She grinned as she climbed off Jayden and ran to give him a hug. “Awesome. Kick some butt and score me a goal.”
His throat was thick with emotion as he hugged her back. How had this little girl wiggled her way into his heart so fast? “Consider it done.”
“Um, wow, I think I got replaced,” Jayden said and Benji grinned at him. “I guess I’m chopped liver now.”
Angie giggled as she ran back to Jayden, tackling him at the thighs, which caused him to fall onto the couch in a heap of laughter. Before Benji could even laugh or say anything, Lucy pushed him outside.
“I love when you put your hands on me,” he teased as she shut the door behind them and then headed past him, down the stairs.
“Oh, Jesus. Hush and come on,” she called back at him as he grinned.
So he followed.
Watching as her ass moved side to side in those sexy jeans, Benji was almost mesmerized before she stopped at the end of the driveway, right behind his truck. Looking back at the house and then to her, he scoffed. “I think we’re far enough away. I doubt anyone will hear us,” he said with an exaggerated wink.
“Oh, hush,” she snapped, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms over her chest. “So what do you want to talk about?”
He grinned, matching her stance. “You’re so cute when you don’t want to talk about something.”
Looking up at him, she glared. “I can go back inside.”
“But you won’t.”
Her glare deepened. “Get to talkin’, Paxton. I’ve had a shitty day.”
“I heard,” he said then, tucking his hands in his pockets. “How long will you be out of your apartment?”
She shook her head and let out a long breath, her shoulders sagging. “I don’t know. They say Tuesday, but when I went there this morning, it looks so bad. Like the water was seeping through the ceiling of my shop. I don’t know how it got so bad. I called right when I smelled something weird.”
He nodded. “That blows.”
“You have no idea. I love my brother and his wife, I do, but I hate imposing on people.”
“Yeah,” he said softly. “You know you’re more than welcome to come stay at my house. I have room, and I won’t even be there this week. Plus, you can work on it.”
Her face scrunched up as she gave him a suspicious look. He wanted to regret asking her, but he didn’t. He didn’t mean it to get her back in his bed; he really did want to help her, and he understood not wanting to ask her brother for help. They were practically newlyweds. No one wanted to be under the same roof with that.
“I don’t know you. Why would I move myself and my child in with you?”
He scoffed. “You had sex with me, though.”
She balked. “Um… Yeah. So?”
“So you trust me. If you didn’t trust me, you wouldn’t let me between—”
“Jesus take the wheel!” she wailed, holding her hands up to stop him, which of course, he smirked at. “Maybe I just wanted sex. Maybe I’m a whore.”
He gave her a dry look, shaking his head. “Even I know that’s isn’t true. You aren’t like that.”
“How do you know?”
He grinned, taking a step toward her. “Because even though I’ve only known you six days, I’ve seen the way you are with your daughter. You’re a great mom. Great moms don’t sleep with random men. They are responsible, they are smart, and it’s okay, Lucy, you can admit you trust me.”
That stunned her, but she recovered quickly. Scoffing, she said, “Please, you were there.”
“Okay. Lucy, do you want another hug? You look like you need another one.”
He moved toward her with his arms out, and she laughed as she pushed him away. “Stay away from me, you and those hugs.”
“Dangerous, huh?”
“Yeah,” she breathed, shaking her head.
“But, hey, it led to a great night,” he said huskily, and her lip quirked as she looked away.
“Doesn’t matter. It was a mistake,” she said quietly.
He couldn’t agree with her if he tried. Last night was not a mistake, but she already knew that. “It was?”
She looked up, her eyes wide and worried, distress all over her beautiful face. He may have been kidding before, but he really did want to hug her. “Benji, I’m so busy, especially now since I have to find a way to run my business out of my brother’s house. I was supposed to hire a new designer this weekend, but that looks like it’s going to shit and I’m a fucking mess. Really. Also, I have a kid—”
“I don’t know what Angie has to do with us.”
“Um, no man wants a chick with a kid or a baby daddy to deal with.”
He snorted. “Your baby daddy is nothing to me.”
“He’s a dick. You don’t want to deal with that or my kid.”
“Again, he doesn’t matter. As a real man, I don’t care that you have a kid or a baby daddy. That baby daddy has no effect on me, and your child is an extension of you. Also, Angie is freaking awesome, just like you,” he said with a wink, but she didn’t look convinced.
“No one says that.”
“Or you haven’t met the right man,” he said, pointing at her.
Exasperated, she threw her hands up. “When did you become a smooth-talker? You’re supposed to be a huge dork.”