He flashed me a stunning smile. He even had a twinkle in his eyes that set me on edge. My breath caught.
“Good to know, Lexi. Good to know.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to ask why, but perhaps I was better off not knowing.
Oh, Lexi. You’re playing with fire.
Chapter Five
Lexi
On Friday afternoon one week later, I could sense victory. Saturday and Sunday were going to be completely Tate-free. Last weekend had helped me clear my head, but being near Tate every morning this week muddled it all up again. If being near him didn’t help, then distance should do the trick. I was hoping, at least.
Paisley and I went biking again, but we also stayed on North Avenue Beach, enjoying the sun and swimming in the lake. It was far too hot outside. The water was cold, but neither of us cared; we wanted to cool off, and this was what we needed. I kept a close eye on her, but she was a proficient swimmer. Even so, I was next to her the whole time we were in the water. She liked swimming even more than I did, and I only convinced her to get out of the lake when black clouds rolled in. They’d announced this morning that there would be a storm in the evening, but I honestly didn’t buy it because it was so sunny until now.
“I’m tired and sooooo hungry,” she said once we were back in dry clothes.
“So am I. We can Uber home if you want. I’ll order a big car so the bikes also fit.”
Paisley shook her head. “I can do it. And then Daddy promised veggie curry for dinner. I can’t wait.”
The mention of Tate made my stomach somersault. The bright side was that I had half an hour on the bike to brace myself for seeing him and then probably another hour or so in the house. That was plenty of time to get my act together.
“Okay.”
Uber was still my backup plan, though, in case it started raining. The clouds were dark gray, and the air seemed heavy, the way it usually did before a summer storm.
We were lucky—we only felt a few raindrops on the way, but the thunderstorm rolled in as soon as we got inside the house.
To my dismay, Tate was already home, even though it was only five o’clock. He came toward us, walking slowly. He was wearing a black T-shirt that clung a bit to his torso like his skin was still humid. Clearly he’d just showered. He was also wearing jeans. I’d never seen him dressed so casually, and I could barely keep myself from checking out his abs.
There went my plan to brace myself.
“Daddy, I am hungryyyyyyyyyyyy,” Paisley exclaimed, running right past him and into the kitchen.
“I already made sandwiches until dinner is ready,” he called after her.
Instead of following Paisley, he advanced toward me, blue eyes trained on me. “And you, Lexi? Want to stay until the thunderstorm is over? The rain is pretty damn strong. Even with an umbrella, you’ll get soaked walking to the car.”
That was a great excuse.
I bit my lip, wondering if this was smart. He must have picked up on my hesitation, because he cocked a brow. “I’m not letting you walk out in this storm, Lexi. It’s not safe.”
“You’re not letting me?”
My God, the alpha vibes rolling off him weakened my knees.
“No.”
“Well, then. Okay.”
I didn't have the willpower to say no, and I could only describe the look in his eyes as triumphant.
Oh, Lexi, what did you do?
The thunderstorm only intensified during dinner. Tate made a veggie curry with basmati rice, and it was utterly delicious.
"Your cooking is amazing," I said.
He winked. "I’ve had lots of practice."
Paisley beamed. "Daddy is the best cook. Once we had a cooking competition in school and he won it. All the other moms were so mad."
I pressed my lips together, biting back a chuckle.
"Notice the emphasis on moms," he said out of the corner of his mouth. "Says a lot about gender expectations, right?"
I nodded, taking another mouthful of rice. I liked that he didn't care about any of that. I could imagine him showing up at school at a cooking competition. He was a man of many talents, that was for sure.
After dinner, Paisley said she wanted to sit on the couch and watch TV, but she fell asleep two minutes later.
"We went swimming in addition to biking today," I whispered. "It's not a surprise that she's asleep."
"I'll take her upstairs really quick," he said. Looking straight at me, he added, "Wait for me here."
My heart thundered in my chest. I knew being alone with him wasn't a good idea, but I couldn't bring myself to say no.
“I have an excellent wine,” he continued.
And he was bribing me with drinks!
“I’ll stay, but only on one condition.”
“And what’s that?” he asked.
“I want something that’s not on the market yet.”
“I’m sure I’ll find something to your liking, Ms. Langley.” His eyes widened.
Was it an involuntary flirty line? Yes. Yes, it was. And his daughter was asleep a few feet away from us. I wasn’t sure staying was such a good idea. But we were both adults, and we’d drawn a line in the sand.
"Okay. I'll wait here," I said.
"Good."
I tried not to melt too much when he picked up Paisley in his arms. She immediately put her head slightly lower than his shoulder, and he brought his hand to the back of her head, sustaining it with so much ease that it was obvious this happened often.
How could this mountain of a man be so gentle?
I paced the kitchen, unsure what to do with myself while I was waiting for him. I still had some rice to finish, so I sat back in my chair and continued eating.
He came back a few minutes later. I glanced up as I heard his footsteps and really looked at him for the first time tonight.
The man was too handsome. His attraction score skyrocketed in casual clothing. Not like he needed it. The black T-shirt molded perfectly to his sculpted abs and revealed more of his arms than the shirt. The sleeves cut into his biceps. Yum. I trained my gaze on him, but he cocked a brow, making me blush.
"You want seconds?" he asked, pointing at the pan with the curry.
"No, thanks. I'm good. I finished eating this portion. It was huge, but I ate it all anyway. It was so good that I didn't want to miss one bite."
"I'm glad you liked it." He'd finished his plate, but he sat in the chair next to me. We'd been sitting in the same spots before too, but without Paisley here as a buffer, the tension between us was palpable. His presence was overwhelming and all-consuming.
"Are you happy after the second week?" he asked.
"It was fun, and it's easy to be with Paisley. She’s so curious about everything.”
“What about me, Lexi? How easy am I?” He pinned me with his blue eyes, and I was instantly on edge, squirming.
“I’m still not sure about that.” Licking my lips, I averted my gaze. “Back to Paisley. I wanted to ask you if some topics are off-limits and if there’s any stuff you don't want me to talk to her about."
He frowned. "Like what?"
I cleared my throat. "Like boys."
He jerked his head back, eyes wide. "She asked about boys?"