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He let his gaze roam her body. She looked beautiful. Her silky dark brown hair shone loose and long as it fell about her shoulders, and she’d done some incredible magic with eye makeup that made her blue eyes even brighter and more intense than he’d ever seen them. There was a faint hint of blush on her cheeks and her lips had a delicious watermelon-colored sheen. He ached to lean forward and see if those lips tasted as good as they looked.
She wore a long sheer burgundy blouse, with a matching camisole beneath it, over slim-fitting black pants and high heels. A fine gold chain graced her neck and small pear shaped gold drops hung from her ears.
“I’m so sorry,” she started, and for a second he thought she was going to pull out of their date. But then she said, “Dad dropped JJ back home earlier. He has a leak in the trailer right where JJ’s bed is and since he had JJ with him all day he didn’t get a chance to repair it. When I told him I’d planned to go out he said he’d be back to sit for me, but he’s not here yet.”
Nolan felt himself relax. Waiting for her father to return was no problem.
“That’s okay. We have plenty of time,” he assured her.
“Man!” JJ slid to a halt on the polished wooden floor in front of him.
“JJ!” Raina admonished. “His name is Nolan, not man.”
“No’an.” JJ tried the name out for size, then reached for Nolan’s hand. “Come see Spider-Man.”
Nolan looked to Raina for approval. She shrugged. “If you don’t mind?” she said helplessly. “He’s certainly fixated on you. Dad said all he talked about today was ‘man’ and the Christmas tree.”
“I don’t mind,” Nolan assured her before looking down at JJ’s eager face. “C’mon then, JJ. Show me Spider-Man.”
The sensation of the little boy’s fingers so trustingly wrapped within his own somewhat soothed the ache Nolan felt in his heart. Bennett had been only eighteen months old when he’d died. Less than half JJ’s age. Would he, too, have been a fan of comic-book heroes? Nolan would never know.
JJ’s excited chatter yanked him back into the present and Nolan fell into an easy banter with the garrulous child. Sure, JJ still struggled with some syllables but his overall command of language made him easy to understand as he bounced around his room in excitement—dragging one thing and then another from his shelves and drawers to show Nolan.
Down the hallway, Nolan heard sounds of another person arriving. A man with a deep voice. When he got to JJ’s room, Nolan took him for Raina’s dad immediately. He had the same piercing blue eyes and that determined set of the jaw. Raina stood behind him, looking a little uncomfortable.
Nolan rapidly got to his feet and extended a hand to the newcomer.
“Nolan Dane, pleased to meet you.”
“Justin Patterson. Can I have a word with you before you leave with my daughter?”
The man’s eyebrows pulled into a straight line and the no-nonsense look in his eyes set Nolan back a bit. He hadn’t seen a look like that in a father’s eyes since he dated back in high school—and he hadn’t missed the proprietary use of the word my when referring to Raina either.
“Sure,” he answered smoothly. “Just let me help JJ put his things back.”
“I can do that,” Raina said, stepping into the room. “You go talk with Dad, then we can leave for the restaurant.”
“I’ll only need a minute,” her father said dourly from the doorway.
Justin Patterson didn’t take long to get to the point. The moment they were out of earshot of JJ’s bedroom, he bluntly told Nolan exactly what he expected.
“Treat my daughter with respect.”
“You have no worries on that score, sir. Raina is a wonderful woman.”
“I don’t know what your intentions are toward her, but I will tell you this. If you break her heart, or if you hurt her in any way, I will come after you.”
Raina’s dad was Nolan’s equal in height and had at least twenty pounds on him. He had the look of a man used to hard work and Nolan had no doubt that he meant every word.
“Thank you for being honest with me. Now let me be honest with you. I know Raina doesn’t normally date, and we haven’t even known each other very long, but I have no plans to hurt her. We’re going out for dinner tonight, and that’s all.”
“Humph.” The older man crossed his arms over his chest. “Make sure that is all you do.”
