Page 22 of Just One More Temptation

“Fine.” She placed the menu on the table and met his gaze. “I was surprised to see you with someone. Eventually I remembered you were having nanny meetings and I was being ridiculous for a number of reasons. One being that we aren’t in a relationship so it shouldn’t matter to me. I promised myself I wouldn’t let you matter.” Her eyes shimmered and he cursed to himself.

Ouch, he thought, though he appreciated her honesty. Based on her past, he also wasn’t surprised by her feelings. There was a positive side, though. “Apparently, you weren’t successful. It seems like Idomatter. Which makes this the perfect time to tell you that despite my own reservations, I feel the same way.”

She nibbled on her bottom lip. “Promise me something, then.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Name it.”

“Don’t ever use the expression,it’s not what it looks like, again.”

Noah immediately understood why and knew it had everything to do with the bastard who’d hurt her. “Done. Now you can do something for me.”

She’d curled one hand into a fist, her tension obvious, so he reached out and pulled her fingers away from her palm, taking note of the nail marks left behind with a frown.

“What is it?” she asked.

He slid his fingers into hers, entwining them together. “Don’t compare me to your ex. I don’t know what this is any more than you do. But…” He slid out of his side of the booth and into hers.

Startled, she let out a little gasp.

He grasped her chin in his hand and leaned in close, the warm vanilla-based scent of her chosen fragrance sending awareness shooting through his veins. “Fallon, I know who I am and who I’m not. And I’m not the kind of guy who plays games.” From the corner of his eye, he saw Clara slowly making her way back to the table.

Fallon nodded at his words, her body still upright and uptight but from the slight drooping of her shoulders and the slow breath she exhaled, he sensed he’d gotten through to her.

“Tell me you’re not trusting that girl with the twins,” Fallon said, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

He let out a harsh laugh. “Hell, no. I need someone to watch the girls, not a woman to seduce me. Besides, I was already seduced last week by the only female I’m interested in.”

Her lips parted and Noah leaned in, capturing Fallon’s mouth in a brief kiss before letting her go. “Think about that,” he said, and slid back, then rose from his seat in time to nod at Clara who’d just approached. He helped the older woman into the booth and steadied her cane against the edge of the table.

“Have a good day, ladies,” he said, winking at Fallon before walking out of the diner.

Only when he was on his way home did he realize what he’d done. He’d winked. A gesture he’d never used before with anyone else. A lighthearted one that he felt sure Fallon would appreciate. She’d gotten to him in so many ways in such a short period of time.

He shoved his hands into his slacks pockets and walked back to the office, his mood lighter from seeing Fallon, despite the lack of a nanny and the concerns they obviously both had about one another. For him, it was the age difference, the fact that he’d lived his life with kids and one day, no doubt, she’d want her own. And her wariness was completely understandable.

But nothing would stop him from seeing her. It was as if she called to him, and there was no way he’d put her out of his mind and forget.

***

After a fullday’s work, Noah arrived home and relieved his mom. The girls were excited that the weekend was coming, reminding him they were going to his parents’ on Sunday for his mom’s birthday. He didn’t know how the visit had slipped his mind but he’d already bought the gift, so at least that was taken care of.

“Are you excited, Daddy? Grandpa said he bought Grammy’s favorite cake and you know it’s mine too,” Dylan said.

“Chocolate.” Dakota wrinkled her nose.

“Oh, stop. Strawberry is weird! Besides, Grammy said she’d make you those yucky strawberry jam cookies. Disgusting.”

“Strawberry was the first fruit to be used at an ice cream parlor in 1776.”

“It’s fruit!” Dylan wrinkled her nose this time.

He ran a hand through his hair, grateful they weren’t talking about pulling brains through dead people’s noses. Still, he wasn’t in the mood for their bickering. “Okay, girls. Enough. I’ve had a long day. Grandma said she left warm lasagna on the counter. Who wants to eat?”

“We helped her cook and set the table!” Dylan ran into the kitchen, Dakota on her heels.

“Girls, who wants to invite a friend over tomorrow?” This way he could get some work done while they played with the school friends they missed. He was lucky he’d found a diligent first-year associate who wanted to work his ass off to one day be partner. He made Noah’s life so much easier but no matter how much work he had, he’d always put his girls first. And after that last interview, he was at a loss about hiring someone who could care for them the way they deserved.

“I want Olivia!”

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