Page 83 of Snow, Ice, and Spice
She blinks before looking down at our joined hands. She takes a second to glance at my suit jacket on her. “Yeah, I’m…”
“Maya.” Her name is a soft growl on my tongue. “It’s me. You don’t have to hide anything. Tell me what’s up.”
A flustered smile pulls at her lips. “Sorry, I guess I was a little bit thrown off back there.”
“By what?”
I watch as the hesitation plays out in those hypnotic deep brown eyes. And then she lets out a breath. “This is gonna sound weird.”
“Try me.”
“Seeing you hold baby Evelyn was ridiculously sexy. You looked like a hot dad.”
I pause for a second, stunned. “Okay yeah, I wasn’t expecting you to say that.”
She pulls her lips into her mouth and her gaze falls to the pavement, like she’s embarrassed by what she’s said.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean that what you said was bad. I was just surprised,” I say quickly. “I like that you think I look like a hot dad.”
She looks back up at me. “You do?”
I nod. I let my hands fall to her waist and grip her tight. “I’ve been called a lot of things. Hottie. Hunk. Handsome. Hot dad is a first.”
Her head falls back as she laughs. “Like your ego needs to be even bigger.”
I shrug. “You said it, not me.”
She gives me a playful smack on the shoulder before cupping my face with her hand. “Look, I know that this…thing between us is casual.”
Casual
Just hearing that word feels like someone sticking a needle in my side. It shouldn’t feel like that…I know this setup between us is just sex. But to hear her say it feels off. Wrong, actually.
“And I guess I was a little scared that if I admitted to you that seeing you cuddle a baby made you even hotter in my eyes, you’d take it like I want something more serious with you now.”
“Do you want this to be serious, Maya?” The words fall out of my mouth before I can even think about what I’ve said. I wasn’t even planning on saying that. But it just happened, like a reflex. I said it because it felt right.
And then I realize: I like the idea of getting serious with Maya. I like spending every single day with her. I like the thought of my feelings for her growing and intensifying.
She leans back, clearly surprised at what I’ve said. “Do you?”
My heart thuds in my chest as I open my mouth. No words come out though. I’m too nervous to put my feelings on the line and get shot down by the woman I’m falling for more and more each day.
So I stay quiet and hold eye contact with Maya. I watch as her gaze goes from confused to focused…like she can tell exactly what I’m thinking.
She doesn’t pull away, like I’m scared she would. She rests her palms on my chest. Like she’s sure—like she’s certain she wants to be right here, like she’d rather be standing here in the cold with me than anywhere else.
My heart thuds as I let the words materialize in my head.
I know I’m the last person in the world anyone would want to get serious with. I’ve slept around like it was an Olympic sport and my only serious relationship was in high school. But I’ve never felt this way with anyone before you. Screw casual. I want to get serious with you, Maya.
I open my mouth and start to speak, but then the squeak of the door on the far side of the building swinging open interrupts me. A burst of laughter follows.
We both whip our heads around and see Maya’s mom holding hands with a tall guy I’m guessing is Maya’s dad. Since we’re at the far end of the outdoor seating area and they’re facing away from us, they don’t see us standing a dozen feet away.
“Sneaking out the side door of your restaurant, Andre? Really?” her mom says in a teasing tone.
“I couldn’t help myself. I needed to get you alone for a minute.”
