Page 17 of Bartender's Surprise Baby

"I'm making a basket. Start with construction paper and glue yarn to it. Trust me."

"I do." We worked well together.

She looked up from the basket and grinned. "How about I make us dinner on your next night off?"

My brows shot up. "You're going to cook for me?"

"Yeah. I can follow instructions as well as anybody else. Unless you'd rather go out?"

I shrugged. "Only if you want to stay in because you don't want to be seen with me." It was a genuine fear I had, but I hated how I felt after saying the words. "Sorry."

"Don't be," she smiled. "I love spending time with you, Levi. Things are just so good right now that I'm afraid the real world will intervene and screw it up."

I sighed and reached for her hand. "I get it, I do. And I'd love to have a beautiful woman cooking me a meal."

Her shoulders relaxed. "Then I'll start looking up recipes." She got back to work, decorating the basket and then making eggs while I worked on cutting construction-paper bunny ears. "I think we're done. How does it look?"

I pulled the basket closer and inspected it seriously. "Who knew you had such a talent for arts and crafts?"

"You'd be surprised how many times you have to improvise during photo shoots, runway shows, and even red-carpet events. Oh, and I grew up in this town that turned every detail of a holiday into a competition."

She was so damn cute. "You're a shark. It's adorable."

"Did you just call me adorable?"

I nodded. "An adorable shark. Is that a problem?"

"Nobody ever calls me adorable. I kind of like it." She flashed a gorgeous grin that I felt all the way down to my toes. "All done," she called out with a smile.

"Now what?"

"Now, we wait." Her brows wiggled, and she licked her lips. "Bet we have time to sneak off and make out before they announce a winner."

"You don't have to ask me twice." Anytime I could put my lips on Rob was a good time. The woman kissed like she did everything else—with her whole heart and enough passion to fuel a jet.

"Great, come on!" It turned out we didn't have to go far, slipping into a crowd of trees a few hundred feet away. Rob backed into a tree and pulled me close, kissing me as if we hadn't kissed in months. Her fingers speared through my hair, and she moaned into my mouth with a sense of urgency I hadn't experienced in a long time, if ever. The way she held me and touched me, as if I was precious to her.

It gave me hope.

My hands slid down and gripped her ass, bringing her body flush against mine. "I can't get enough of you, Rob."

She giggled. "It's a good thing you don't have to." She nibbled my bottom lip until I growled and gripped her tighter. "Levi," she moaned. "How about after—" she began, but I cut her off.

"Yes." I couldn't get enough of her, and I didn't want to.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner!" The mayor's voice boomed across the park.

"We should get back," I told her, taking her hand in mine as we walked back.

"And here come the lovebirds, I mean our winning team now," Mayor Stevens smiled at us, and Rob stopped.

"What? We won?"

"You won," she said through a laugh.

"We won, Levi! We won!" She jumped up and down excitedly, dotting my cheeks with kisses. "We won. You must be my good luck charm."

Her smile was bright enough to stop my heart. "I'll be your charm anytime." This woman was going to be the end of me and the life I thought I wanted. I just knew it.

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