We spentthe next two and a half weeks in a strange domestic dance, with Mark integrating himself into not just my life, but my daughters’ also. After the first few days of him sleeping over, I gave him a key to the house, and while he’d been surprised, he’d blushed and thanked me. He came over every afternoon after work and we had dinner together, spent the night doing something fun—either watching movies, playing games, or having sex—and then we went to sleep. It felt like a real partnership. During the times the kids were there, he was always doing something with them. One day I came home to Mark’s face painted and the girls giggling like maniacs. Mark didn’t seem to mind, though. He laughed it off. I ended up taking him to shower and washed the paint off for him after they’d gone to sleep.
I’d enjoyed every second I’d spent with him, and I hated when I worked long hours like today. The kids were supposed to spend the night with us because Liv had a date, and when I’d told her I was working late, Mark had offered to pick them up from Liv’s friend’s house this afternoon. He’d fallen into the easy position of a parent without even knowing it, but I didn’t dare say anything like that to him; I didn’t want to chase him off.
When lunchtime hit, I told Wyatt I was heading out for my hour, and he merely grinned knowingly and tipped his hard hat at me. I rolled my eyes but got into my truck and headed to the local sandwich place near city hall. I hadn’t tried it yet, but Wyatt and the other boys always had good things to say about it. After ordering two chicken sandwiches with homemade coleslaw, I waited in one of the chairs at the side of the store and texted Mark.
You having lunch soon?
I only waited a minute or so before he answered.
Yes. Ten mins.
Smiling to myself, I rose when my number was called. I thanked the young lady with purple hair and a nose piercing at the counter before I left and power walked toward city hall. The woman in the lobby greeted me like she had before and waved me straight to the elevators. I gave her a wink in gratitude, and she giggled, ducking her head. I once again got a few looks that I ignored. It was one thing to work on a construction site, where people were used to seeing big men, but it was different in offices like this. Then there was the fact I was wearing jeans and a plaid shirt covered in dust.
When I reached Mark’s floor, the top one, I stepped out, and the mayor’s office was directly across the hallway, so I headed there with the paper bag of food clutched in my hand. The door I came to was glass and I could see through it to Mark, who sat behind a long, curved desk, along with another attractive man who had short dark hair and a black suit. After a second, I recognized Mark’s friend as the one who’d been with him on his little joke at the work site. They had their heads together, conversing seriously.
I smiled, my inner beast growling at the sight of my little rabbit. There were so many things I wanted to do to him, and bending him over that desk to claim him was one of them, but I’d agreed that work was off-limits. I had to settle for fantasizing about it instead.
The moment Mark spotted me was obvious by the way his eyes widened and he straightened, face flushing so red I worried that all the blood in his body was currently there.
The other man frowned at Mark, then turned to look at me. His mouth popped open in surprise, and then he smiled. He looked as innocent as Mark, with big eyes and a young face, but he had nothing compared to my little rabbit. For one, he didn’t have Mark’s rebellious streak, which threatened me in his gaze. He also seemed more nervous, fiddling with a blue pen beside him until it was perfectly aligned with the others, and I couldn’t help but notice they were color coordinated, too.
“Hi,” I said as I stepped through the door.
Mark stood, sweeping his hair off his forehead. “What are you doing here?”
I held up the paper bag to him. “I brought lunch. Thought you might be busy.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed, and he gave me a twitchy smile. “Thanks.” He finally gathered the courage to come around the desk to stand in front of me, and I leaned down to kiss him on the mouth. Surprisingly, he kissed me back, and the other man chuckled.
Grinning at Mark, I whispered so only he could hear, “I don’t plan on chasing you at the office again. So don’t look so frightened. I agreed work is work, and we can’t play here. I really only came to have lunch with you.”
He smiled and it took my breath away. Over the last few weeks he’d relaxed to the point it didn’t feel like he was waiting for something to go wrong. He’d slipped into my routine as though he’d been there the entire time, and I didn’t have to tiptoe around him.
Mark gestured to the other man in the room. “I don’t know if you remember him or not, but this is Max, my coworker.”
I sent Max a charming smile and moved closer to hold my hand out to him, and his gaze dipped to my palm, which was covered in more dirt than I’d realized. He hesitated, and I pulled it away again.
Max winced. “I’m sorry. It’s just… I have OCD. You’re a little too….”
“Dirty?” I chuckled, not insulted at all. There were some days I went home and I was messier than even I expected, and the first thing I did was shower. While I was the foreman, I got into the work as much as anyone else, helping whoever needed it. Getting dirty was part of the job. “It’s okay. I understand. If only we had a shower onsite.”
Max grinned nervously and nodded in gratitude, and I wondered how many people had judged him for something he couldn’t control.
Mark opened the paper bag and pulled out one of the sandwiches. “Oh, is this from Molly’s Burger Joint down the street? I’ve been meaning to check them out. They opened a couple of months ago.”
“Yeah, you said you wanted to go there, so I thought I’d bring some to you.” I brushed my hands over the thighs of my jeans. “Where did you want to eat?”
“Could we do it here?” he asked, with an apologetic smile. “I have so much work—”
“That’s fine.” Winking at him, I walked over to the waiting area and took a seat on the couch. I dwarfed the poor little thing, but there was still room for Mark to sit beside me, comfortably close, and he did exactly that. He handed me a sandwich, and I kissed him on the cheek, laughing when it flamed redder.
“You two are adorable.” Max raised his eyebrows at us, and I could almost see his mind ticking, as if he really wanted to race out of the office and go tell someone all about us.
Mark glared at him. “Don’t you have work to do?”
Max laughed, his face brightening, and he nodded. Even though he’d lowered his gaze and was pretending to stare at the document in front of him, I couldn’t help but notice his eyes flick up every so often.
Mark sighed and unwrapped his sandwich. “Office gossips,” he said, loud enough that I knew Max heard. “He wants to update his boyfriend about us. He’s dating the deputy mayor, Jean-Paul Dubois.”
