If only she could stop the flutter of excitement in her stomach.
“Thanks for coming over,” she said. “I really appreciate it.”
“No problem.” He sniffed the air. “Do I smell popcorn?”
She nodded. “I figured I should at least feed you something while we work. How about a beer to go with it?”
“How’d you guess I wanted one?” Sly said on the way to the kitchen. He’d only been here once, and already seemed comfortable in her house. Lana pulled a cold beer from the fridge. “My dad always says popcorn and cold beer go together as well as shoes go with socks.”
“Smart man.”
“He is. You’d like him.” He’d probably like Sly, too, but thanks to the lawsuit, they would undoubtedly never meet.
She handed him the bottle opener and reached in the cabinet for a glass.
“Don’t bother. I prefer it straight from the bottle.” He frowned. “You’re not joining me?”
Lana shook her head. “I haven’t had alcohol since the night we, um, met. Just haven’t wanted it. That hangover did me in. Tonight I’m a soda girl, and I prefer mine in a glass. I’ll bring the popcorn and some hand wipes if you’ll grab the drinks before we go to the nursery.” They headed up the stairs.
In the soon-to-be baby’s room, he set the drinks on the dresser, the only piece of furniture besides the rocking chair and lamp that didn’t require assembly. He took in the mess on the floor. “You’ve been hard at it.”
“Without much success, as you’ll notice. The directions may as well be written in Chinese. They’re impossible to understand.”
“Those things usually are pretty useless.” His mouth quirked. “I study the picture, and then figure it out.”
“I’m not mechanically minded. I never have been, and I hate that.”
“You can’t be good at everything. You’re an artist and you sure are great with kids.”
“How would you know? You’ve never seen me with any.”
“I just do. And I read that article.”
After shoving a handful of popcorn into his mouth, he rolled up his sleeves to the middle of his forearms, hunkered down on the carpet, and set to work. Lana couldn’t help noting his thick wrists and hands.
The nails were short and clean, and his fingers and palms were callused and scarred from ranch work. Strong, competent hands that could also be gentle and would likely bring such pleasure...
She went warm all over before she firmly pushed her desire away and joined him on the floor. “What can I do?”
“For starters, hand me that small, open-ended wrench.” With Sly seeming to understand what went where and in what order, the job wasn’t nearly as intimidating.
An hour later the drinks and popcorn were gone, and the crib and changing table were in their places near the mural.
“You saved me hours of bashing my head against the wall,” Lana said. “Now all that’s left is sewing the curtains, hanging a few pictures, and making up the crib.”
“This room is welcoming and friendly. But then, your whole house is. If I were a kid, I’d sure want to live here.”
Lana soaked up the compliment like a dry sponge in warm water. “I hope Sophie shares your view.”
“It’s a sure bet she will.”
“But is this enough for her to select me as the mom for her baby?” She couldn’t even fake a cheerful smile.
“You look like you could use a hug.”
Sly opened his arms. As soon as she walked into his embrace, he pulled her close, wrapping her in his warmth.
She couldn’t imagine a place she’d rather be. Her worries melted away, and she was glad she’d promised Dani she wouldn’t write Sly off. She could get used to this. He’d been so supportive of her problems with Sophie and her longing to adopt. Maybe she’d misunderstood him. Maybe he wanted kids after all.
