“That’s some stuff that arrived from my house in California,” she said, though he didn’t ask for an explanation. “I haven’t had a chance to go through it.”
The boxes were all labeled with things like baby clothes, photos and such, but one in particular seemed to flash at her like a neon light. It was the box with Lawson, etc. written on it in black marker. No way did she want to go through it with Lawson right there, so she stepped in front of it. But Lawson’s attention definitely wasn’t on the boxes. He was still looking out the window.
“The intruder won’t be back,” Eve insisted. “He came here looking for Ulyana and was disappointed when he found me instead. He said I was old and that my body was squishy.”
That caused Lawson to glance back at her. Except it didn’t stay a glance with those scorcher eyes. He slid a slow look over her from head to toe, and he didn’t linger on the squishy parts. However, he did linger a bit on her mouth. His gaze shifted from one side of her lips to the other before settling right in the middle. In the exact spot that would get the brunt of a kiss. If he kissed her, that is, and it certainly felt as if he had.
Mercy. It felt like foreplay, too.
And sex.
She was warm and tingly in a place that hadn’t been tingled in a very long time. That part of her was sending her a rather strong reminder of that.
Lawson finally looked away from her, his attention leaving her mouth, and he turned as if to go out the door. It reminded her of how fast he’d moved in Austin.
“Why don’t you wait here with us until Clay arrives?” she asked.
Having him here was playing with fire, and Eve blamed the tingling. She wasn’t ready for him to go just yet even if his going would probably be a good thing.
She saw the debate in his eyes, but in the end, he stayed put, probably because he was indeed concerned about her and the baby’s safety. He came back into the family room, but his attention landed on the binoculars on the table by the window.
“Dylan,” he grumbled. “He gave me a pair, too.”
Because Eve’s mind was still in the sex mode, it took her a moment to follow through on what Lawson was no doubt thinking. “I swear, I don’t use them to look at you. Well, I did once, but that was only because Dylan left a note saying I should use them to look, and I didn’t know exactly what I’d be seeing. And that’s the only time.”
Now she was babbling, and apparently confessing, too, because Eve added even more.
“But Cassidy has used them a time or two to try to get a glimpse of Lucian. She has a mini-fixation on him,” Eve added when Lawson glanced back at her. His raised eyebrow caused her to add even more. “Cassidy has a thing for bad boys.”
A muscle flickered in his jaw. “Lucian’s not a bad boy. He’s a son of a bitch. Big difference.”
Yes, it was a big difference, and yes, it was true about Lucian.
“Steer Cassidy away from him if you can,” Lawson added, and again, he turned back to the window.
“I’ll try, but Cassidy can be stubborn about that sort of thing. She’s in her room,” Eve explained when Lawson glanced at the stairs as if looking for her. “She’s working on illustrations for a kids’ book.”
Possibly spying, too. Eve wouldn’t mention that Cassidy had ordered her own binoculars and that her room upstairs faced the direction of the Granger house where Lucian stayed when he wasn’t at one of his other two homes.
“Were you able to patch things up with Tessie?” Lawson asked several moments later.
His question got the discussion off the privacy-invading housewarming gift from Dylan, but that didn’t mean this conversation was going to be any more comfortable. “No. I saw her, but only briefly.”
Eve cursed the tears that threatened again. Lawson cursed, too, when he noticed them.
“I saw you crying earlier,” he said. “While you were in the garden. Don’t worry. I won’t be using the binoculars again to spy on you.”
It hadn’t occurred to her how Lawson had known about the Swaron intruder, but he’d obviously been following Dylan’s instructions as she had done. That gave her a different twist in her stomach. She’d been sweaty, blubbering and not looking her best, and Lawson had seen her like that. Heck, he was still seeing her that way minus a little less sweat now that she was in the A/C.
“I need to run to the bathroom,” she grumbled and had started in that direction when there was some crying. Not her this time. It was Aiden, and the sound was coming from the baby monitor in her pocket.
Freshening herself up would have to wait, and instead she headed for the nursery. “I’ll get him,” she called out to Cassidy.
Because she thought both Lawson and she could use it—Aiden, too—she took her time changing the baby’s diaper and washing up again. She gave Aiden some extra kisses before she made her way back to the family room. Lawson was still there, still keeping watch at the window.
Aiden grinned a big gummy grin at Lawson. He was a happy baby—most of the time, anyway—but he rarely smiled at strangers, making her wonder if he sensed that Lawson had been the one to bring him into the world. Or maybe the baby just felt her heartbeat rev up whenever Lawson was around.
Lawson gave Aiden a small grin back and brushed his fingers over the baby’s toes. “He’s getting big.”
Yes, he was growing fast. And getting hungry. Aiden turned his head, brushing his mouth against her nipple. She wouldn’t put him off too long, but Eve wanted to wait a few more minutes for Clay to arrive. Then Lawson would almost certainly leave. To stave off Aiden a little while, she put him against her shoulder and gently rocked him.
“You redecorated,” Lawson said, turning back to the window. “The place looks better.”
It did, but the bar had been set pretty low when it came to the previous decor. “Your mother seemed to have been aiming for a Vegas showgirls theme. Lots of red, feathers and sequins.”
Come to think of it, that’s how Regina Granger dressed, too. Like the hornies and their time management, she had not used her champagne budget wisely.
“Are you still upset that your mom sold me the house?” Eve asked. When Aiden kept squirming, she moved him back to the crook of her arm.
“Yes.” He huffed, looked back at her again. “Why exactly do you think she did that? I mean, she got this house as part of her divorce settlement twenty years ago, and before you bought it, it’d been empty for nearly a decade. So, why sell it?”
“She said it was because the house needed some attention and love.”
His next huff was louder. “She’s up to something. Possibly matchmaking.”
Eve had to shake her head. “Matchmaking for us?”
“No. I suspect she’s looking at you as a wife for Dylan.”