by Kendall Ryan
“Fine,” I muttered, turning to head back up the stairs. But I had to admit a part of me was getting a kick out of this, recalling the way she’d called me out on my cheesy pickup lines that night at the bar.
“Go put some jeans on. Dark wash, please!” she called after me as I rounded the corner to my bedroom. “And nothing too baggy,” she called again.
Unbuttoning my shirt, I couldn’t help but smile and shake my head at how comfortable Kate was bossing me around. We’d only been neighbors for a couple of weeks, but it felt like we’d known each other for years. Even if things between us had a rocky start, it was nice having another adult around to share a drink with. Just having someone to talk and laugh with made the house seem not too quiet.
The only slight hiccup was Maddie. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Kate, but she was still suspicious about the whole special adult snuggle-time thing, something we had to tread lightly around.
Tonight, however, Maddie was with her grandparents, most likely getting spoiled out of her mind. When it was clear Maddie’s mom wasn’t going to be a part of the picture, I made sure to move the two of us closer to my parents. Honestly, having them on hand was a godsend. I loved my life with Maddie and wouldn’t trade our time together for the world, but the fact is, I needed backup reinforcements sometimes, no matter how much I might like attending tea parties and wearing tiaras.
Standing in front of my open closet, I pushed some shirts around on their hangers, looking for something more suitable for drinks. After tossing a pair of dark jeans on the bed, I continued rummaging around in my closet, finally landing on a gray sweater. I quickly changed into the new outfit and returned to the living room, ready to be playfully insulted by Kate all over again.
I walked out in front of the couch to find her waiting for me with her wineglass in hand. Smiling, I raised a curious eyebrow, and she quickly set the glass down on the coffee table in front of her. Before I could say anything remotely teasing, she stood with a high-pitched squeal, clapping her hands and nodding with approval.
“Look at you! This is perfect. The jeans are great, and that sweater . . .” Kate’s gaze slid over my pecs and shoulders, her expression shifting just enough for me to feel a slight jolt of electricity between us. “It’s great,” she said quickly, snapping her eyes up to mine and forcing a smile.
“Glad to see you approve.” I smirked.
She laughed and swatted my arm with the back of her hand. Even as she settled back into her seat on the couch, seemingly casual and unfazed, I could still feel the spark between us.
“Hey, your phone buzzed while you were changing. I didn’t check to see who it was, no matter how nosy I wanted to be.” She raised her eyebrows, a devious smile spreading across her face.
“One more glass of wine, and you’ll be hacking into my phone in a heartbeat.” I picked up my phone and typed in my passcode. It was a text from Heather, the woman I was supposed to be meeting for drinks in thirty minutes, telling me a work emergency had come up and she wouldn’t be able to make it on our date after all.
I sighed. “Well, I hope you don’t have plans for the rest of the night. My date canceled, and there’s no way I’m wasting a kid-free night.”
Kate’s face fell, then quickly changed to something angrier. “What the hell?” she said, rising to her feet. “She’s just ghosting on you minutes before the date?”
“In fairness, I’m pretty sure ghosting is when you just stop responding to someone out of the blue. At least she had the courtesy to let me know this was over before it started.” I grabbed my glass of wine from the coffee table and took a seat on the couch.
Kate’s angry expression morphed to one of outrage. “Why don’t you seem surprised? Or mad?” She paced around the living room while gesturing at me emphatically.
“Because I’m not,” I said between sips of wine. “It wouldn’t be the first time a date pre-screened me on social media and learned I was a dad.” That’s why sometimes it’s better to make these things a little more spur of the moment, like picking someone up at a bar.
“That’s bullshit.” She scoffed, plopping herself down on the opposite couch cushion, her brow furrowed in frustration. “So, you think she canceled because you have a kid?”
“Maybe, maybe not. But it happens more often than you’d think. Wait a second. Isn’t that your hangup too?” I gave her a quizzical look.
“Well, no. I’m just, I’m not looking for anything serious.” She stumbled over her words, obviously flustered by my question. “With anyone,” she added, more to herself than to me.
I gave her a disbelieving look. “So you’re telling me that if I wanted to have a fling with you—purely sexual, no strings attached—you’d be game?” As I spoke, I leaned toward her on the couch, aware again of that spark crackling between us.
She stared at me wide-eyed for a moment before blinking. “You and I are both old enough to know that that would be a terrible idea.”
I held her gaze for a moment longer, memories from that first night we met flashing through my mind. Maybe she was right. Maybe a casual fling with my new tenant was a terrible idea. And yet . . . maybe it was exactly what we both needed.
I stood and picked up our empty wineglasses. “Casual sex or not, I just got stood up for a date, and that can only mean one thing.”
“What’s that?” she asked, crossing one perfectly sculpted leg over the other.
“It’s time to order takeout.”
• • •
Two more glasses of wine and one large pizza with mushrooms and olives later, Kate and I found ourselves sitting at my kitchen table, tears streaming down our faces as we laughed.
“You did not,” she said, her face red, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye.
“What else was I supposed to do? Maddie had pooped her pants, we were in the middle of a forest, and in my rush to get us out the door for our nature day, I’d forgotten to pack her an extra pair of clothes.” I waved my hands in surrender.
