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“Did you get a new toy?”
Fudge. He sounded close. I stood with Eli in his car seat and pushed the diaper bag up on my shoulder. Elijah was on the other side of the car. He had some hair on his chest that I couldn’t notice so far away. And with all his tattoos, it was a wonder I saw it at all. I flushed head to toe. His shorts were loose and hung off his hips. He was so…sexy.
Stop staring at his happy trail!
“Today’s my birthday. I turned four.” Lucy held up four fingers.
“You’re messing with me.” He placed his hands on his hips and glanced down at her. “Mine too.”
“Really?” Lucy and I said together. The previous time we spoke was last month—May—and he’d mentioned his birthday coming soon. It was June.
He glanced at me. “Yeah, really.” His gaze swept over me. “Your hair is down.”
Oh, fudge! In this smothering heat, I didn’t even want to know what it looked like. I grabbed at it self-consciously. “Oh, yeah. Big mistake in this heat.”
“Have you had cake?” Lucy asked him, and my heart pitter-pattered a frantic beat. I knew where she was going with her question. “We brought mine home from the party. I’ll give you some.” She glimpsed over at me knowing exactly what she was doing. “Can he come up and eat cake?”
“Lucy… I’m sure he’s busy.” I didn’t even look at Elijah. It was already awkward enough.
“Are you?” she asked him.
“I don’t mind after I finish cutting the grass,” he replied. “If that’s all right with your mom?”
I lifted my head and gazed up at him. Elijah was serious. At that moment, he watched me and waited for an answer.
“Yay! I’ll show you what toys I got,” Lucy exclaimed.
Not knowing how to leave this situation properly, I went to the trunk and tried to grab the first bag, forgetting that I’d planned to go upstairs first and grab the carrier.
“Need help?” I tensed as I felt his smoldering body temperature hit my back, then his shirtless, slightly dewy chest brushed against me as he leaned over and grabbed the bags. “Is the cake up front? Want me to grab it first?”
“S-sure,” I stammered as I gripped the car seat tighter and side-stepped out of his way. “Come grab one, Lucy.” She did and a minute later, Elijah was following us up the steps. He carried every single bag and the cake while Lucy held a Barbie doll she had to show him.
Once we reached our apartment on the third floor, I put in the passcode and let us in. Elijah stood in the hall and dropped the bags at the entrance. Eli was getting fussy strapped in, but I still sat it down so I could take the cake from Elijah’s outstretched hand. “I don’t want to step inside with grassy tennis shoes.” He searched my face as I took the dessert from him. “I’ll come up once I’m finished?” he sounded like he was asking to make sure again.
“Okay!” I said a little too cheery. I was trying to act normal, but didn’t know how to when Lucy had invited a man over like it was no big deal.
“Okay.”
I shut the door and didn’t even get to breathe because I was rushing over to Eli who wanted out of his car seat. He was boob-hunting the moment he landed on my chest. Lifting up my shirt, I unsnapped the nursing bra and fed him while picking up the cake and slowly maneuvering it to the fridge.
“Take your toys to your room,” I told Lucy.
Thirty minutes later, they were scattered all over the living room floor instead. She couldn’t figure out which toy—the dolls or the ponies—she wanted to play with the most. Papaw bought Lucy some cars, and she had those on the coffee table, creating a town with them and playing when Elijah knocked on the door. Cradling Eli, I wiped my mouth and glanced down at the jogging pants and spaghetti-strap top I had changed into. It was okay, I told myself. I wasn’t dressing to impress him. I felt Elijah simply wanted to be friends. That was okay… Well, I wanted it to be. The only way to get used to having Elijah around was to be around him.
When I opened the door, a spicy, heavenly cologne filled my nostrils. Elijah had showered and tossed on a white T-shirt and black silky shorts. His dark hair still dripped a bit. Elijah’s tattoos were both captivating and menacing-looking on his arms as he stepped in.
He took off his shoes at the door. It was what my family did, and I liked that he did it without being asked. Good manners.
Wow, I thought Elijah and I could really be friends as I watched him cross the tiny hallway into the kitchen and the living room. “Forgive the mess,” I said.
“Elijah!” Lucy jumped up. “Look at my cars.”
“You like playing with cars?” he asked, sounding shocked. Maybe it was because she was a girl. I played with them when I was younger too.
“Yes. My papaw bought these for me.”
“I used to paint model cars when I was little. They came in these kits where you put them together and everything.” He scratched his chin as he squatted beside her and picked up a blue car from the coffee table. “I haven’t in a long time... I might have to order me one online.”
