Page 22 of Flashback
“Yes, and I’m getting more of your pie now,” Rylan reminded her as he pulled up to the curb in front of her place.
“What?”
“You promised me another slice if I brought you home.”
“I did no such thing,” she asserted with a frown. “I could have easily gotten a lift from Alyssa, butyouinsisted it wasn’t a big deal to drop me home.”
Rylan grinned. “I may have had ulterior motives.”
“Oh.” She arched an eyebrow at him.
“Yeah. The only pie left I know about is in there.” He pointed at her house.
“I’m not sure you deserve another piece.”
He turned in his seat and gave her his best winning smile. The one that he’d been told could get the favor of a nun. “Please. Pretty please.” He even batted his lashes and tipped his head down and to the side.
This time when she laughed at him, he laughed with her.
He’d been laying it on thick because he wanted to make her laugh. She did it from the belly. It was a little loud and a little sharp, but it was natural, and he loved that. Renee’s fake laugh had driven him nuts.
The more time he spent away from his ex-wife, and the more he interacted with other women, the more he discovered his ex wasn’t someone he was attracted to. He was certain they wouldn’t have gotten married without the positive pregnancy test.
“One slice as a thank you for taking me to and from Christian’s.”
“Yes!”
Glad to be pulled out of thinking about his ex-wife, Rylan switched off the truck and climbed out. Mazey had already retrieved her pie plates from behind her seat and was halfway across her lawn when he caught up with her.
“Here, let me take those.”
“I’ve got them.”
“Then let me unlock the door.” He reached for the key ring dangling from her fingers. She gave him a look he couldn’t decipher before dropping them into his outstretched hand. Making quick work of opening the door, he ushered Mazey inside and closed it behind them.
The house still smelled like pie, and Rylan couldn’t decide if it was the aromas saturating his system, or the sight of Mazey’s tight ass in the denim shorts she’d worn to the barbecue and those mile-long legs as she walked ahead of him to the kitchen that made his mouth water and his gut clench.
He’d like to think they were friends. And he was a firm believer in men and women being friends without sex muddying the water, but he had to admit that might not be the case with them.
He wanted to have sex with Mazey. Had been thinking about it for weeks, and for the first time in his life, he wasn’t sure how to proceed.
They worked together. That complicated things. Staying away from her wasn’t an option, and he didn’t want to anyway.
He liked her. Her. As a person. Not only as a woman he wanted to press against the nearest surface and ravage.
Although he definitely wanted to do that. At the soonest possible opportunity.
Except helikedher.
Liked hanging out with her at work and outside of it.
She hadn’t told him much about her past on a personal level, but she’d told him all about nursing in a busy ER, and he admired her for making it to the heights she had at her previous job. It was funny how he could know so much and yet so little about her at the same time.
“Cherry or apple?”
“Is that another trick question?” he asked with a grin. “I’ll take both.”
Fingers wrapped around the handle of the fridge door, she said, “How about I give you a slice now and a slice to take home? Too much sugar isn’t a good thing, you know. And, while I made these from scratch with fresh fruit, they are definitely a sugar overload.”
