She regained her composure, daring herself to look him in the eye. “You might have looked good.”
He crossed his arms, nodding. “Uh-huh.”
“Don’t go getting too big for your britches,” she warned. “You look good out there, but the three little running backs you have living with you now are a whole different type of team.”
Maxwell laughed, the sparkle in his eyes equal parts contagious and alarming.
Contagious because she knew it would be all too easy to fall into him, to get swept away by these charms. And alarming because she knew what choosing to fall would lead to.
It had burned her before. And with someone like Maxwell—effortlessly handsome, jaw-droppingly sexy, could have his pick of any NFL cheerleader any day of the week—it wasn’t a matter of whether she’d get burned.
It was a question of when.
7
That Wednesday, Maxwell was back at the Sharks training facility for another week of work, practice, and reviewing tapes. The Sharks had eked out a win for their last game, which meant they were that much closer to starting the playoffs in the best position possible. Even though he was feeling good—well-rested, energetic, and positive about the kids despite that Monday’s bout of zaniness—he couldn’t keep his mind off the triplets. More specifically, he couldn’t keep his mind off what Jill might be doing. What she might be saying. What sort of sexy looks she might send his way if he were home with her.
She hadn’t stopped by after work the previous night, which he was thankful for but also disappointed by. This was a weird situation to be in—wanting to prove to Jill he could handle things, while also craving, down to a bone-level, seeing her as much as he possibly could.
And no, he couldn’t stop thinking about that look she’d gotten on her face Monday night when their teasing had turned into flirtation. It was practically a drug. Maybe that was the cause of his good mood these past couple of days.
The truth was obvious: he was into Auntie Jill. Way into her. And he wished she’d start spending the night again. Instead, she’d burst through the door that morning at 6 a.m. on the dot, pushing him out toward his car, wishing him a good day. If she started spending the night, maybe they could start having some fun after the kids went to bed…
“Hey. Maxwell.” Mark smacked his arm, leaning in close with his brows drawn together. “Are you even listening?”
“What?” He blinked, looking around. The weight room had cleared out since he last noticed. He’d been in a total dreamy daze, doing leg presses and thinking about Jill.
“Coach said there’s something wrong with the carbon monoxide detectors. We gotta clear out.”
“Oh, shit. Okay.” Maxwell snatched up his sweat towel, swiping it across his face. “What’s the plan, then?”
Mark shook his head. “You really weren’t listening, were you?”
“Kinda distracted today.”
“Understandable. You got three kids under three,” Mark said with a laugh. The kids weren’t the reason for the distraction, but Maxwell wasn’t ready to get into it. “We’ve gotta evacuate, so Coach said we’ll just call it a day.”
Maxwell’s brows shot up, and he checked the clock on the wall. It wasn’t even lunchtime. “This early? Damn.”
“I know. Looks like we got a snow day,” Mark said, clapping Maxwell’s back as they headed to the locker room. “Or our version of it, at least. Coach said they should have it figured out by the end of the day, but protocol says we gotta dip.”
“Right. Gotta protect all this amazing talent.” Maxwell pushed through the big doors leading into the locker room, where most of the team was in various states of gathering their things to leave. The entire room buzzed with conversation.
James came up to them. “You guys wanna go out for lunch?”
“I’m game,” Mark said. James looked toward Maxwell, the question marks on his face.
“Uh…” Maxwell started.
“Come on,” James said. “We got all this extra time.”
And his friend was right. But when it came to where Maxwell wanted to spend his free time…well…he knew right away. And it wasn’t at a restaurant with these guys.
He needed to go see Jill. His mind had been stuck on her since 6 a.m., and he was ready to see if he could figure out how to get himself unstuck. He had a pretty good idea of what might do the trick, and it involved finally tasting her beautiful lips.
“Honestly, guys, I just wanna get home and give Jill a break. She does all the heavy lifting during the week, and she opened up her new practice two days ago.”
“Dang. Such a family man,” Mark said, lifting a brow. “You and Jill engaged yet or what?”
Maxwell wanted to scoff at that, to let his friends know how ridiculous that sounded, but he couldn’t force the reaction.
“One step at a time,” was all he could say.
James howled. “I knew there were sparks that evening at Ernie’s.”
Maxwell rolled his eyes, packing up his duffel bag as quick as he could. “Man. You guys are crazy now that you’re married with kids.”
“Neither of us are married,” Mark protested. “Yet.”
“Right, but you might as well be,” Maxwell countered, slinging the strap over his shoulder.
“Don’t you want to be?” James teased. “You’ve already got the kids. You’ve got the hot partner. Why not go all the way?”
“Undecided, buddy,” Maxwell said, raising his palm for a round of high fives from his friends. “But let’s not put the cart before the horse. I just want to kiss her face off for starters.”
“Good place to start,” Mark conceded.
He said goodbye to his teammates before hurrying out of the quiet facility. His sneakers scuffed on the tiled floor as he pushed his way into the parking lot, the November morning air pleasant and fragrant. His mind swirled with thoughts as he started his car and headed for home. Jill had to be there with the kids, which meant they could enjoy the triplets’ blessed two-hour nap as some solo adult time. And right now, he’d take what he could get.
Jill’s moss-green SUV was exactly where she’d left it. He hurried inside, expecting the hustle and bustle of the triplets to greet him. Instead, the house was strangely quiet.
“Hello?” he called out, walking toward the kitchen. He didn’t see anybody there, nor in the living room or the backyard. He checked the other rooms downstairs, all the way to the laundry room, but nothing. Curiosity swirled inside him, and he trotted up the staircase, his footsteps falling quietly on the carpet. From down the hallway, soft music drifted. Sounded like R&B to him. He stopped by the triplets’ room first, but it was empty. Where were they?
When he got to his bedroom, the music got louder. Something slow-paced and sensual. He pushed inside, the music growing louder still. His bathroom door hung open, and he followed the sound there.
“And I saaaaid…” Jill sang to the music, her eyes shut as she crooned.
In his bathtub. Taking a bath.
Completely naked.
Maxwell froze, uncertain if he wanted to interrupt, and quite possibly unable to make a move from here. Because what he was witnessing was beautiful. The most perfect, unexpected end to his short workday.