Rachel laughed, and his head jerked up. She didn’t look away fast enough. Her eyes were as green as the palm trees above her, and the smile slipped from her face as soon as his gaze met hers. She swallowed. She looked at his face, at his chin, which was currently covered in a seven-day beard rather than a three-day beard. Her eyes trailed down his neck, to the spot where she’d bitten him just before she came. Where a small red markstill reminded him where her mouth had been, even though he’d needed it somewhere completely different...
Rachel jerked her gaze away. She gulped again, and her face turned even redder before she squeezed her legs together.
Fuck. She was thinking the same thing he was.
Connor had never been turned on while a pile of goat dung fried in the sun at his toes, but apparently, everyone was right: There was always a first time.
“So cute,” Ada said, and Connor was almost certain she was talking about the goat and not Rachel. Although the term was true of both. Because how could the woman who had so unceremoniously manipulated his date, had taken what she needed from a man she didn’t like in a dark alley, how could she blush so prettily when she thought about sex?How?
“Yeah, unfortunately, Scotland- Beard knows,” Hailey replied, laughing. “You can pet him though; he loves being scratched behind the ears. He just gets lonely sometimes, spending so much time alone in our office.”
“Oh no.” Ada frowned, knelt on the floor next to the baby goat, and stroked it gently. “He needs a home, doesn’t he?”
“Yeah, badly,” Hailey said with a heavy sigh. Her regret was so palpable, even Connor almost felt sorry for her...and out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Cian sit bolt upright in his chair.
“Hailey,” he said in warning, “back off. We already have a three-legged tortoise at home because of you.”
“And Shelly is doing great,” Ada assured her immediately. “We built him a covered enclosure in the garden.”
“Mm hm,wesure did,” Cian murmured.
Hailey and his daughter ignored him. “Yes, you’re very responsible, Ada. I could see that right away. I’d almost say you’re ready for the next step.”
“Oh.” Ada’s eyes lit up. Sometimes she forgot she was a teenager and only showed her enthusiasm in small doses. “Is the next step a goat?”
“I’d almost say a chickenanda goat,” Hailey announced brightly.
“No!” Cian barked.
Connor grinned. It took a lot to unsettle Cian. He was so relaxed and friendly that most people thought it was impossible to do. But apparently, Hailey had special skills.
She looked up innocently. “You speak loudly, Cian. You’ll have to tone it down if you adopt Eggsy and Scotland-Beard.”
Cian pressed his lips together. “Hailey...”
“Do you want to go for a walk with us, Ada?” she said, skillfully ignoring him. “To get to know Scotland-Beard better?”
“Oh, yes.” She immediately jumped up. “Is that okay, Dad? Dinner isn’t for another half hour anyway, and Tara has to figure out where to hide the olives in Connor’s food.”
“Yeah, yeah, fine,” Cian muttered, his gloomy expression still fixed on Hailey’s face. “But wewon’tbe taking the goat home.”
“Of course not.” Hailey waved her hand. “You’ll have to take Eggsy first; she needs a longer adjustment period.”
Rachel giggled softly and Connor found himself fighting a smile.
“Sounds good,” Ada said firmly.
“No, it doesn’t!” Cian exclaimed in disbelief. “Hailey...”
“Don’t worry, we’ll be back in half an hour,” Hailey continued, unfazed. “Oh, by the way, Ada, I took in a blind goldfish yesterday. Do you want to see?”
“Cool. Yeah. How do you know it’s blind?”
“It bumps against the glass.”
“Oh, Dad keeps running into our patio doors too, but he’s not blind. He’s just a bit stupid and short-sighted when it comes to emotional matters.”
“Thank you, sweetie pie,” Cian replied dryly.
