Page 14 of This Baby Business
He understood. That was a lot safer than dealing with…whateverthiswas. There was a definite pull between them, and he didn’t know what to do about that. Acting on it would probably be stupid. But face it, stupid was pretty much his calling card when it came to women. Still, the appeal didn’t make sense to him. She’d normally not be his type at all, but he felt a magnetism that had to do with a lot more than with her looks. Even though shewasincredibly pretty. Naturally beautiful. Yeah, that was the thing about it. She didn’ttryvery hard. It was just…there.
He took a step closer, telling himself he wanted to see what she’d written down about the crib. “What are you writing?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Why?”
But his height gave him an advantage. “Because from here it looks like a doodle.”
A floor-length dress, which had pretty much nothing to do with the efficacy of the directions to this crib. Unless he was missing something.
“It’s a sketch.” She pulled it away from him.
“Cool,” he said. “You don’t have to be shy about it.”
She blushed again and gnawed at her lower lip. “I’m notshyabout it. It’s just not…never mind.”
“Already forgot all about it.”
She folded up the piece of paper. “Let’s talk about you. Have you decided if you’re going to retain my services yet?”
He quirked an eyebrow. “Yourservices?”
“My baby help.” She put her hands on hips. “I don’t offer any other…services.”
Shame.“You’ve got the job. You didn’t realize it, but this was your interview. And you passed.”
“I did?” She smiled, clutching the folded paper against her chest.
“I like to make sure that my nannies can put together a crib. Just because. I’m weird that way.”
“Thatisweird.”
“Yeah. You’ll do just fine.”
“You won’t be sorry.” She traced the edge of the crib rail with one finger. “I’ve got a lot of baby knowledge.”
He took a step closer, just to make sure he’d chosen the correct three-point level for the mattress rise, he told himself. “When they’re infants, you use the highest level. This adjusts for later, you know.”
She came up beside him. “Good to know.”
It occurred to him that he possibly stood a little closer than he should. Somehow that didn’t bother him at all as his eyes met hers. He was close enough to see every tiny speck of green. When his gaze slipped to her lickable lips, he knew he was in trouble here. She was sexy and pretty. Real. Not at all stuck-up as he’d previously assumed. And she was one hell of a complication in his already chaotic life.
But he’d be lying if he didn’t admit he wanted her.
He reached out to tug on a lock of her hair. Silky soft, too. Her eyes were shadowed with lust, making him feel like a superhero for the first time in a long while. He couldn’t actually remember the last time he’d seen a woman look at him that way. This was good, because damned if he didn’t want to be alone in this…whatever this was. With his hand on the nape of her neck, he pulled her close enough that they shared oxygen. Her eyes were warm and fluid, showing him all the things he wanted to see. An invitation. A welcome.
He kissed her, deep, long and lingering. When her tongue met his, soft and tentative, he tugged her closer still. Took the kiss deeper and wilder.
She pulled back, a bit out of breath. “What was that?”
“I kissed you. And I think you liked it.”
As if to acknowledge that yes, she liked it, she kissedhimthis time. Her hands were on him, clutching his T-shirt, hanging on. He clung, too, one hand dropping to her hip, where he pulled her closer. The other he used to grab a handful of her wild hair in his fist.
From the monitor, Grace wailed. And every good part of him froze.
Carly tensed under his fingertips and he lowered his forehead to hers. “I should go.”
“Yeah. Y-you should.” She stepped away, an unreadable gaze in her eyes.
