Susan placed her hand on Yvonne’s arm and squeezed gently. “Please come. We can have a girls’ afternoon. I’m sure Connor—he’s one of our friends—will draft Tyler and Nolan to play rugby for his team.”
Yvonne hadn’t visited Auckland for years. She scarcely got enough time to go to the hairdresser these days, which was why she’d let her hair grow long. “I suppose I could take the opportunity to squeeze in a hair appointment.”
“I like your hair.” Nolan’s gaze settled on the long strands that hung down Yvonne’s back.
“Christina is the person you want,” Susan said. “She does personal styling and has so many great contacts. Give us a date and we’ll arrange it for you.”
“Will I get to see the famousMaxwell’s? Our customers loved that episode of the reality show and talked about it for days. I love to dance,” Yvonne said. “I used to do competitive ballroom dancing before I was married.”
“You never told me that,” Nolan said.
Yvonne winked at him. “Because we’re always busy discussing other things.” She turned to Josie. “If you’re sure about babysitting, I’ll take you up on your offer. I’ll even volunteer to help with your packing in exchange.”
“And I thought this would be stressful,” Eric, Josie’s husband, said. “Everyone is doing the work for us.”
While everyone laughed, Nolan leaned over and brushed a quick kiss on Yvonne’s lips. “Thanks for agreeing to a weekend away. It’ll be fun.”
By the time they trooped around the fairground rides and arrived back at her house, her sons were almost asleep on their feet. Michael bore the remnants of ice cream around his mouth while David had candy floss stuck in his hair.
“Into the bath with you two,” Yvonne said briskly while considering the contents of her fridge and pantry. Something quick for dinner.
“Would you like me to handle their baths while you take care of dinner?” Nolan asked.
“You?” She didn’t manage to hide her shock very well.
“I know how to have a bath,” Nolan said. “I’m sure I can manage two small boys.”
“Thanks,” she said finally, unsure of how to handle this new Nolan who kept firing surprises.
She showed Nolan where she kept the clean towels and left him to supervise. From experience, she knew how grumpy her boys became when tired. He’d regret his offer soon enough.
In the kitchen, she went through the motions, frying fish fingers and making mashed potatoes with a side of peas for the boys. For her and Nolan, she cooked pork chops and made gravy. All the while, she listened for shouts and screams. They didn’t come. Instead Michael wandered out dressed in his pajamas and settled in front of the television. Nolan and David appeared ten minutes later. David was chattering about the hedgehog he’d seen the previous night and Nolan was smiling.
Yvonne’s heart squeezed tight at the way he was soaking up the masculine attention. Damn Jason for leaving her and ignoring the fact he had two sons.
Throughout dinner, Nolan was attentive to the boys and never brushed off their questions. He was equally considerate to her and Yvonne felt a crack open in her heart. She immediately shored up the breach. Nolan had hurt her. Best if she kept things casual.
“Bed time.” Yvonne stood, needing time away from Nolan to regroup. She hustled her sons to their bedroom and tucked them into bed. After kissing them goodnight, she unwillingly retraced her steps. She found Nolan in the kitchen. He’d cleared the table and the majority of the dinner dishes were stacked in the dishwasher.
“Alone at last.” Nolan prowled toward her, his gaze twinkling with a sensual gleam of promise. Instinctively, she backed up and found herself trapped between the fridge and Nolan’s hard chest. “I’ve wanted to kiss you all day.”
Yvonne thought of the constant touches, the casual kisses that had frequently toppled her off-balance. “You kissed me.”
“Not how I wanted,” he whispered, his breath warm against her lips.
“But we’re just friends.”
“We’re more than friends.”
“No.” No, they weren’t. A man didn’t desert a woman to appear on a reality show, and they certainly didn’t do it in the lame way he had. Telling her he had things to do for three months and wouldn’t be able to see her.Huh!She lifted her chin to glare some of her irritation at the smooth-talking lothario.
Nolan searched her expression. Maybe he didn’t like what he saw because he took her mouth in an uncompromising kiss. For frozen seconds, she let him do the work before she began to respond to his expertise. Heck, she wasn’t stupid. The man knew how to kiss and she figured she should enjoy the experience—short-lived as it may be. Ditto the toe-tingling sex.
Her hands rose to run through his silky hair as she pressed closer. Such a nice hard body. One only a foolish woman would ignore.
“We can’t do this here,” he murmured. “The boys.”
While she was pretty sure her sons were unlikely to stir, she pulled back and gripped his hand to lead him to her bedroom.
