“Let me slip some shoes on.
Lanie skipped ahead of us as she ran back to the cabin. I was carrying the pot of chili I’d made for Amanda while she limped alongside me. I could see the wince on her face every time she took a step, and I had to fight back the urge to throw her over my shoulder cave man style and carry her back to my place.
We settled at my kitchen table and dug into the food. I poured us all some soda and grabbed Lanie her sippy cup. Amanda hummed with every bite of the food she took, and I had to take deep breaths just to keep my cock at bay.
“This chili is delicious,” she said. “I can’t cook anything like this.”
“It’s easy,” I said. “Throw some stuff into a pot and let it simmer.”
“Yeah, you say that until I tell you I once burned an egg trying to hard boil it.”
I raised my head and looked at her. “So no one ever taught you how to cook?”
I watched a curtain of sadness drape over her features before she drew in a short breath.
She ignored my question when she finally spoke. “This chili’s really good. If you haven’t written down the recipe, you should. Someone somewhere will want it from you someday.”
I watched her lips curl over the spoon, and I shifted in my seat. Fuck, this woman dripped with sexual energy. The curves of her body and the slope of her waist. The way her jet-black hair cascaded down her long porcelain neck. The marks I could paint on her skin would leave a game of connect-the-dots that spanned her entire fucking body if she gave me one night with her.
What the hell had gotten into me? My niece was sitting right here, and I was all I could do to keep my dick from breaking my zipper.
A phone rang in the room, and I welcomed the distraction. I left the table to answer it and saw her eyes trail after me. I could see her reflection in the window as I picked up the phone, her eyes darting around my features before sneaking down to my ass.
My pelvis heated at the fact that she was studying me like I was trying not to study her.
“Hello?”
“Brian, it’s me.”
“Hey, Luther,” I said to my lawyer.
“Listen, I’ve got an issue that’s arisen,” he said.
My jaw clenched. “What’s up?”
“Lanie’s father has lawyered up. He’s taking you to court for custody”
I looked over at the kitchen table and saw Amanda playing with Lanie. Lanie was giggling, and Amanda was tickling her feet. My eyes settled onto the scene and took it all in before I stepped out of the room, padding down the hallway with the phone still by my ear.
“What the hell?” I asked.
“Yes. Custody or money, that’s what he’s seeking.”
“So he doesn’t want Lanie. He wants to drain me of money,” I said.
“Right now, he has a compelling argument. He’s the girl’s biological father. The courts like to keep parents and children together whenever they can.”
“Biology doesn’t mean shit here Luther. That deadbeat asshole never gave a shit about Lanie before now. He knows I have money, that’s what this is all about.”
“I know that and you know that, but he’s laying it on pretty thick right now. His idiot lawyer actually thinks he gives a damn.”
Clenching my phone, I turned back toward Amanda and Lanie. The giggles falling from her lips were no match for the brightness that had arisen in Amanda’s eyes. She was playing with the little girl and laughing right along with her, and I could see a flush rising in her cheeks. It painted her skin in a healthy hue that drew me right in. That begged for my fingertips to run lightly across the color. I hadn’t been this attracted to a woman in a long time, and I had shrugged off the idea of women altogether once Lanie had come to live with me.
“You could give him the money he’s asking for,” Luther said.
“How much is he asking?”
“Four million dollars.”
“Four million dollars. Is he nuts?”
“He’s a real piece of work is what he is.”
“And if I refuse to give him the money, he’s still going to try to take Lanie from me?” I asked, an ache in my gut at the thought of it.
I pinched the bridge of my nose as I turned my back to the girls.
“Looks like he’s willing to do just about anything to get what he wants,” Luther said.
“Fuck,” I said, groaning.
“Think on it and give me a call. Say, tomorrow?”
“You want me to have an answer for you by tomorrow?” I asked.
“Any longer of a timeframe and you look like you’re floundering. Quick answers come from sure fathers. I’m not just working your defense, I’m also painting your image to the jury. Remember that.”
“I’ll think about it,” I said.
I hung up the phone and shoved it into my pocket. I made my way back to the kitchen table, my mind elsewhere as Amanda’s eyes followed me. I could smell her body spray as I sat down at the table, the smell pulling my eyes up to hers as she grinned at me. My eyes hooked onto her lips before I sighed.
It didn’t matter how attracted I was to her, I had to control my urges. She was still a stranger, and I knew there was no way in hell she was sticking around. Childhood home or not, the inherited property that had been dropped into her lap was in rough fucking shape. It wasn’t suitable for anyone to live in safely, and by all I’d seen, she was not exactly a handy woman. There was no way she could take on those repairs herself, nor did it seem like she had the money to fund them.
The last thing Lanie needed was to get attached to someone who was going to leave.
CHAPTER 5
Amanda
“Hey there, Sarah.”
“Hey, stranger! You forgot to call me, you know.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I’ve just been so busy cleaning up this place, and I forgot. You got my text message though, right?”
“I mean, yeah, but I was really hoping you’d call. So, how’s the cabin looking?”
I glanced around my grandmother’s home before I leaned against the kitchen counter.
“Not gonna lie, it’s a mess,” I said.
“How much of a mess are we talking?” Sarah asked.
“It’ll take me hiring someone to come in and do some of the repairs.”
“Oh, shit. What’s wrong with it?” she asked.
“For starters, it hadn’t been dusted in years. I’ve had the windows open trying to create crosswinds to blow some of this shit outside while I wipe everything down.”
“What do you mean by ‘everything’?”
“All my grandmother’s stuff is here. Well, mostly. Some of the furniture is gone, but the bedrooms are still furnished and so is the living room.”
“You’ll have to have all that furniture steam-cleaned with all the dust that settled,” she said.
“Yep. That’s one of the things I have on my list.”
“You have a list?’
“Oh, yeah. And it’s extensive. The staircase has to be completely redone. The wood’s so rotted and flimsy that I put my foot through it when I first came in.”
“Holy shit, Manda. Are you okay?” she asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine. My neighbor rescued me and helped bandage me up.”
“You have a neighbor? Please tell me it’s a male neighbor.”
“It is,” I said, grinning. “And before you ask, yes. He’s fucking hot.”
“Ooooh, yes! Amanda, it’s about damn time you hooked your claws into someone,” she said.
“And he’s strong. Picked me up like I was nothing. He’s got these piercing eyes and rippling muscles. When he found me in the staircase, he was shirtless, Sarah. Shirt. Less.”
“Fuck. Does he have a beard? Please tell me he has a beard.”
“He does,” I said, giggling. “I figured you would like that.”
“I love facial hair on guys. Have you seen him since your accident?”
“I have. He invited me over for dinner last night, and it was a wonderful evening.”
“You went on a date, and you didn’t call me!?”
“Well, it wasn’t really a date. He had his niece with him.”
“Niece? He a babysitter or something?” she asked.
“I don’t really know the story, but she’s adorable. She couldn’t be more than three, though she talks really well so she might be older. I’m not really sure.”