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THE SINGLE DAD 46
“Syd! Look!”I glanced away from Ford, my stare returning to Everly as the second pancake landed even better than the first.“You’re doing the best job. Now, can you do the remaining ones too?”“Yep!”I kept my eyes on her, but I could still feel Ford’s on me.I wouldn’t look at him.I couldn’t.I was positive he’d see right through me, and then he’d know exactly how I was feeling. How last night had taken every ounce of restraint I had. How this morning, watching the two of them together, feeling the intensity of his eyes, was more than I could handle.I couldn’t shut off the tingles in my body.I couldn’t stop the desire from pulsing.The need.The want.Both owning me with a strength I couldn’t fight.Maybe he had been born with a switch that made him forget, but the time we’d spent together was still so fresh in my head.And time with him was something I wanted more of.“Come on, little pancake. Be nice,” Everly said as she moved on to the last one, so focused on what she needed t
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I couldn’t eat.I wasn’t even hungry anymore—at least, not for food.“Come with you,” he said, as though he was debating.I sucked in my breath, moving the bacon to the other side, trying to act busy.“But, baby, I have to work today.”“Tell Papa you have a bellyache.”He laughed. “Papa’s not my boss.”I tried to imagine what a morning of hiking with Ford would feel like. The two of us on the trail, Everly several paces ahead. Sweat running down our faces. Sun hitting our eyes.How we’d have to move close together when we passed other hikers on the narrow path.His scent.His hand on my lower back.“Runyon Canyon?” he asked.Since I didn’t hear Everly respond, I nodded.Was he really considering?Was a morning with Ford now a real possibility?Could I call in sick?Fuck.When I’d taken this job, I’d thought it was going to be so straightforward. I would take care of Everly and go to school.There was nothing simpler than that.My feelings for Ford would stay separate. They would dull
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I couldn’t even hold it in.Because nothing about her moving onto my property would make things easier on my dick.In fact, if I were smart, I would end her employment.I would have my assistant start looking for a new nanny, so I wouldn’t feel so guilty about the things I wanted to do to this one.But Everly was in love with Sydney.Things were going so well with her.I couldn’t fuck that up, and I certainly couldn’t find someone who would be as good with my daughter as her.Sydney is irreplaceable.That was what I kept repeating in my head as I stared at her.“I have to tell you something …” She bent her knee, placing her bare foot on the molding. “It actually happened a little while ago. Part of me sort of forgot about it, and part of me didn’t want to mention it to you. But it feels only right to say something.”I leaned back in my chair, folding my arms, trying to prepare myself for whatever she was about to say. “All right.”“Everly never talks about her mom. I don’t bring up th
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I didn’t give a toast.I didn’t clink our glasses.I just brought the wine up to my lips and took a long, hard sip.“Are you in the mood for something sweet?” She reached for the display that now permanently held desserts in the center of my island, lifting the glass top. “Everly and I made mini pies today.”“Have I ever said no to anything you made?”She laughed. “I suppose not.”She lifted one out of the case and put the top back on. “This one is for me. Yours are in here”—she walked to the fridge and took out a separate container that she placed in front of me—“because they have to be kept cold.”Several pies were sitting inside the Tupperware.I brought one up to my nose, smelling it. “Chocolate?”“Chocolate cream.”“You didn’t?”Her eyes went wide as she nodded. “But I did. Do you want a fork?”“Nah.” I took the pie out of the small foil dish and bit into it. “Damn it, Sydney.”She did the same, holding it with her hands, chewing as she answered, “Right? It’s beyond.”“You keep t
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Jesus Christ.I need to fucking stop.As our stares locked, silence passed between us, my brain spiraling even further out of control.As though she could read my face, hear my thoughts, she said, “I should probably go to bed. It’s getting late.”“Yeah … I should do the same.”Except I wanted her under my covers.I wanted to kiss her in the morning before I left for the plane, tucking the blanket around her since I was no longer in there to keep her warm.She made no effort to leave and go upstairs.And I knew I couldn’t move—my feet would only lead me to her—so I reached for the bottle. “I hope you don’t mind if I have more?”“No, please. Have all you want.”The second I set the bottle on the island, my glass now refilled, I realized I needed to put more distance between us, and I backed up a few paces until the range hit my ass.It was only two feet.Maybe three.Still, I wasn’t sure it was enough.Since, once again, my stare found hers.And within the quietness that passed, so many
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“Ford!”I knew it felt good.I could hear it in her breaths.I could taste it on her tongue.I moved faster, deeper, her hips meeting me, my thumb grinding against the highest point.Circling.Flicking.Over and fucking over.She squeezed my arm, tensing, bucking. “I’m going to come.” She said it against my mouth as though she was warning me.But I knew.Her clit was hardening. Her wetness was thickening.Her sounds were getting even louder.“Let me hear it,” I demanded. “Let me fucking feel it.”That was all it took before she was shuddering against me, her pussy contracting, her moans filling my ears.“That’s it, Sydney.” I gripped the back of her head, bunching her hair into my fist. “That’s fucking it.” I mashed our lips together. “Yes!”The second she stilled, our eyes connected.Our mouths separated.Our breathing mixed.My dick was so goddamn hard that all I could think about was lifting her onto the counter, spreading her legs, plunging inside her pussy, and fucking coming.“M
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To see where we stood.To see if I was going to walk out the door and never come back.Things I would never do because I cared about him and his daughter, those feelings growing stronger each day.What happened between us last night wasn’t all his fault.I knew I was inviting myself to stay in the kitchen rather than go right to bed.And I had known how risky that was, how out of character that was, what kind of challenges that would create for us.But unlike Ford, I didn’t regret a thing.And maybe—just maybe—he would realize that he shouldn’t either.Me: We’re in the middle of making paper flowers and clay vases. Your island is covered in construction paper and glittery pens and stardust. She’s having a blast.Ford: I’m going to have the smartest kid in LA because of you.Me: Her intelligence has nothing to do with me, but thank you for saying that. Seriously, she’s doing fab. After going through one of my cookbooks, she’s decided she wants this fancy egg salad with pickled onions o
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I just hated to alarm him, but telling him was the only thing that felt right.Less than a minute after I hit Send, my phone was ringing, Ford’s name on the screen.I held my cell to my face and said, “Ford—”“Is she all right?”“One sec,” I whispered.Not wanting my voice to wake her, I carefully climbed off her bed and tiptoed into the hallway, closing the door most of the way so the sound wouldn’t travel.“She’s okay. I was just lying with her in bed, and she fell asleep. Her temp was at 102.2. Since I knew you were with a client, I called your mom, just to be on the safe side, and she agreed that I should give her some Motrin. I gave her some about forty-five minutes ago.”“I’ll come home.” There was movement in the background. “I’ll call the pilot and get the plane on the tarmac in less than an hour.”“Ford, no. You don’t have to do that. You know kids get sick all the time. This could be nothing. Let’s see how she feels in a couple hours or maybe even the morning.” When he didn’
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