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“Hey, no need to apologize,” Nolan interrupted. “You’re his mom, you know what’s best for him. I’m hardly in a position to judge.”
By the time they’d finished their treats, JJ was getting cranky and tired. There was no way he’d make the trek back to where Raina had parked so when Nolan offered to carry him for her again, she didn’t object. Weariness pulled at her, too, but the thought of curling up in her bed was tempered by the need to get up early the next morning. Saturdays she opened late, because they were her yard-and estate-sale mornings when she rose before dawn to try to pick up the occasional treasure to resell at Priceless. Her dad always came over super early to take care of JJ for the day so she could go straight to the store after doing her rounds of the sales.
At the car, Nolan stood to one side while she settled JJ into his car seat. Poor kid, he was almost asleep already, she noticed. Straightening from the car, she closed JJ’s door gently and turned to Nolan.
“Thank you so much for your help tonight. I really do appreciate it.”
“I enjoyed it. It’s always fun seeing the lights through a child’s eyes. Kids make everything so simple, so basic and enjoyable, don’t they?”
Raina smiled at him, then struggled to stifle a yawn. “Oh, my. I’m sorry. Please excuse me. It’s been a heck of a week. I’d better head off and get JJ into bed.”
Nolan nodded and then stepped a little closer. “Raina, I’d really like to see you again. To take you out to dinner or the movies?”
Raina’s breath caught in her throat. He was asking her for a date? For the briefest of moments she cherished the idea but then her practical nature set in. She shook her head gently.
“Nolan, I’m flattered. Truly I am. But I don’t date. My life is too busy as it is. It’s really not a good time for me to be thinking about stretching myself any thinner. I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s okay,” Nolan said, his brown eyes gleaming under the streetlamp. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a card holder. “I’m disappointed but I understand. If you ever change your mind, make sure you let me know, okay? My private number is on the back.”
He slid one pristine white business card from the holder and pressed it into her hand. The instant he touched her, that familiar tingle came back, except this time it quivered through her veins along with something else. Something that felt curiously like desire.
She held on to the feeling for the briefest moment, wondering when had been the last time anyone had made her feel like a desirable woman, before ruthlessly quelling it again. She couldn’t—no, shouldn’t—entertain the idea. It was best that she didn’t see Nolan again. Every relationship she’d ever had had extracted a price whereby she’d lost a little bit of herself in the process. She daren’t do that to herself, or to JJ, again. Not now. Not ever. And yet she still found herself wishing she could say yes.
“How long are you prepared to wait?” Raina joked with a nervous laugh, unable to stop herself from asking the question even though she had no intention of taking Nolan up on it.
“As long as it takes,” Nolan said with a slow smile that sent curls of delight all the way to her extremities.
Oh, yes. She was well-advised to steer completely clear of Nolan Dane. She’d only met him four days ago and he was already heating her blood.
Unable to think of a suitable response, Raina muttered a swift good-night and got into the car. She gave Nolan a small wave as she pulled away from the curb and drove away. A red light at the intersection halted her retreat and she glanced in the rearview mirror. Nolan still stood there on the sidewalk, his hands shoved in his jacket pockets, watching them go.
She couldn’t stop thinking of him during the journey home to their little rented house and, even after she’d put JJ to bed and found refuge between her own sheets, Nolan Dane remained front and center in her thoughts. The way he looked at her made her feel like a woman. Not just a mom, not just a retailer or a tutor, but a warm, desirable and wanted woman. She’d pushed the idea away so hard and so vehemently after Jeb that it had become a concept she’d almost forgotten. Seeing that attraction reflected in Nolan’s face empowered her. It was a sensation she liked.
She twisted in her sheets, her body aching with unexpected longing. Nolan Dane affected her in ways she hadn’t wanted to acknowledge but now that she’d opened the door on those feelings, they’d all come rushing out. She liked everything about him so far—his manners, his careful way of speaking, even the tone of his voice. And his eye-catching looks didn’t hurt either. He carried his height with confidence, with his broad shoulders set straight, and he met a person’s gaze square on with no subterfuge—no lies. Having been on the receiving end of those looks Raina had come to realize that a woman could get happily lost in those deep brown eyes of his.
