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Jun had the good sense to stay absolutely silent and become suddenly fascinated with the food on her plate. Po, who’d finished his dinner, began fidgeting on his chair. He wasn’t going to last long before needing to move around. The boy was an endless ball of energy. Jun was already wondering if she’d need to plan a quick escape before he started running circles around the table. She might, especially if this discussion got graphic.
“Po? Do you like bubbles?” Kaimana asked the little boy. “I’ve got a new bottle I want to try out. Want to help me?” Then Kaimana pulled a full bottle of Spider-Man bubbles from her pocket. “Do you like Spider-Man?”
“Spider-Man!” Po blurted in excitement. He clapped his hands in joy and then turned to Jun for permission. She nodded and he took the bubbles, then gleefully clomped out to the backyard to open them.
“Thank you, Kaimana,” Jun said, grateful for the distraction and the discretion. Jun stood to take her plate to the kitchen and then followed Kaimana out back, watching her help the boy unwrap the bubbles. She was good with kids. Kai had been right about that.
Now more than ever, she felt as if she should take the job. More money. A great babysitter. Why was she even hesitating?
“Hey.” Kai stood beside her at the porch door, his muscled tall frame all coiled energy. That was why. She felt his magnetic pull even now and had to fight the urge to wrap her arms around his neck and beg to be kissed. She could almost feel the thought moving through her brain, warm and tempting.
“Uh, hi.” Jun straightened up, as if he could read her mind, and tried to shake off the attraction she felt.
“So, sorry about...well, dinner.”
“Sorry?” Jun was shocked. “Why?”
“Aunt Kaimana asking you...about...” Kai shifted uncomfortably. “She doesn’t have an edit button.”
“No need to apologize,” Jun said and meant it. “I like her—and your sister. And Dallas and Allie. Dinner was really nice.”
“It was?” Kai seemed genuinely surprised. “Well...uh, good.”
Jun glanced up at Kai’s face and instantly realized that was a mistake. His eyes studied her intently, and the draw she felt to him intensified. He was handsome, yes, but beyond that, there was something to him, something about the way he looked at her. Maybe that’s how he looks at every woman he meets... Yet she couldn’t look away. No matter how hard she tried.
“Jun,” Kai said, voice low and serious.
His eyes were just so...intense. Jun couldn’t look away from them. Was he coming closer? She thought he might be. Her heart sped up a bit. “Mmm-hmm?”
“This might seem...forward.”
Nothing could seem too forward at this moment. Jun was already halfway to make-out mode. “What?”
All she could feel was the electric energy snapping between them. She half hoped he’d pull her into his arms and kiss the life out of her.
“Have you thought more about taking the job?”
Job? It took a second for Jun to recalibrate from the teen-make-out-party thoughts jumbled together in her brain.
The job! She felt suddenly dumb. Of course. The whole reason why she was here in the first place.
That was not where Jun had thought he was going. Not at all. Still, she felt off balance and a little winded, and she wondered why she couldn’t at that moment come up with a single good reason not to say yes.
“Are you serious about this?” Jun asked, voice coming out slightly hoarse.
“More serious than anything,” Kai said, taking one step closer, causing her brain to freeze. She was close enough now to feel his body heat, warm and inviting.
“Okay, I’ll do it,” Jun said, worrying as soon as the words were out of her mouth that she’d regret it. But the sheer joy on Kai’s face banished the doubt.
“You will?”
“On one condition—I make the rules. You break the rules, I’m outta there,” she said, trying to set some boundaries to regain some measure of control. Her heart, beating madly in her chest, told her she’d already lost the battle. At least where her hormones were concerned.
“Of course. You make the rules.” His mouth curved up in a teasing smile, and she questioned whether he was capable of following any rules, ever.
