundred dollar bills if it would have made the tears stop.
"You promise?" Trevor asked, with some skepticism.
"Scouts honor."
"Thank you," Trevor said as the tears instantly evaporated and he launched himself into Mark's arms. Mark held him close and felt his heart grow a little larger. He didn't even notice the water soaking into his clothes.
Emily had to turn away from the scene before her. She could see herself falling for her boss and wouldn't allow that to happen. She needed the job and men like Mark didn't settle down with women like her so there was nothing that could happen between them more than sex and then her employment ending. She almost wished he was a standoffish bully, instead of a sexy cowboy with a soft heart for children.
"Trevor let's head inside. I need to finish getting dinner prepared, so I can't watch you out here anymore," she said, turning towards the house.
"Ah Mom, I want to swim some more, please," he begged her. She had such a soft spot for her son and she hated to tell him no but she really needed to finish her cooking.
"I'll bring you out to swim tomorrow but I really need to finish dinner."
"I was planning on taking a swim. I'll keep an eye on him," Mark said. "Hang with your mom in the kitchen for a few minutes while I run upstairs to change clothes," he finished and then jogged up the stairs, not waiting for a reply from Emily.
She figured Mark was like his father and not used to being told no. She wasn't going to argue with him. She had a talk with Trevor and told him to be on his best behavior.