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Crap. Chris better not decide he wanted one.
Where the hell would he keep a hippo? And wouldn’t it smell? Weren’t hippos mean as sin? Declan scratched his head. He’d read about a hippo biting a dude in half. Or was it a rhino? He couldn’t remember—butstill. Declan indulged Chris, maybe more than he should since he didn’t get to see his son enough, but he had to draw the line at buying him wild animals that were bigger than his car.
Declan tilted his head. The song was ridiculous, and it definitely had him questioning Natalie’s sanity again, but she was damn cute. His ex-girlfriend was too uptight to do things like use a spatula as a microphone while belting out silly lyrics. But Natalie didn’t appear to give a crap what Declan or anyone else thought as she shook her hips and begged for Santa to bring her a massive smelly beast.
Her blond mop of hair was pulled up into a high, messy bun that threatened to fall free every time she bobbed her head to the beat. She had no makeup on, and the bandage above her eye was visible every time she spun toward him. There was nothing showy about the woman dancing with his son, but it was showstopping all the same.
He was used to ball bunnies who never had a hair out of place or rarely left the house without a full face of makeup on. Even Lauren. So he shouldn’t be so enthralled with Natalie. And yet, he couldn’t look away.
The song ended, and Natalie glanced his way, seemingly unsurprised to catch him standing there. He expected embarrassment, but he got none.
“We left some eggs for you,” Natalie said. She pointed to the plate on the counter before moving toward him to whisper, “Don’t worry. It’s free of shells. I made sure.”
How the hell she managed that was a mystery. He knew his son and knew he noticedeverything. Including the many times Declan had tried to covertly swap out inedible food, and each and every time, he’d been caught and forced to eat the concoctions the kid had created. But he couldn’t ask what pseudo magic she possessed in front of Chris.
“Thank you.” Declan raised his eyebrows, spotting the bacon on the plate. “I’ll pass on the bacon, though.”
Refusing food didn’t often make people smile, but Natalie lit up with an almost laugh when he did.
“Chris told me that you have an allergy to anything that tastes good, but you should try a piece anyway.” The knock-him-on-his-ass smile danced on her face. “Have a little fun. I promise it won’t hurt. And I bet the lack of bacon is responsible for at least 50 percent of your crappy personality.”
“Excuse me?” he scoffed.
She leaned closer, batting her eyes, and he once again found himself enthralled.
He placed his arm on the counter and leaned closer, enjoying the lavender as it hit his nose. His eyes drifted to her mouth as she slowly pulled her bottom lip into her mouth and wet it.How would she taste? He almost forgot his son was in the room as the need to feel those full beautiful lips against his beat hard in his system.
She rolled those gorgeous brown eyes, seeming unaffected by him. “You were probably born with the stick up your butt, but bacon grease can help, trust me.”
He chuckled and leaned closer. They were only a foot apart. “You’re something else. I eat healthy, and bacon has no”—he stuttered, watching her once again smile—“no nutritional value.”
“Bacon is magic. I’ll prove it.” She snatched a piece off the plate and closed the distance so her chest almost brushed against his. His body ached to pull her tight, but she stayed where she was and brought the meat to his mouth.
The sparkle in her eyes was mesmerizing, and the way the corners creased when she smiled was so genuine and adorable. Before he could think about it, he found himself opening his mouth. Her soft finger brushed against his bottom lip as he accepted the bacon.
Bacon.
Something he hadn’t eaten inyears.
“See?” Her lips moved, and he couldn’t look away. “Look at that. You’re smiling. Itismagic.”
Declan swallowed harshly, knowing full well it wasn’t bacon that was magic.
“Can we play in the snow now?” Chris asked, jarring Declan out of the moment.
He cleared his throat and stepped away from the dangerous blonde. He’d been sucked in by a seemingly fun-loving woman in the past, and he was still dealing with that mess. He needed space from Natalie, so he moved quickly to the other side of the kitchen.
“Do vacuum cleaners suck?” Natalie responded. “Of course we can!”
Declan wasn’t sure if it was the way Chris tilted his head and stared at her or the seriousness in Natalie’s tone, but he found himself chuckling.
“Anyone ever tell you that you’re kinda weird?” Chris surveyed her, dumbfounded.
“Nope. And I work with high schoolers, so they probably would have mentioned that at some point. Although they say I’mquirky,and I think they like it.” She shrugged. “Why don’t you go put on warm clothes? You can’t go out in the snow in your PJs, now can you?”
Chris nodded and ran off toward his bedroom.
“You don’t have to do that. Take him out in the snow, I mean.”
