He was nice. And funny. And fierce. The picture of him strolling along the sidewalk, scruffy hair, arm muscles flexing in a tight T-shirt, pushing a baby in a stroller was devastating.
To her self-control.
Yep. She was doing it. Falling for him.
Though if she were honest, she would admit that she had been attracted to him since the moment she had met him two months earlier. The dance they had shared at Angel and Rick’s barbeque had kept her from sleeping for two days after.
“Are you hungry?” he asked as he stepped into the living room and set down the cat carrier.
“Huh?” She blinked at him.
“Did you eat dinner? We can go out or order something.” He opened the latch on the carrier and watched Greedy sniff the air suspiciously before setting one paw tentatively out on the carpet.
“Hey, the new carpet is in!” She noticed that the whole room had been redone in a nice neutral beige with a tightly woven thread. It was a big improvement over the dirt brown.
“Yeah. They did in here and the hall today, and tomorrow they’re doing the bedrooms.” He started digging in the bags she’d brought in. “I guess I’d better go get the rest of the stuff. Not to mention hose the carrier out. But I’m thinking Greedy needs to be shown that litter box first thing, right?”
“Yeah.” She jammed her hands in her pockets and suddenly wished she were wearing something a little cuter. Tighter. This work uniform had been designed for function, not fashion.
Knowing she should leave before she found herself caught in another moment like that over the carrier, she still found herself saying, “I could go for some dinner. Takeout’s fine.”
She had been thinking more along the lines of not wanting to go to a restaurant in her rather lackluster outfit, but his raised eyebrows indicated that he thought there were plenty of reasons to stay in. Or was hoping. If she had any sense, she would get the hell out of there, not linger, but apparently her sense was like her self-control—on vacation.
But Luke ordered their food and then sprawled out on the carpet and casually asked her about her job, where she lived, her family. It felt comfortable, friendly. Nothing more.
And of course, she was disappointed.
When their food arrived, Greedy lived up to his name. They were sitting on the floor, surrounded by Chinese takeout boxes, and the cat was walking from box to box, sniffing. Once he went so far as to swipe a noodle off Luke’s paper plate with his claw.
“Hey! You little thief.” Luke shook his chopstick at him.
Greedy sat back and leisurely licked his paw, taking his taste of the noodle then letting it fall on Angel’s new carpet.
Sheri picked it up with her napkin, checked for a stain, and guarded her own plate closely. Greedy gave her a dirty look.
Luke laughed. “Isn’t he cool? I never knew this having-a-pet thing could be fun.”
She pushed Greedy’s head away from her broccoli, thinking he was anything but cool. “Didn’t you ever have a pet as a kid?”
“Nah. My mom’s attention wanders too much to take care of an animal.” He slurped up a noodle, and she wondered how depraved she was to think that it was sensual.
Obviously, eighteen months was too long for a woman in her prime to go without sexual activity. Of any kind. Besides, in her two-year relationship with Mark, the sex had never been exactly awe inspiring. For a man who could run around a soccer field for hours and hours, he was awfully short-winded in the bedroom.
Unaware of the carnal shift her thoughts had taken, Luke was still talking about pets. “And my dad doesn’t like animals. Just women.”
Sheri always felt embarrassed when Angel talked about her father, and she didn’t know what to say now to Luke either. He hardly looked sensitive about the subject, but it had to be a little strange to have five siblings who all had different mothers.
If she were a practiced flirt, she could whisper in a seductive voice something
To her self-control.
Yep. She was doing it. Falling for him.
Though if she were honest, she would admit that she had been attracted to him since the moment she had met him two months earlier. The dance they had shared at Angel and Rick’s barbeque had kept her from sleeping for two days after.
“Are you hungry?” he asked as he stepped into the living room and set down the cat carrier.
“Huh?” She blinked at him.
“Did you eat dinner? We can go out or order something.” He opened the latch on the carrier and watched Greedy sniff the air suspiciously before setting one paw tentatively out on the carpet.
“Hey, the new carpet is in!” She noticed that the whole room had been redone in a nice neutral beige with a tightly woven thread. It was a big improvement over the dirt brown.
“Yeah. They did in here and the hall today, and tomorrow they’re doing the bedrooms.” He started digging in the bags she’d brought in. “I guess I’d better go get the rest of the stuff. Not to mention hose the carrier out. But I’m thinking Greedy needs to be shown that litter box first thing, right?”
“Yeah.” She jammed her hands in her pockets and suddenly wished she were wearing something a little cuter. Tighter. This work uniform had been designed for function, not fashion.
Knowing she should leave before she found herself caught in another moment like that over the carrier, she still found herself saying, “I could go for some dinner. Takeout’s fine.”
She had been thinking more along the lines of not wanting to go to a restaurant in her rather lackluster outfit, but his raised eyebrows indicated that he thought there were plenty of reasons to stay in. Or was hoping. If she had any sense, she would get the hell out of there, not linger, but apparently her sense was like her self-control—on vacation.
But Luke ordered their food and then sprawled out on the carpet and casually asked her about her job, where she lived, her family. It felt comfortable, friendly. Nothing more.
And of course, she was disappointed.
When their food arrived, Greedy lived up to his name. They were sitting on the floor, surrounded by Chinese takeout boxes, and the cat was walking from box to box, sniffing. Once he went so far as to swipe a noodle off Luke’s paper plate with his claw.
“Hey! You little thief.” Luke shook his chopstick at him.
Greedy sat back and leisurely licked his paw, taking his taste of the noodle then letting it fall on Angel’s new carpet.
Sheri picked it up with her napkin, checked for a stain, and guarded her own plate closely. Greedy gave her a dirty look.
Luke laughed. “Isn’t he cool? I never knew this having-a-pet thing could be fun.”
She pushed Greedy’s head away from her broccoli, thinking he was anything but cool. “Didn’t you ever have a pet as a kid?”
“Nah. My mom’s attention wanders too much to take care of an animal.” He slurped up a noodle, and she wondered how depraved she was to think that it was sensual.
Obviously, eighteen months was too long for a woman in her prime to go without sexual activity. Of any kind. Besides, in her two-year relationship with Mark, the sex had never been exactly awe inspiring. For a man who could run around a soccer field for hours and hours, he was awfully short-winded in the bedroom.
Unaware of the carnal shift her thoughts had taken, Luke was still talking about pets. “And my dad doesn’t like animals. Just women.”
Sheri always felt embarrassed when Angel talked about her father, and she didn’t know what to say now to Luke either. He hardly looked sensitive about the subject, but it had to be a little strange to have five siblings who all had different mothers.
If she were a practiced flirt, she could whisper in a seductive voice something
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