He watched as Shannon began cutting tiny pieces of meat for Aubrey and shredding the salad into smaller, toddler-sized bites and he was struck by how the simple scene made his eyes inexplicably water. He thought of the meals he’d had as a child growing up in the Buchanan household and he couldn’t recall a single time the family had eaten together. He looked away, discomforted by the tightness in his chest. Not everyone had an idyllic upbringing, he thought trying to shrug it off but that tight feeling remained until he felt compelled to rub his sternum. Determined to shake off the melancholy that hovered at the edge of his thoughts, he dug into his steak and was rewarded with a pretty fucking amazing mouthful of meat. “Damn, that’s good,” he murmured around the hot bite, he added without pausing, “You win.”
Shannon laughed without false modesty. “I knew I would. My dad could grill anything and he taught me everything he knew. The competition was stacked from the start.”
Nolan grinned and kept eating. A man could get used to this. If it was true that the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach, Nolan had just lost more than a wager.
Dinner seemed to fly by and soon enough, after plenty of laughter and friendly banter, it was time for Shannon to put Aubrey to bed. She paused, holding a sleepy toddler and looked to Nolan. “Did you want to put her to bed?” she asked tentatively, knowing she was taking a big risk in inviting Nolan to do something so personal to her.
“I don’t know what to do,” he admitted, swallowing what was likely a lump of pure fear if his expression was any judge. She smiled and handed Aubrey over to him. “It’s easy. Usually, we do bathtime first but since she’s already so tired, we’ll forgo the bath tonight. Follow me,” she instructed as she showed him to Aubrey’s room. The crib dominated the tiny bedroom but it was cute and cozy in warm shades of pink and lavender. “I usually read her a story in the rocker and by the end, she’s usually out. Do you think you could handle that while I clean up the kitchen?”
Nolan stared at his daughter, a slow, adoring smile spreading across his lips and Shannon had to steel herself against the butterflies that erupted in her stomach. Was there anything sexier than a man holding his child with obvious love in his eyes? Oh goodness, her ovaries were kicking in high gear because seeing that look in Nolan’s eyes just made him ten times sexier than he already was.
“I think I can handle that,” he said, nodding as he sank into the rocking chair and accepted a book from Shannon. “The Pretty Pink Princess,” he read in a soft voice as Aubrey listened with rapt wonder, leaning against his chest as if Nolan was a part of their routine and not a stranger. Tears stung Shannon’s eyes as something heavy dragged on her heart and she backed out of the room before she started crying. If Nolan were a normal guy, maybe it would’ve worked out between them but Nolan was more than just a good guy she’d hooked up with. In fact, she wasn’t even sure he was a good guy at all. The stories she’d heard…they just didn’t gel with the man she saw in her daughter’s bedroom, reading a silly story to a toddler as if it were the most fascinating story in the world. Her father had always taught her to judge people by their actions and thus far, Nolan’s actions had been pretty above par. So what did that mean?
She didn’t know — all she did know was that Nolan had suddenly jumped a few notches on the sexy meter and she was trying hard to remember why it was bad idea not to throw her baby daddy down on the sofa and have her wicked way with him.
That would be bad, right?
So bad.
And so, so, awesome.
-8-
Nolan emerged from Aubrey’s bedroom fifteen minutes later and the softness in his eyes was the final straw. Shannon’s gaze traveled hungrily across the wide planes of his shoulders and down to the hard ridge of his stomach, knowing from past experience that a slightly furred trail of hair disappeared behind his zipper and lead straight to a cock that haunted her dreams and refused to leave her memory. Really, it was like fighting a losing battle, she justified to herself, as she poured fresh glasses of wine and met Nolan in the living room. He hesitated at the wine, saying with open regret, “I have to drive. I probably shouldn’t…”
“You don’t have to leave just yet, do you?” she asked, her heart beginning a rapidly accelerated beat as her adrenalin hummed with pent up sexual tension. It’d been so long. Her vibrator was good for a quick release but it didn’t compare to the feel of a man between her legs — specifically Nolan.
Nolan accepted the glass and read the look in her eyes. Suddenly, his gaze darkened and he said in a low tone, “You really ought to stop looking at me like that.”