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“Just make sure you lock up when you get done. No hurry.” I put my hand out to her. “Think I trust you to be here by yourself.” I give her a smile.
Her cheeks flush pink and the side of her mouth lifts up in a slight grin. “I should hope so. I’m here more than you are.”
Turning from her, I bite my cheek to keep from saying what’s bubbling up inside me. I don’t want her to leave. Instead, I’d rather her be here when I get home. Prefer for my bed not to be empty when I slide between the cool sheets. Now that I’ve seen this side of her, I’m not sure I can fold it up and put it in a box. Forget this is what she looks like all fresh from the shower.
Innocent and sexy all folded together in an unforgettable combination.
It’s something I’ll never be able to forget. Now that this is out in the open, there’s no going back.
“Daddy, I’m done.” Trinity holds her hands out in front of her.
Just like that, I’m back in dad mode. The one thing that’s been a constant since she and I became a family of two. It’s what I’ve been able to count on. “Okay, let’s wash up and get on our way to school.” I help her out of the chair and over to the step stool that allows her to wash her own hands.
Movement in the corner of my eye causes me to look down the hallway again. There’s Nat, making a dash for my bedroom.
Her clothes must be in there.
She’s going to be naked.
In. My. Bedroom.
And I won’t be there for it.
To be fair, there hasn’t been a naked woman in my bedroom for three years. I don’t do one-night stands and I haven’t had the time it takes to build a relationship. At least not the kind I enjoy. It’s not been a priority, but perhaps it should have.
“Dad.” Trinity’s voice cuts into my thoughts. “I’m done.”
“Okay, go get your stuff.”
I’m scared to go down the hallway again, afraid I’ll see something that I shouldn’t. Possibly a bare back or the smooth line of a leg. As long as my drought has been, glimpses of those are bound to have me coming against the fabric of my jeans.
More than once.
Gritting my teeth, I try to forget everything that’s happened since I walked into my house and, instead, focus on my daughter.
“Ready, Daddy.” She’s shouldered her book bag. “Bye, Natalie,” she yells behind her.
“Bye!” Nat sticks her head out of my bedroom. “Have a good day at school and don’t forget the homework we worked on.”
“I got it.”
My eyes meet Nat’s. She’s the mother my daughter should’ve had and, in the blink of an eye, she’s become the woman I want warming the empty side of my bed.
The only problem?
Her brother might have a lot to say about that.
