Page 14 of The Stud Next Door (Frisky Business 3)
“This conversation is interesting and all,” Caleb says with a waggle of his eyebrows. “But we all know what needs to happen. One of us takes it home, gives it a go, and then reports back his findings.”
“Well, it won’t be me,” I say with a grunt. This dad isn’t going to be getting any action anytime soon.
Suddenly all eyes are on me, the guys’ expressions varying from concerned to skeptical.
“What?” I grumble, silently cursing for drawing attention to myself.
A slow smile unfurls on Hayes’ lips. “Usually you’re the first to jump on a take-home demo.”
I shrug. Yeah, maybe the old me. Things have changed this past year. How does he not recognize that?
The bell on the front door rings, and we all turn our heads. When I move to go and greet the customer, Hayes catches my shoulder. “Caleb, can you—”
“On it.” Caleb gives Hayes a mock salute, hopping over some cardboard boxes on his way out.
Wolfie grunts, slides his laptop under his arm, and makes himself scarce.
“When was the last time you went on a date?” Hayes asks in full-on intervention mode, his brows knitted in concern.
“I don’t fucking know,” I say with a sigh. I dated a few women after Beth, but the news of her pregnancy killed any chance of pursuing a second date. And God knows I haven’t slept with anyone since.
“You good, man?” Hayes asks.
“Yeah. No. I’m fine,” I say with a little laugh. But the sound that comes out of me is more of a strained cough than the good-natured chuckle it’s meant to be. “It’s been almost a year.”
“Since . . .”
I lean in, keeping my voice low. I’m man enough not to be ashamed of it, but I definitely don’t want to shout it from the rooftops. “It’s been almost a year since I’ve had sex.”
Hayes’s eyes widen as the words hang limply in the air between us.
I’m about to come up with some lame-ass excuse about being a working dad when the door creaks and my attention swings in that direction. Caleb leans against the door frame, and behind him, Jessa stands like a statue with Marley in her stroller, squirming happily at the sight of me.
“What impeccable timing,” Hayes says under his breath.
I’m off the hook, at least for now, about answering his questions. But based on his reaction, I can tell Hayes isn’t going to let this go.
“Hi,” Jessa says softly, her expression guarded.
I have no doubt that she overheard everything I just said. Fuck.
“Jessa, good to see you.” Hayes jumps in, recovering quickly and finessing the situation like the pro he is. “Let’s go, Caleb. We’ve got shit to do.”
As he and Caleb leave us in the back room, I take a little comfort in the sight of him smacking Caleb upside the head on their way out.
I’d completely forgotten that Jessa said she was going to come by sometime this week. Being the genuinely kind human she is, she expressed interest. Then I, being the genuinely insane human that I am, told her to drop by Frisky Business with Marley whenever she wanted to.
Not like seeing Jessa around the very toys I’ve imagined demoing with her would fuck with my head at all. Not one bit.
I’m such a dumbass.
“Hey,” I say, flashing her a grin that will hopefully erase all memory of what she just heard from the record.
She smiles back, the blush on her cheeks only growing pinker. So much for that.
“You guys having a good day?” I reach down to unlatch Marley from her stroller and ruffle her hair.
“We sure are.” Jessa nods. “Had breakfast, then a nap. I figured we’d take a little outing before lunch.”
“Sounds like it’s been a great day so far.” This kind of conversation I can do. Let’s keep it to small talk, and I’m golden.
“What’s that?” she asks, nodding toward the conspicuous toy still resting innocently on the desk.
And suddenly we’ve veered from business to personal very, very quickly. I set it down out of sight.
“Just a toy we’re thinking about adding to our regular inventory,” I say with a shrug, lifting Marley out of the stroller and into my arms. When I press a big fat kiss to her big fat cheek, I think I hear Jessa sigh. “You okay?”
“Oh yeah, I’m fine,” she says a little loudly. Catching herself, she smiles. “It’s just cute seeing you two together.”
“Yeah?” I chuckle, trying to keep Marley’s hands from venturing inside my mouth. “This is cute, huh?”
“Uh-huh.” Jessa nods, meeting my eyes as she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.
When our gaze locks for a second longer than what is deemed casual, she ducks her head and busies herself, looking down the aisles of the stockroom. So I take the opportunity to check her out.
Today, her hair is down, brushing the skin of her collarbones and shoulders, which would be bare if not for the thin straps of her dress. It’s a soft, summery fabric with white and yellow flowers, and stops just above her knees. On her feet are the sneakers I’ve come to look forward to seeing on the front hall mat. A sexy but sensible outfit, like she wanted to impress me but knew she was still on the job. My dick strains against my zipper at the thought.
