“Oh, I get it. You need to start kissing and stuff. It’s fine if you do that around me.”
The heat rushed up my face to the point her little eyes opened wide. Every time she giggled, she made my heart sing just a little bit. “Please don’t grow up too fast. You deserve to enjoy your childhood.” I managed to take a sip of wine realizing this little girl was making me face how I felt about him. We’d gone from flirting to him being my protector. Then my lover to hero.
Maybe I could be his girlfriend. What was I saying? The tabloids would go wild.
“You’re special to him, Lainey. He gets nervous around you.”
“Oh, he does?” Now I laughed.
“Yes. He once changed clothes four times before he was going to work. I caught him and asked why. He said he was meeting you to go over some final details about the contract. Whatever that is.”
“Did you tease him relentlessly?”
“Duh. I also picked out the color tie for him. Purple.”
Laughing, I pressed my fingers against my lips. “I remember that tie. It was utter perfection.”
“I thought so. I told him girls liked boys who weren’t afraid of being a little different and making a fool out of themselves.”
“That is excellent advice.”
Her vocabulary shouldn’t floor me. She was the spitting image of her father in actions and everything else. What did were her words. I hadn’t expected to discover the man could be nervous about anything. He was such a powerhouse.
“Do you like him?” she asked innocently enough, but I had a feeling she had something up her sleeve.
“I do.”
“So, you love him.”
“Well, I… I care about him and think he’s handsome and fun to be around and…”
“Yep,” she said, nodding emphatically. “You’re in love. Wait until I tell Emily.”
“I would wait just in case your daddy doesn’t think so.”
“He loves you. He said you were the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen.”
“He did, huh?” A noise caught my attention. She hadn’t paid any attention whether the door had opened and Sasha had walked in, but I had. I could see a cart he was ready to roll into the room. It was filled with bags from various stores and wrapped presents. They must be from Nina’s birthday.
“Yep. You should have heard him,” Nina said as if she was in the know about all things involving her father.
Both his eyebrows knitted together and when he was about to open his mouth, I gave him a quick and daring look. He better not interrupt this perfectly fine conversation.
His facial expression suddenly reminded me of a beast on the prowl. For a man who had remained mostly expressionless around me for months, to see him making crazy faces added credence to what Nina had said.
Maybe I did make him happy after all.
“What else did your father say about me, little miss?” I pushed, increasing the volume, and I was almost certain I’d pay the price for teasing him later. Well worth it.
A teensy tiny part of him was curious as to what she would say. He narrowed his eyes and closed the door with a soft push. When he inched closer, he shook his head and his expression changed to one of enjoying admonishing me right before he punished me.
Or maybe he was preparing to devour me.
I wasn’t certain I’d mind a little of both.
“Well,” she said, adjusting herself on the couch. It was all I could do not to expose his presence. “He said that you looked like a model only more gorgeous than any girl he’d seen on a magazine. He also said that he wanted to ask you out to dinner.He was shy and didn’t think you would say yes. I tried to tell him that all he had to do was ask nicely.”
“Really?” I shifted my attention back to him. “Let me get this straight. Your father, a man with broad shoulders and chiseled muscles was scared of little ole me.”
