“For breaking my ankle?”
“For babysitting.”
“No problem.” She yawned again. “Melody’s a pretty cool kid.”
“Yeah, I think so too.”
He saw out of the corner of his eye and felt it in his chest that she smiled. “Rather surprising that you’re actually related.”
“Oh, I’m cool too,” he said dryly, looking at her. “The word ice is in my job description.”
She laughed, her light blue eyes sparkling in the dim light of a floor lamp in the corner. “I can’t argue with that.”
He nodded and slumped back on the sofa. “She had a great time tonight — she loves you.”
Her smile widened. “Well, I’m very lovable. Melody apparently is a good judge of character.”
“Hmm. I don’t know...she’s always rooting for Mother Gothel inTangledbecause she believes an overprotective mom is better than no mom at all.”
“Well, she’s right, isn’t she?” she replied softly with a shrug.
“Yes.” He rubbed his face. God, Anna had talked to Melody about her mother. On their first day together. He found it hard to even think about the subject; it only reminded him that he wasn’t what Melody deserved.
“You know, Melody told me your dirtiest secrets,” Anna admitted openly, successfully stopping him from his mental whirlwind.
Intrigued, he raised an eyebrow. “Is that so? And here I thought you were my dirtiest secret.”
“No. No, no.” She waved a hand. “I’m just your best-kept secret. Better kept than Melody, if you don’t mind me saying. Hazel stared at me for about five minutes and said,Who are you? I’ve never heard your name. But now I know you do the best braids in all of L.A.”
The corners of his mouth twitched. “That’s not true. They’re the best in California.”
She laughed. “You’ll have to prove it to me.”
“Hmm.” He turned on the sofa so he could look at her face, his gaze playfully wandering over her brown curls that tickled her shoulders. He knew exactly how they felt between his fingers, and against his chest, when Anna kissed it. On his stomach when she moved her mouth lower. In his fists when he held her in place.
He reached out, tucked his hand into the side of her hair, and stroked her temple with his thumb. “What would you like?” he murmured, gazing into her eyes. He knew it was a mistake, and yet he couldn’t stop himself. “Boxer braids? Fishtail braid?”
He combed his fingers through her soft curls and saw goosebumps creep down her neck. He saw her swallow hard. Her eyes darkened a shade…
“But, no.” He hastily dropped his hand and pulled it into his lap. What the hell was he doing? “You couldn’t afford me. I charge two finger paints per braid.”
She swallowed and looked away. She slid back an inch into the corner of the couch. “Too bad. By the way, sorry I fell asleep. I wanted to watch the beginning of the movie with her and then put her to bed and clean up the kitchen before you returned.”
“It’s okay.”
“No, it’s a complete mess.”
“I saw that. You were…cooking?”
“I don’t think you can call pasta with pestocooking,” she said, amused. “I’m a terrible cook. Far too impatient. But I never had to learn it either. Dax always took care of that.”
He nodded. He knew that. Why did he know that? “How did you get her to eat? The pesto was green. Mel doesn’t eat green.”
She laughed softly. “I told her that if you wanted to be a doctor, you had to eat green too. To set a good example for everyone.”
“That worked?”
“God, no. She ended up with pasta with ketchup.”
