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Rosie giggled again. “Maybe.”
“Or maybe she didn’t hear the magic words, what were they again?”
“Hot fudge sundae!”
Ah, dessert. I was worried I’d zoned out and been inadvertently volunteered for something I didn’t want to do. I looked at my niece, brows dipped in confusion.
“How can you possibly have room for a hot fudge sundae?”
She’d eaten nearly all of her cheesy spaghetti and a few bites of Cal’s chicken parm; meanwhile, most of my alfredo sat untouched.
Rosie proudly patted her belly. “Uncle Cal got us doggie bags but there are no doggies in it.” She pouted as if she’d fully expected to get a free puppy with her leftovers.
“Hot fudge is too much for me. I just want a large cookie, but it’s a lot of cookie even for a big strong guy like me.” He patted what I knew to be rock hard abs and I fought the urge to groan at the memory of licking him from hipbone to jaw.
I cast one more glance at my half-eaten meal and sighed. “That’s too much for anyone. How about we get a cookie sundae and share it?”
“Sounds good to me,” Cal said with a smile, giving his flat midsection another pat. “I still have to get back to the ER.”
I could tell Rosie wanted her own sundae but since Cal was all right with it, so was she. “Okay.”
I watched them both dig in energetically, wearing matching smiles that spoke of a shared sugar rush. “Uncle Cal, why are you a doctor?”
He blinked and looked at Rosie with a smile. “Because I like fixing people. Remember when all those red gems fell out of your crown and I glued each one back?” She nodded. “I like doing that to people, which means I get to save lives.”
“Cool,” she said and stuck her tongue out to grab a smear of wayward chocolate. “Why don’t you have a wife?”
He choked on a bite of cookie and looked to me for help, but I only shrugged, too amused to be of any assistance. “Um, I don’t know?”
“Your uncle doesn’t believe in love and marriage.”
Rosie sucked in a breath and looked at Cal like he was a fictional creature. “You don’t?”
“Thanks for that,” he mumbled in my direction, never taking his gaze off Rosie. “It’s not that I don’t believe in it, it’s just that I don’t think it’s for me. I like having you as my best girl and hanging out with my friends.”
Rosie thought about it and nodded. “Me too, Uncle Cal.”
His shoulders visibly relaxed at her easy acceptance which I found curious, but Cal already took up too much of my mental headspace, so I stabbed my shrimp and tried to pretend as if he wasn’t growing more appealing by the second. I mean, what wasn’t to like about a man who was handsome and charming, and who was as in love with my niece as I was?
It really was annoying as hell.
The waitress brought the check just as Cal and Rosie used their fingers to swipe the remaining chocolate and whipped cream from the plate. I put down the cash and handed the leather booklet right back to her.
Cal frowned and I held my breath, fully prepared to argue with him for the grave sin of dinging his masculine pride. Instead, he arched a brow, wiped his mouth, and helped Rosie out of her booster seat.
“Come on, Princess. Thank you for inviting me to crash your girls’ lunch.”
“Our big girls’ lunch, you mean.”
“Of course,” he replied with a sheepish smile. “Thank you for having me, Rosie.” He turned to me with a darker, more intense smile. “And thanks for lunch. Can’t remember the last time a beautiful woman bought me a meal.”
“No problem,” I assured him and made my way toward the front door to hurry up and put some distance between me and this more appealing version of Cal Rutledge. He took up too much space and he was too much, too masculine. Too… just too everything.
“By the way,” he whispered in my ear, startling me, “I’ll pay for the next date.”
I turned with the intention of telling him there would be no next date because this wasn’t a date in the first place, but that sexy wink rendered me speechless and Cal walked away. I worked hard to suppress the shiver his words produced, even though he was halfway across the large parking lot.
It was a sad state of affairs when I craved another night with a man I knew was all wrong for me. It was silly, and worse, it was just a bad idea, plain and simple.
“Let’s go, Princess, time to get you home before your dad sends out a security team.”
Rosie grabbed my hand with a giggle. “Is Uncle Cal your boyfriend?”
What? “Nope. He’s your daddy’s best friend, and we’ve known each other since I was little like you.”