It was the old my daughter shit her pants, so I had to tie a T-shirt around her waist like a loincloth for the rest of our hike story. Not one I was usually able to whip out on a first date.
“You’re unbelievable,” Kate said through giggles, shaking her head and swirling the wine in her glass. Her cheeks were rosy from the laughter and the wine, and her hair had fallen loosely around her shoulders, slightly tousled now that she was sufficiently tipsy. I’d known she was a bombshell from the moment I saw her at the bar all those nights ago, but in this moment? She wasn’t just hot. She was beautiful.
“So, tell me, Kate,” I said, cocking my head to the side and squinting at her slightly, “how’d a girl like you end up living above my garage? Did you dump some poor bastard and leave him to fend for himself in the uptown loft you used to share?” It was definitely the wine making me bold, asking the questions I’d been keeping to myself for weeks.
She smiled and shook her head. “No, it wasn’t anything so exciting or dramatic—for me, at least. My roommate just got engaged, and it turns out, newly engaged couples don’t really want another roommate around to cock-block them all the time.”
I nodded. “That makes sense, I guess. So there really isn’t anyone you were leaving behind? You’re just a commitment-phobe through and through?”
“Well, I wouldn’t call myself a commitment-phobe, although my friends probably would,” she replied with a shrug.
Leaning back in my chair, I crossed my arms and gave her a long, measured look. “Sounds lonely,” I said, my tone dropping.
“That’s what bars are for.” She arched an eyebrow and gave me a knowing look.
“Touché.”
We sat in silence for a while, watching each other with soft, curious eyes. The more I learned about this woman, the more I wanted to know, but I still couldn’t tell exactly where it was all headed.
“I should probably get going,” she said with a sigh, glancing over at the clock hanging on the wall behind m
e.
I turned to check the time, surprised to see it was nearly midnight. Damn. It was later than I expected.
“Well, thanks for helping me pick out my clothes, even if the date was a bust,” I said as we both stood and Kate gathered her things.
“Anytime,” she replied, slinging her purse strap over her shoulder. “Sorry again that bitch stood you up.”
“Nah, I don’t think she’s a bitch. Just afraid of starting something that might get too real.”
Kate looked at me, surprised. “I can’t tell if that’s insightful or if we’re both just drunk.”
We laughed as we walked to the front door, where Kate paused before opening it.
“I had a really nice time tonight,” she said, looking down at her feet and tucking her hair behind her ear.
When she looked up at me, our eyes locked. That energy crackled between us again, and suddenly, I couldn’t ignore it anymore.
Taking her cheek in the palm of my hand, I pulled her face to mine, our lips meeting in a deep, slow, sensual kiss. When we parted, she didn’t respond for a second, the look on her face communicating that she was clearly taken aback. Keeping my hand on her cheek, I stared into her eyes, searching for a sign that she wanted this too.
Without a word, she dropped her purse to the floor and wrapped her arms around me, pressing her body into mine. I took her mouth again, deepening the kiss when she parted her lips for me. My hands landed on her hips, relishing their soft and supple shape, while her hands wandered over the back of my neck, her fingers threading through my hair.
A small moan escaped her as I moved my knee between her legs, feeling the heat straight through my jeans. My cock responded with a twitch, aching to be free, to be inside her again. To finish what we started.
I dug my fingers into her skin, wishing I could rip off the layers of denim between us. Our tongues moved faster and more urgently, and our breathing grew heavy. Every inch of my body felt electric around her, and when we kissed, it was like turning the energy all the way up.
Suddenly, she broke away, stepping back to leave a full foot of space between our bodies. For a moment, we both stood there, breathing heavily, watching each other with wide, searching eyes.
“I, uh . . . I have to go,” she stammered, then picked her purse up off the floor, quickly opened the door, and marched out, closing it behind her.
I could hear her footsteps as she made her way up the stairs, the sound of the door to her apartment opening and closing. I stood in the doorway for a moment, my mind still charged with the electricity of that kiss.
Once I’d caught my breath and my mind stopped racing, I walked back into the kitchen and began the process of cleaning up. As I stood over the sink, rinsing the wineglasses, I thought about the look on Kate’s face right before she ran out the door.
Was it shock? Was it the look of someone who wanted more but knew she shouldn’t? I didn’t know what it meant, and I didn’t know where this was going, but the one thing I did know?
I wanted to do that again and finish what we started.
Chapter Seven
Kate
I quickly ran a brush through my hair and checked my teeth for lipstick stains before running out the door. I had to go into the city for a meeting with my editor this morning, which I was dreading. He’d already been on my case all week about finishing my column, and the last thing I needed was to be late. I’d been so distracted by moving and unpacking that I’d had a hard time sitting down to get work done. And if I was being honest, my attraction to Hunter wasn’t helping one bit.
After our kiss, I’d been so hot and bothered that I’d tossed and turned all night. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to throw caution to the wind and see where this attraction would take us. After last night, the idea of giving in to the temptation of Hunter was too powerful to resist. Why not take a risk? He’d said so himself; it didn’t have to lead to anything serious. We were both adults who had needs. And besides, I was never one to leave unfinished business.
