AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Well, thank you. Again.” He didn’t know what else to say other than that. She couldn’t possibly understand the impact her offer to help Marissa had on him. He couldn’t quite understand it himself. Marissa hadn’t had a female role model in quite some time, especially not someone as smart and amazing as Sarah, and Wes sensed his daughter might be needing exactly this.
“Sure,” she said. “And thanks for the good news…about the termites.”
He nodded and turned to leave.
Just go. You apologized and said thank you.
He turned back. “It’s not that I don’t think it’s amazing what she can do.” For some reason, he felt the need to explain that. “She’s super smart and I’m really proud. I just…” He ran a hand through his hair and released a slow, deep breath. “I just can’t relate to it, and I’m not sure how to connect with her. I know sports. I know the outdoors. I know working with my hands.” He shrugged. “Computers and technology aren’t my thing.”
Sarah looked surprised by his openness. “You don’t have to share her interests or know anything about it… Just maybe support her and ask her about it? I’m sure she’d love to show you the things she’s working on sometime,” she said carefully.
“I can do that.” He entered the room. “Maybe you can show me something first…you know, just so I don’t seem completely dense. Maybe teach me some buzz words I could use to at least sound like I know what she’s talking about?”
“Sure.” Sarah laughed, and the sound hit him square in the chest. Her smile was mesmerizing. It wasn’t the grin she wore when she knew she was getting the better of him or the grimace she wore when she seemed to be struggling to tolerate being around him when they had differing opinions about the inn, but a genuine smile. One that brought him back to when they used to be friends.
If he was a smarter man, it would have sent him running out of the room.
Instead, he pulled the armchair toward the desk and sat next to her. His shoulder brushed against hers as he moved the chair closer to look at her computer screen. He swallowed hard; the feel of his solid shoulder muscle against her soft bare skin had him experiencing a buzz of electricity through his entire body. He didn’t move away.
If she was as affected by the contact, she hid it well as she turned her laptop toward him and clicked an icon on the screen. “So, this is called coding. It’s the back-end programming on all the apps.”
He nodded. “I know what apps are.”
“That’s a start.” She shot him a smile, then clicked over the design, demonstrating how she created different elements of the program she was working in.
He wouldn’t lie and say he was following it exactly, but it was interesting. “Wow, that’s actually pretty cool.”
She smiled. “It really is, and if Marissa is already designing her own at such a young age, with the right training and guidance, she could create something great.”
He nodded, his gaze locking on hers and holding. She was gorgeous and smart and all the things he knew someday he’d be looking for in a new partner. A role model Marissa could look up to. His heart pounded and his mouth was dry. Was he ready to find that person now? He hadn’t really given it much thought…
Sarah continued to stare at him, and the mood around them seemed to shift as he found himself unable to tear his gaze away. Those damn dark eyes were captivating, and the high cheekbones and soft contours of her face had him leaning slightly closer. Those full, pink lips seemed to be luring him in…
A buzzing sound on the desk made her jump, and he immediately backed away. The spellbinding moment shattered as the vibrating cell phone continued.
“My phone,” she said, reaching for it, her cheeks blushing. “My boss. I have to get this.”
“Right,” he said as he stood and moved the armchair to the corner. “I should get back to work.” He paused at the doorframe. “Thanks again for showing me and for the advice.”
“No problem. Anytime,” she said, her voice sounding slightly hoarse.
Wes escaped the room and took the stairs two at a time as he descended, needing fresh air to clear the fog surrounding him.
Not falling for the woman who was not only creating a stir in his own healing heart but who was also making his daughter happy wouldn’t be a problem at all.
Chapter Eight
The next morning at 8:55, Marissa was eager to get started. She’d brought along her dinosaur of a laptop and at least a dozen workbooks she’d made notes in regarding her app.
Detailed and organized—Sarah didn’t think she could like the kid any more than she did.
“Oh my God! Are these all yours?” Marissa’s eyes lit up like it was Christmas morning, eyeing Sarah’s two laptops, her iPad, and her phone on the desk.
“You should see my setup in my home office,” she said, feeling a tinge of guilt for not being in said office. But it wasn’t the location causing her distraction the past few days. It was Wes Sharrun. The day before, she’d been 99 percent sure that he was about to kiss her. The way his gaze had lingered on her face, the way he’d started to lean in closer, the way his breathing had changed…
She wasn’t an expert on men or dating, but they had definitely shared a moment.
Of course the moment had been interrupted. But what if it hadn’t? Would he have kissed her? Would she have kissed him back? And what the hell would it have meant? She’d caught his stare a few times the day before, but she’d assumed it was simply gratitude about her offer to help Marissa that had his expression softening and his grumbling over her upgrades to subside.
