Page 39 of Almost Always

“With you? Always.”

“Good. Lunch or dinner?”

“Lunch might be easier. Unless Cal is invited too?”

She hesitated and flashed him a sheepish smile. “Maybe just us this one time?”

“Of course. I only asked so I can make babysitting plans.”

“You sure?” she asked and he could see the worry in her eyes.

“Absolutely.”

She nodded, lips split into a smile. “This weekend?”

“Yes. Wait,” he muttered and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He remembered adding a bunch of things to his calendar. When his eyes landed on the three day blue banner, he sighed. “I can’t this weekend. How about sometime during the week?”

“I can make that work. What’s going on this weekend?”

“I have to be in New York for a client meeting.”

She tilted her head. “Why don’t you sound excited about it?”

“It’s a three day trip and I haven’t decided if I should take Cal with me or not.”

“Does he not want to go back to the city?”

He shrugged. His father would probably be able to keep Cal entertained if asked, but he didn’t want to disrupt his son’s routine. Besides that, he was driving up and Cal would not enjoy the two hours he’d be trapped in the car.

“Okay, tell me about this client.”

He smiled, glad that she still understood his long silences. “She’s one of those wealthy Upper East Side ladies, lots of money and doesn’t know what to do with it. Or at least that’s what the folks at the office insist. I think she’s doing something great with her money, especially since she’s got this plot of land in Harlem and her foundation wants to build a community garden for the families they work with.”

“That sounds amazing.”

He nodded, rubbing a hand over his beard. “The plans I drew up are also pretty awesome, if I say so myself. Now I need to get them to sign off on everything so we can start the work.”

“So that’s why you’re going to the city, to convince them.”

Chuckling, he straightened up. “Something like that.”

Her hand landed on his arm and squeezed. “Use yourdad voice. Everything will work out.”

“My dad voice? What the hell is that?”

She laughed and pulled her hand away, he missed her touch instantly. “It gets low, rough and sexy, all serious-like. But I think you could modulate your tone for these rich pricks.”

“Sexy, huh?”

“It’s hot,” she admitted in a whisper.

“That’s twice in one day, Hero. You got a thing for me or something?” he joked and she shrugged, eyes fixed ahead as pink crawled up her neck.

I have a thing for you, if that helps.

Boots was suddenly up against the fence, front paws attempting to lift over the top. Rafferty leaped off the bench and rushed over to open the gate for him instead. Clipping his leash on, he brought the dog back to where they were seated and Daisy was instantly loving on him. Boots looked happy as shit, tail wagging like it might propel him off the ground. It didn’t surprise him at all that all the men in the Ames household were taken by this woman.

And now he couldn’t wait for this weekend to go by quickly.

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