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She cut off his apology with a kiss. God, she loved how his mouth felt and tasted. Its velvet luxury, supple strength, the way his lips took control without being sloppy or pushy. She would never become accustomed to the care he took with her. As though he thought she might be skittish, when in truth, she was so damn hungry.
She pulled back.
“I know,” he said, panting slightly. “Willa’s here. Your sisters.” He looked as dazed as she felt.
“I can’t seem to help myself around you.”
“That’s me. Temptation incarnate.”
Maeve walked into the kitchen and Ashley jumped back. Her sister gave her that look, the one that said she needed to watch out for stormy seas ahead.
“Willa needs help with her math problems and I’m no good at that, so …”
“Got it.” She smiled an apology at Dex. “Might be best if?—”
“Sure. It was nice to meet you, Maeve. Thanks for letting me join you for dinner.” He took Ashley’s hand. “Walk me to the door?”
“O-okay.”
He’s holding my hand! She was acting like a silly schoolgirl with a crush, but that’s how he made her feel. And Lord knew it had been a lifetime—her daughter’s lifetime—since she felt this way. Even with Greg, it had never been this swarm of rabid butterflies …
At the door, he grabbed his jacket hanging on a hook, but didn’t put it on, possibly because he’d have to let go of her hand.
“So, I’m back on the ice tomorrow and there’s a game. Do you think Willa might like to go?”
“I think she’d love to.”
“How about her mom? Any interest there?”
“Well, she’ll need a chaperone. She’s only nine.”
He grinned. “Right. I’ve forgotten what nine is like.”
She doubted that. She suspected Dex carried his childhood experience around with him like a crushing weight.
“Willa’s going to be thrilled.”
“You’re leaving?” Her daughter appeared, looking woebegone. She never looked like that when Ashley left the house.
“Yeah. I had a great time,” Dex said, “but I need to leave you guys to … whatever you do in the evening.”
“We watch hockey games. Boston-Denver is about to start.”
Willa looked a little too hopeful that Dex would give up his evening and stay here to watch it.
Ashley nipped that in the bud. “Dex has to go and you need to do your math homework first. But he did invite you to a live hockey game.”
“Really?” Foxy-fast, her daughter hugged the hockey player.
Dex’s surprise was evident, maybe even in the region of panic. He didn’t seem to know what to do with his hands and held them aloft as if to prove he wasn’t doing anything irregular. Ashley watched with interest, wondering about men who had little or no intuition around kids whatsoever.
Which is when he surprised her and let his hands rest on Willa’s shoulders, then with a quick squeeze, he set her back gently.
“The next home game is tomorrow. If that’s too short notice?—”
“It’s not!” her daughter yelped. “Mom, we can go, right? I’ll get my homework done before, I promise. We can go to the arena early. Maybe get a hot dog?” She turned to Dex, who was watching her in wide-eyed wonder. Nine-year-old girls were a lot. “They have hot dogs, don’t they?”
“Pretty sure they do. All sorts. You can have whatever you want.” He shared a quick look with Ashley. “Or whatever your mom thinks you should have.” He mouthed “sorry” at the same time she did.
