“Yeah, I’m the only thing holding you back.”
“Heating up food for you and hearing about your day is not some kind of hardship.”
“I know. I just—you don’t have to.”
“Maybe I want to.”
They were quiet for a moment, just listening to sounds of the Dodgers pull ahead in a 3-2 lead. The whole setup was pretty simple. Two people sitting together. While Rafe was aching to get between her thighs again, he could also admit to himself that he’d been hoping they’d catch a moment like this.
“Avery challenged me to a fist fight this morning.”
Sloan pressed her knuckles to her lips before she turned to him. “She’s going to get kicked out of Whippoorwill before lunch time. Are they driving you insane? You can tell me.”
“The hard part is not laughing. Avery’s funny.”
“Oh my god. Now you know my pain. We were at Trader Joe’s and this rude White lady cut in front of us in the checkout line. Avery told her to get to the back of the bus because we were there first. The cashier and I just stared at each other. We were both dying inside. I had to tell her to be nice ’cause she’s gonna end up in jail or worse, but it was hilarious.”
“Gracie is just like her. She’ll be fine.”
“I know, but it’s my job to worry.”
“If it’s okay with you, I’d like to introduce her to WWE. Show her that it’s rehearsed. Two of the Bakers’ kids were obsessed with a few of the Divas and they had a blast play fighting without actually trying to kill each other.”
“That might work. I haven’t watched wrestling in ages. Let me check it out first?”
“Yeah. I’ll recordSmackDownfor you.”
“Thanks. I should head to bed. I’m beat.”
“Bed sounds like a good plan.”
She stood and closed the small distance between them. Rafe’s legs parted, making room for her to get nice and close. “Can I get one of those calm guy hugs?”
“Why not?” The soft weight of her felt amazing against Rafe’s body and so did the light squeeze of her arms around his waist. Almost as good as the soft brush of her mouth against his neck and the perfect way their lips finally fit together.
7
Sloan was going crazy. She walked out of the women’s restroom at the Century City AMC, Addison’s hand held tightly in hers, and she knew she’d fully lost her mind. She spotted Rafe bent over, tying Avery’s shoe right near the parking validation machine, and right then and there, she made up her mind. Tonight she was going to have sex with Rafe. Or at the very least, get up the courage to touch his erection.
It was the last Friday before school started and she’d promised the girls that she would take them to the movies. She could have handled them alone, without Rafe’s help, but the girls wanted him to come along. As they made their way through the parking garage and up the escalators to catch the six p.m. show ofPiglet’s Big Adventure, she was grateful for the backup. It had been a long, busy week and Sloan was getting used to having Rafe around for the girls’ bedtime.
This was something else though. Out in the wild, Rafe really was something to behold and so was the way people reacted to him. Drew was taller than Sloan, but he was still way shorter than Rafe and he didn’t have the tattoos. By Rafe’s side, Sloan felt like a VIP of the kindergarten set as people practically jumped out of his way to let them by. They got a few stares, but Sloan didn’t miss the people who were just straight up checking him out.
Of course he backed Sloan up when Addison started winding up for a soda-related tantrum. He was on the clock. There was stark difference between being home with Rafe and the girls and being out. As they walked out of the theater and he gently slid his hand down Sloan’s back, she had the fleeting feeling that she could get used to this, having Rafe with her. Especially after seeing how good he was with the girls and just how comfortable they were becoming with him.
There also seemed to be another shift between Sloan and Rafe. Sometime in the last twenty-fours, after the goodnight kiss they shared, Sloan was starting to feel like it maybe wasn’t so crazy for her to be crushing on him and for him to be crushing on her back. Sure, there was a minefield of what the fuck in front of them if anyone found out that she was making out with her nanny, had let him fingerbang her into oblivion and was hoping he would do all that and more the next time they could steal some time alone.
It was more than his insanely good looks or the sexy tattoos crawling up the sides of his neck that made Sloan want to jump him the minute she and Addison came out of the restroom. It was the way he looked at Avery when he held up his massive fist for her to bump. The gesture drove Sloan insane, especially as it had been co-opted over the years, but the way Avery smashed her tiny fist to his and then practically jumped into his arms made Sloan’s left and right ventricles work a little harder. It was so damn cliche, but there was something so incredibly sexy about a man who was good with kids, especially your kids.
When he saw her, he shot her a devastating smile, then set Avery back on her feet. “Survived the mad rush to the ladies’ room?”
“We did. And now I think it’s time to head home and get in bed. How about it, love bugs?”
“I don’t want to go to bed,” Addison yawned.
“It’ll be great. I promise.”
They got the girls home and Sloan praised the heavens when both of them were practically falling asleep as she got them in their pajamas.
