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“Did she like mustard?” I asked.
He shook his head.
“Ketchup?”
“Ew.” Ivy giggled.
“Don’t tell me.” I snapped my fingers. “Ranch. Doesn’t everyone around here love ranch?”
Cody had a half-smile in place as he pushed a plate toward me. “Yes. But not Meg.”
I made a scandalized sound. “Dry?” I took a bite out of my dry turkey and Swiss cheese sandwich.
“The green stuff,” Ivy said with a big grin.
“Guacamole. Mm. Good taste.”
The kids were satisfied with my judgment of their mom’s sandwich habits. I ate standing up, wedged in the corner. Cody didn’t move to the table or to a stool. I got a front-row seat to the way the tendon in his jaw pulsed with each bite and the flex of his forearms as he brought the food to his mouth. He was so much taller than me, but there was nothing intimidating about standing this close. His earlier moodiness had needed a release, too, and his presence was comforting. Welcoming.
The way his hair was still mussed added an undeniable sexiness that rivaled his clean-cut, business-style look.
I had it bad.
The food turned to ash in my mouth. I almost regretted passing up the mayonnaise.
I was falling for a man I had no business having the hots for. Three weeks had gone by since my ex tried to prostitute me. I had no home. My job was temporary. And Cody was my boss.
That wasmysituation. This man lost his wife last year. He didn’t live in Crocus Valley. He worked all the time. He was a billboard of warnings I was willing to ignore.
When I had been sitting at the vanity in Frederick’s house, I berated myself for missing all the signs, and here I was dancing right past them. Frederick wasn’t a good guy. Cody could very well be the best guy I’d ever met. But he couldn’t be my guy.
I finished the rest of my food without tasting it. I brushed off my fingers and put my plate by the sink. The dishes could wait until tomorrow. Or Monday. “If that’s all, I should get going and let you guys enjoy yourselves. As a family.”
Cody watched me while he chewed. I gave him a neutral look. Did he see right through my panic? Did he know I was beyond finding him attractive? Did he realize the wicked fantasies I’d been pushing away about him were joined by domestic dreams, like what if I could have this kind of weekend every weekend? What if I had a stable home, a man who danced around the kitchen with me, and kids I adored? What if...
He finished his mouthful, and my gaze dropped to where his throat worked as he swallowed.
“Aw, can’t you stay?” Ivy asked.
I wanted to, that was the issue. “Unless you need me to work.” He was paying me to be available. I wanted to stay. The impromptu dance party was the most fun I’d had since...
It’d been a long time.
Cody’s eyes narrowed, reading me. Could he decipher my expression, my want, my absolute terror that I would be left with a broken heart if I couldn’t trust a guy I actually cared deeply about? He poured himself another glass of milk. “My inbox is quiet so far. All I have to do tomorrow is to call Eliot and find out when he’s working cattle and if he wants us there.”
I had no idea what working cattle meant, but if they were gone for a weekend, I could brainstorm what I needed to do when I returned to California. My mood took a dive.
“I want to go!” Grayson said.
Cody lifted a brow like it was a surprise Grayson wanted anything to do with cattle. “Aunt Sutton won’t be there to play with you. She lives in Crocus Valley now.”
“Will Uncle Austen be there?” Ivy asked.
“Maybe. And Wilder.” Cody turned his intense gaze back to me. The spark from dancing fanned into a blaze. “We’ll be fine until Monday.”
“I have to go.” I wanted to run, but I didn’t want to leave. “I need to see if I can call my mom and...” Plan my future. Figure out what the hell I was going to do with hardly any money when this gig was up.
“What’s your mom like?” Ivy asked, picking at the bread of her half-eaten sandwich.
