“Wow, Princess, sounds like a blast.”
The little girl looked at me and beamed. I swear, the brightness of the sun didn’t have a fucking thing on this kid’s smile. Something sharp stabbed through my ribs and pierced my heart.
She was so small and innocent. In a blink, a fierce need to protect her from everything washed over me. The feeling was so sudden, so damn strong, it almost knocked me on my ass.
“Kate,” Millie called, reminding me we weren’t alone. “Tristan came.”
“He sure did.”
I’d known she was there but because I wanted to give Millie my full attention, I hadn’t even glanced at Kate yet. Good thing too. If I’d seen her, I wouldn’t haveheard a thing Millie said.
Whatever weirdness had gone on inside my body multiplied tenfold when she oh-so-casually strode toward us like she hadn’t just knocked the fucking air from my lungs.
Long legs, short shorts, and one of those shirts that slipped over her shoulder. And then there was her hair.
Those dark brown strands, curlier and bouncier than before, had my fingers itching with an almost carnal need to touch.
I could practically feel them wrapped around my fist.
“You changed your hair.” Low and raspy, the words were out before I could stop them. The wrong ones too. The moment Kate registered what I’d said, her face changed. Her small, almost-nonexistent smile fell completely, and her walls came up.
She lifted her hands, smoothed them over her hair then tucked her curls behind her ears. They bounced back immediately.
I could feel her annoyance when she pursed her lips and blew out a harsh breath through her nose. “Yeah, we—”
“It’s beautiful,” I interrupted. “You should wear it like this more often.”
A whole host of emotions flashed in those hazel eyes. Surprise probably the biggest one. I liked that too. Liked that I could shock and compliment her at the same time. Because when she warred with whatever confusion went on inside her head, her defenses were all the way down.
“I like Kate’s hair too.” Once again, Millie’s voice drew me back to the present. “It’s soft and nice to play with.”
My gaze stayed glued on Kate. “I bet it is.”
Her cheeks went from pale to pink. Her eyes widened, and she nibbled on the corner of her mouth. I wanted to nibble too. Nah, that wasn’t entirely true. I didn’t want a tiny nibble. I wanted to fucking devour her.
Maybe then these constant thoughts of her wouldn’t drive me up the damn wall.
“Can we go make pancakes now?”
Poor kid had gone from overly excited to utterly annoyed. My fault for staring at her guardian for far longer than anyone deemed polite. And Kate’s fault for looking good enough to eat.
“Yeah, Bug,” Kate laughed. “We most certainly can.”
Millie let out a quick “whoop” before she sprinted for the kitchen.
Instead of saying anything, Kate jerked her head in Millie’s direction and started walking.
I fell in step behind her. Close enough to get a whiff of that subtle perfume she used. Close enough to lean forward and whisper next to her ear, “What? No,hello, husband?OrI’ve missed you, husband? It’s been eight days.”
Her gaze met mine in a sideways glance. “Actually, it’s only been five.”
“Ah.” One corner of my mouth curled up. “Someone’s been counting.”
“Bite me,” she grumbled under her breath.
Without thinking, I snaked my arm around her waist and hugged her from behind. “I’d love to. Just say where.”
She gasped.
