I smiled at my son, then gave myself a quick second (or five) to appreciate Alex for what I told myself would be the last time.
Broad shoulders strained against his clothes. A white cotton long-sleeved shirt hugged his hard frame, and his long legs were covered by dark jeans. Bare feet were planted solidly on the hardwood.
Muscles I bet were carved more by his job than by morning dates with the gym couldn’t be masked by cotton and denim.
But it was his eyes that truly stole my attention—dark and deep, wrecking me. There was a look in them, like he craved the sun breaking through the clouds but refused to trust anyone enough to be that anchor for him.
Those eyes were laser focused on me now as if trying to get a read on me. Sharp and unblinking beneath thick lashes a woman would kill for.
I’d probably been staring too long, because he subtly cleared his throat while dragging his fingers through his inky-black hair. I couldn’t help but follow the movement of his big hand over every unruly strand that refused to obey.
The left side of his mouth dipped slightly, a half smirk, half warning for us both.
Yeah, yeah.
Protector. Protected.
Best friend. Best friend’s sister.
Veteran. Widow to a decorated war hero.
We were on the opposite sides of a few too many coins, and I doubted even the most skilled magician could make both sides work together.
Okay, I’m done.No more strange feelings of desire for this man, boxed up and ready to be shipped off to Siberia and never be seen or found again. Well, outside my fantasies, which maybe I should even stop having, too.
Butwhen Alex’s hand found a new home, slipping across the faint five-o’clock shadow on his jaw before settling firmly on my son’s shoulder, the tape on that box peeled open. Ripped. Right. Apart.
“Someone found me.” The awkward quiet was finally broken with Alex’s remark. Damn, the husky quality of his voice pulled at something deep inside me, tempting me to step closer to him.
“Earth to Mommy!”
Yeah, Mommy’s staring, isn’t she?“Just tell me you knocked on Mr. Rodriguez’s door instead of bursting into his room?” One naked encounter for the day was plenty.
Chase held up a room key, closing one eye. “I may have borrowed the spare key from Dad when he told me what room Uncle Alex was in.”
Uncle Alex?My heart did a weird little stumble at those two words strung together. Not because I thought of him like a brother, but ...
“He didn’t barge in.” A quick throat-clear from Alex. “Not really. I was in the shower, so I didn’t hear his knocking. He gave me time to dress.” He was defending my son, and I kind of loved that.
“Chase.” I tried to pull off serious, but my son’s wide-mouth grin was far too infectious for that scolding to hold any weight.
“Sorry, I was just excited. I want another snowball fight. That okay? Dad said he’s in, too.”
Alex and Trevor in a snowball fight? Two men who’d both seen me naked, huh? Because today couldn’t get any more awkward.
“Mommmmyyy.” Chase waved his hand, trying to coax me out of my head, which was currently a messy place to be.
I forced my attention on my brother’s friend, the sexy man assigned to watch over me, as I relaxed my arms and pushed my sleeves to my elbows.
The side of Alex’s mouth lifted, revealing that one lone dimple I’d clocked the moment he first smiled back at me over Christmas.
“We were planning on heading to our place to grab some stuff, but I think we can squeeze in a quick snowball fight first if Alex is up for it.” I met Chase’s eager eyes. “Which team will I be on?”
“Daddy says you have to watch because of your head.”
Of course he did. “I’m fine,” I reassured him. “No way are you having a snowball fight without me.”
I could feel Alex’s glare land hard. He was about to side with Trevor on this, wasn’t he?
