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Her eyes widened adorably. “That long?”
“Yep, it’s been one hundred years. At least.” We walked toward my car, Rosie skipping along as that giant cookie sundae kicked in.
“He’s your friend, too,” she insisted when I got her seated and strapped inside the car. “Right?”
“He’s your daddy’s friend, but I know him. His sister Hannah is my friend.”
Cal and I weren’t friends, not by any definition of the word. We’d traveled in the same orbit but until recently, we’d never engaged. And that was how I intended to keep it, no matter how difficult he made it to stay away.
Cal
“What’s all this?” Teddy looked at me like I’d grown an arm out of my forehead. A frown creased her brow as she fisted her hands at her hips. “Cal?”
“This,” I held up the wicker picnic basket I’d swiped from Hannah’s garage while re-confiscating my toolbox, “is the look of thwarted plans. I thought we could have lunch together. Did I catch you at a bad time?”
It was clear I had, but Teddy only shrugged. “Kind of, yeah. I’m done here for the day. There’s not much else to do and I have other projects I need to check up on.”
“Today?”
“No.” She sighed and wiped her brow, but I barely noticed because there was one bead of sweat that trickled down from her forehead and down the line of her jaw, and right into the hollow of her throat before sliding beneath the white Teddy Brother’s T-shirt she wore. Dirt and sawdust were smeared across her forehead and she was just a little bit flushed, and hot as hell.
“Then how about lunch?”
She was going to say no—I could see it in the tense set of her shoulders, the way her eyes dimmed just a little as if she didn’t want to turn me down but would do it anyway. Then her stomach growled, loud and intrusive, and she sighed.
“Sure, but I need to shower first.”
Immediately, thoughts of Teddy in the shower flashed in my mind’s eye. Her naked honey-brown flesh, slick and lathered up with soapy bubbles. Her nipples hard and her body supple and aroused.
“I can help.”
The words were out before I could rethink them but luckily, Teddy laughed.
She dropped her head and relaxed her shoulders. “Thanks for the offer, but I’ve managed showering on my own for years now.”
It was the answer I expected so I shrugged and flashed a smile in her direction. “It’s the doctor in me, always willing to help.”
Teddy laughed again and shook her head. “Absolutely incorrigible.”
I let out a long sigh and shrugged. “Suit yourself. How about I set up lunch while you shower, that way you can relax and not worry about driving?”
“We live on the same block, but I accept your offer. And just so you know, my bathroom door will be locked.” She walked over and fell into step beside me as we made our way out of the dusty, dimly lit room and out into the Oregon sun.
“Did I ever tell you about the spy classes I took over a long weekend?”
I blinked. “You know you haven’t.”
“Hmph, well I did, and it was interesting. On a completely unrelated topic, I am well versed in the art of lock picking.”
Her laughter was louder this time. “That’s funny, because I’m well versed in the art of kicking ass.”
“Touché.”
I smiled like a fool at our banter, trying to figure out how it had become just as much fun verbally sparring with a woman as it was to strip her naked and make her moan. It didn’t make sense, and I didn’t examine it too hard on the drive back to my place or the short walk to Teddy’s. She was a fun girl and I was having fun with her—that was as far as any of this needed to go.
“Knock, knock.”
Teddy appeared at the door a moment later and unlocked the screen door that allowed a cool breeze to run through the place, cooling it down from the midday heat. “All right, Romeo. Lunch and nothing more, got it?”
“Scout’s honor.”
“One month.” Teddy held up one finger and laughed. “You and Antonio were Scouts for one month before you washed out. Don’t push it, Cal.”
My smile matched hers as I shrugged. “It was worth a shot, but you have my word that I won’t appear in the shower with you unless you ask. But I’m really hoping you’ll beg. That would be nice.”
Hell, it would be more than nice. It would be a dirty fantasy of mine come to life.
“Food,” she said and disappeared. A moment later I heard the bedroom door close and then lock.
I smiled and kicked my shoes off. An intimate picnic in the living room was exactly the scene I wanted to set to get Teddy to relax her guard around me. Good food, the quiet intimacy of her home, and my charm was all I needed to get us on the right track.
