“Want to talk about it? Maybe get a second opinion.” Not that Mazey knew anything about raising kids. Toddlers or teenagers.
“She’s fourteen and thinks she’s old enough to have sex.”
“Oh.” Yeah, no clue how to deal with that. “Does she have a boyfriend?”
“No, thank fuck, but goddamn it, she asked to go on the pill.”
“That doesn’t necessarily mean she wants to have sex. Did you ask why?”
Alyssa looked dumbstruck for a few seconds before her face pulled into a disgusted crumple. “Well, fuck.”
“I take it you didn’t.”
“No. Crap. I know why she asked.” She placed the second pie into the box with care. “I’m an idiot.”
“I wouldn’t say that.”
“No, I am. I didn’t ask, I just jumped to the wrong conclusion and grounded her. It’s why she’s not here today.” Picking up the next pie, Alyssa asked, “You okay if we go by my place so I can talk to Penny?”
“Sure. Or I could drive myself to Christian’s.”
“No, wait. I’ve got a better idea.” She placed the pie in the box on top of the others, then tugged her phone out of the front pocket of her jeans and quickly tapped on the screen.
While Alyssa continued to message someone, probably Penny, Mazey padded the box by stuffing some folded hand towels in all the spaces around the tower of pies. “There. Nothing’s moving now,” she said with a triumphant smile.
“Okay, I’m going. I’ll see you there.” Alyssa headed for the front door. “He’ll be here to get you in five.”
“What? Who?” Mazey hustled after her friend. “Who’s coming in five?”
“Ry. He lives a couple of streets away. He’ll pick you up and bring you home. I’ll see you at Christian’s shortly. Well, I do have to go grovel to a teenager, so it might take a while.”
“Hey, what about”—the front door slammed shut—“your pie.”
Mazey had no idea how long she stood staring at her closed front door. It wasn’t until the sound of footsteps on the small timber porch broke the silence that she snapped out of it and realized she still needed to get changed.
Spinning on her bare heel, she’d taken a single step when the doorbell rang. “Damn it.” Glancing down at her pie splattered T-shirt and yoga shorts that put the short in shorts, she debated ignoring the bell and continuing to her room. When it rang a second time, followed by a couple of loud knocks, she sighed and turned back to the door.
“What you see is what you get,” she muttered. Opening the door, she plastered on her biggest smile and said, “Come in, take a seat. I’ll just be a second. I need to change.”
She didn’t wait for a reply. As fast as she could go without running, she headed for her bedroom. Leaving Rylan to come in or stand on the doorstep. Either worked. As long as she cleaned up before he got a good look at her, she didn’t care where he waited.
8
He was a dead man.
No, not dead. The hard-on in his pants proved his heart was still pumping blood.
Jeez, how did a woman barely over five feet have legs that long? Thank god Mercy-Life’s uniform pants didn’t show Mazey’s spectacular limbs as well as those...
What were those things clinging to her ass? Shorts? Panties?
Christ. Was she only wearing panties to answer the door?
And what was with the stuff all over her shirt. The one that did nothing to hide the fact she wasn’t wearing a bra!
His mouth watered, and he didn’t know if it was from seeing Mazey in what amounted to nothing or the smell assaulting his nostrils.
Pie.