Distracted, I weighed my options throughout my meeting. It was hard to focus on anything but Hunter’s proposition. Had he been serious? Would he really want a casual fling? But my meeting went smoothly, and I took it as a good omen.
That night, after I’d showered and changed, I decided to stop by Hunter’s place to talk to him for a few minutes. It had become part of my ritual, and one I looked forward to. As I swiped on some mascara, it occurred to me that he might have only made that comment about us casually hooking up because of the wine, or because he’d just been stood up. Maybe it sounded good in theory, but when it came down to it, he might decide he wasn’t interested enough to muddy the waters of our relationship.
Annoyed at how my hand holding the mascara wand trembled, I put aside the mascara and took a deep breath. Calm down, I told myself.
This was so not like me. I never sat around wondering what a guy thought about me. In the past when things didn’t work out with someone, I always knew it was for the best. Knew that I was moving on to the next chapter of my life, and did so with no regret.
In fact, I considered it a point of pride that I’d never had my heart broken. I’d never been the kind of woman who was afraid to say what she thought, or worried what a man thought about her, and I didn’t intend to start now.
With new determination, I took a deep breath and pulled on my sandals. Pausing before I walked out the door, I hoped I was doing the right thing.
Hunter opened on the first knock. I was still taken aback by how sexy he looked every time I saw him, and tonight was no exception.
“Hi,” I said, smiling.
“Hey, Kate. What’s up?”
I sucked in a breath as I looked into his sexy, dark eyes, and watched as a smile transformed his face. I was about to open my mouth and spill everything I’d been thinking, but then Maddie’s head popped around the door.
“Oh, it’s her,” she said, turning to go back inside with a frown.
“Maddie,” Hunter said in a warning tone, but she’d already walked away. He turned back to me with an apologetic smile. “Sorry about that. Is everything okay?”
My smile faltered. I was such an idiot. Why did I think I could just barge in here and blurt out my feelings? Obviously, Maddie was home. I needed to get it together; I was letting my desire for Hunter cloud all rational thought.
“Hey.” I grinned, changing gears. “I just wanted to come down and ask if you’d be in for an after-work drink later tonight.”
“I would, but we’re kind of in the middle of a dilemma over here,” he said, gesturing inside.
“Is everything okay?” Horrified, I frowned. Not only had I made a mess of this whole thing, but now I’d interrupted some kind of family emergency. Awesome.
“No, sorry, nothing like that. I didn’t mean to sound dramatic. It’s more of a kitchen emergency than an actual emergency.” He laughed, and my stomach did a little flip of relief.
“I’m gluten-free now.” Maddie had come back, holding a cookbook. “But he doesn’t know how to make anything.” She pointed up at Hunter, who laughed.
“I’ve suggested at least five things, and you don’t want any of them,” he said, half amused, half exasperated. He shot me a pleading look.
“They all sounded bad.” The little girl wrinkled her nose.
She was actually quite cute when she wasn’t throwing daggers at me with her eyes. I could see the resemblance to her father with her dark eyes fringed in darker lashes and soft brown hair that couldn’t decide if it wanted to curl or lay straight.
“I’m actually gluten-free too,” I said, hoping that maybe I could be useful for once. “I could help you guys. I cook all the time.”
“That would be amazing,” Hunter said quickly, the relief on his face obvious. “We’ve been going back and forth like this for an hour.”
Maddie gave him a skeptical look but didn’t say anything. Hunter motioned me inside and I followed them to the kitchen, where
a bag of groceries sat on the counter.
“I got a bunch of gluten-free stuff,” he said, pulling a random assortment of items from the bag.
We looked it over. There was gluten-free spaghetti, a few potatoes, and a bag of quinoa. I raised an eyebrow at him. That was it?
“I have no idea what I’m doing,” he admitted.
“Don’t worry,” I said, looking through what he’d bought. “I have a plan.”
“Do what you need to do.” He put his hands up. “I’ll owe you big-time. Anything you want, it’s yours.”
I pulled things out of the cupboards and arranged them on the counter, coming up with a recipe as I went. I knew how difficult it could be to cook meals that were gluten-free, and I was impressed that Maddie was willing to try something new. Secretly, I hoped cooking for them would score me points with both Hunter and Maddie.
As I was searching their cabinet for honey, I realized they were staring at me.
“You two can go relax. I’ve got this,” I said, turning to wave them away after grabbing chicken breasts from the refrigerator.
Maddie ran out the patio door into the backyard, where she started kicking a soccer ball around.
“Sorry, she’s still a little on edge around you,” Hunter said.
“It’s totally fine.” I waved away his concern. “She keeps me on my toes.” If I was being honest, now that the mortification had worn off, I was starting to think it was kind of funny. I liked that Maddie had a little spunk.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” he offered. He was still wearing his work clothes—a dark blue suit with a white button-down shirt, which he wore very well. He’d been wearing a suit the first night I met him.
The only thing he could do to help put out this fire was to bend me over the kitchen table, but of course I couldn’t say that.