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I held up my hand. “Already done.” I crossed to him and ducked under his arm to enter Laurie’s room. His burnt sugar cologne mixed with the baby shampoo scent of his kid and my hormones decided that was the perfect aphrodisiac. Did I mention my life was unfair?
I focused on the little lump on the middle of the full-sized mattress. The bed was way too big for her, but she was surrounded by Care Bears and stuffed animals from various Disney movies. Dory, Hank, and the guppy from Little Mermaid guarded her. A nightlight spun from her bedside table, shooting starlight around her room.
Pink and perfect in every way. This little girl had everything I didn’t have growing up. No wonder he wanted to give her the world.
I just wasn’t sure I was the one to help him.
“She’s out.”
I lifted my shoulder in reaction to his deep voice against my ear. He slid his arm around my waist and pulled me away from the doorway. He shut the door most of the way, then pulled me down the hall.
“I don’t want to wake her.”
I nodded. Understandable, of course. He needed to back up though. I couldn’t handle him in my space for extended periods of time. Even if I’d initiated it this time. What the hell had I been thinking?
Oh, right. I wasn’t really thinking. Actually, it had been a luxury I couldn’t afford for years. I was really good at ignoring my feelings for him. Why did he have to go and ruin it? Now all I could imagine was what he tasted like.
Fuck.
I tried to pull away, but he pulled me back against him. “Don’t go.”
I closed my eyes. “Please don’t.”
“Don’t what?” His nose coasted around the shell of my ear. “Touch you?”
“I’m filthy.”
He buried his nose in my hair. “You smell like lilacs and sunshine.”
“Liar.”
“Baby shampoo and lilacs?”
I tried not to smile, but I had no defenses for this man. The worst part was I was sure he knew that. And Seth Hamilton was always on the look out for weaknesses to exploit to get what he wanted.
How the hell was I supposed to move out of his crosshairs?
Did I want to?
His hand slid along my midriff, his thumb grazing the underside of my breast. I groaned. “Honestly, you have to pick now to do this?”
“I’ve been thinking about this for days.”
I turned in his arms. “So this was all a ruse?”
“No. This was the last act of a desperate man. She’s been a handful all night. She misses you.”
“Low blow.”
“You’ve spent Mother’s Day with us since Marj left.”
I shut my eyes. “I know.” Didn’t he realize how hard this day was for me? Not only because it was Mother’s Day for Laurie, but the first without my mom?
He knew on some level. He’d sent me flowers, hadn’t he? But all my emotions were raw today. It just wasn’t fair that he was right here and finally noticing me.
Except he wasn’t seeing me as a partner. No, he was only seeing me as a woman because I had a functioning uterus.
He wanted something from me. It was just handy that he was attracted to me. It was how the world had propagated all these years. Just a biological response.
