“Yes, I do,” I say, rubbing my thumb over the spot of paint again, even though I know it won’t do anything. But fuck, touching her, staring down into her eyes—it’s making this pull to her nearly impossible to deny.
My thumb moves from her cheek to her bottom lip where I gently tug it down, making her breath hitch again.
Our eyes are locked on each other’s mouths, and for a second, I can feel myself moving closer to her, like there’s no control over my body. Just a few more inches and I could taste this woman finally—swirl my tongue with hers, nip at those pouty lips, hear her moans that I’m sure could lull me to sleep at night.
I watch Vienna’s eyes flutter closed, but just before our lips touch, my daughter enters the room, throwing water on me this time—metaphorically, of course.
“Daddy?”
Vienna and I jump away from each other as if we’ve electrocuted one another. She clears her throat and turns away, heading back over to the table as I fight to conceal my hard-on in my pants.
“Yeah, sweetie?”
“Can I have dessert?”
I glance at the clock on the microwave hanging over the stove. “Uh, yeah. That’s fine, but then it’s time for a bath.”
“Okay.” Ellis heads to the pantry to pull out the container of cookies she and Joanne baked yesterday, but I glance back at Vienna, who’s tossing her purse over her shoulder.
“I’m going to head home,” she announces, focusing her attention on Ellis.
“No, you need to stay longer.”
“I can’t, sweetie. I need a shower too. The water is making my pants stick to me.”
My thoughts veer to Vienna in her shower—you know, the one that I fixed for her—which doesn’t help my cock calm down.
“Oh.” Ellis nods. “Okay. Do you want to take a cookie?” Holding out the container to her, Vienna walks up and chooses one.
“Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome. Thank you for painting rocks with me. It was fun.”
Vienna leans down and bops my daughter on the nose. “It was. I can’t wait to do it again.”
“Me either,” Ellis says as she giggles, bopping Vienna on the nose as well.
When she stands, Vienna nods toward me. “Have a good night, Rhonan.”
“You too, Vienna.”
“But just know, I’m going to get you to come to yoga somehow.”
“Is that so?”
Nodding, she grins. “Yup. I’m determined.”
My grin begins to match hers. “Good luck with that.”
And then she’s gone—far enough away that I can’t kiss her, even though that’s all I can fucking think about.
Chapter 13
Vienna
Novelty Cakes & Meeting with a Lawyer
The bell on the door rings above me as I walk into Bites & Bliss Bakery, eager to satisfy my craving for sugar. Today, a few of the front-office staff at the school were talking about how amazing the cheesecake is from here, and sadly, I haven’t been able to think about much else.
