Page 37

She's not the type.

And those words scared the hell out of Amanda...to the point where she left me.

"Don't you have a job?" she asks. "I mean...you can't just stay here in bed with me all the time, can you?"

"I don't have any appointments until tomorrow," I murmur. "Sure, there are some worksites I could check up on...but I trust my guys. I'm not concerned about my crews."

"I wouldn't want to distract you," she teases, but I turn to face her, touching her cheek.

"You're one distraction I love to have," I say.

I kiss her hard, but she finally sits up, tossing her hair back. "I do have to work today," she says quietly. She puts her feet on the floor, and I watch from the bed as she stands and looks for her clothes. "But...you could come with me if you want."

I frown. "What does that entail?"

She shrugs. "I need to make the rounds and visit some vintage stores to buy new stock," she says. "There's a place I've been meaning to check out in Greenwich. We could grab breakfast beforehand...my treat."

I pull the covers back and walk around to take her in my arms. She's put on an old Fleetwood Mac t-shirt from when she was house-sitting and pulled her hair up in a long ponytail.

She's so fucking beautiful, no matter what she's wearing.

"Are you sure you're okay with that?"

She grins, and I can see the honesty in her smile. "Of course I am," she says. "I'm...I don't know if this is going too far, but I'm a bit intense when I like someone...and I'm intense about you, Ryan."

I reach up to hold her face in my hands, and she lets out a breath with a contented sigh.

"I'm intense, too," I say. "I'm not gonna scare you away?"

She snorts. "You watched me fend off a mugger with a knife," she says. "I'm not scared of anything."

We feed Tex and get dressed, the two of us taking a quick shower together and then brushing our teeth side-by-side in the mirror. Sophia looks effortlessly stylish in her vintage concert tee and jeans, a leather jacket finishing off the look. I get oddlyself-conscious as we get ready to head through the door, Tex watching us like he's personally offended that we're not bringing him with us.

"You good?" Sophia asks as I lock up.

We start to walk down the stairs, off to catch a cab. "Yeah, I'm fine," I say. "Why?"

"You're being awfully quiet."

I gesture at my flannel and jeans, then swipe my fingers through my grey hair. "I just uh...feel like I look like your father."

She scoffs. "Seriously, Ryan?"

"What? It's true. I'm...shit, how old are you?"

"Twenty-seven."

"Jesus," I breathe. "You know I was graduating from high school when you were born, right?"

Her brow furrows, and she puts on this doe-eyed look as we step out onto the street. "Are you making a suggestion?" she asks, leaning on. "Do you want me to call you daddy?"

"Please don't."

"I don't know, I wouldn't mind it," she starts.

I brush her off and step forward to hail a passing cab, and he pulls over, saving me from the rest of this conversation. Sophia grabs my arm as I try to escape her teasing, laughing as we get into the cab.

"C'mon, Daddy, I promise I'll be a good girl," she says, batting her eyelashes at me.