Chapter 4 Selene #2
His ball cap was turned backward, and as his eyes flicked up and locked on mine, my stomach took a nosedive.
Oh, he was very aware of how good he looked.
My thoughts jumbled. He’s just a man. A man with tattoos and forearms and a face like trouble wearing a backward cap. And a mouth I definitely don’t think about. Ever.
Kit’s elbow bumped into my ribs. “So how’s life with your hot neighbor?”
“Oh yes.” Elodie leaned forward, resting her elbow on her knee and her chin in her hand. “What’s he like?” she asked. “I’ve only met him a couple of times, and he just seemed so charming.”
I schooled my face into a model of indifference. “I wouldn’t know. We haven’t spoken.”
Kit lifted her nose in the air to tease me. “I wouldn’t know. We haven’t spoken.” She laughed. “You’re telling me with those paper-thin walls, you haven’t heard the shower running and thought of that man naked?”
Thankfully Winnie was out of earshot, working on twisting together a dandelion crown with a friend from school. I could feel the heat creeping up my collarbone and cheeks.
I’m certainly thinking of it now.
“You’re hilarious,” I deadpanned.
“I’m just saying,” Kit chimed in, “that man looks like he could chop wood shirtless and ruin your life in the best way.”
Elodie giggled. “I know on good authority there is almost nothing hotter than watching a man chop wood.” Her gaze drifted to Cal as she smiled.
A part of me—one I usually kept locked up tight—wondered what it would feel like to be wanted like that again.
Recklessly. No questions asked.
I shook my head and tried not to imagine Austin as a shirtless lumberjack.
As the game wore on, I focused on the way the white puffy clouds floated across a clean blue sky, a bird digging for worms in the grass, Winnie’s hair in tangles that she would surely fight me on as I brushed them out tonight at bath time.
Anything but sneaking glances at a particular shortstop whose ass looked like it was made from granite.
When the game finally ended, we offered polite claps to hide the groans from another crushing loss.
The other team and their fans celebrated while the majority of Star Harbor packed up their chairs and blankets and headed toward their cars.
As I packed the bits of discarded snack wrappers and sucked down the remains of a half-finished juice box, my eyes flicked up and landed directly on Austin, but he was already looking at me.
My spine stiffened as he winked and started walking directly toward us.
Winnie also noticed and began waving wildly. “Hi! Hi!” She turned to me. “Mom, it’s our neighbor.” Then she turned back to Austin. “Hi.”
It was the moment that my soul left my body.
My pulse hammered in my throat as Austin draped his forearms on the fence beside the dugout, his wrists crossing. “Hey, neighbor.” His grin stretched across his face.
Think, think, think.
All I could do was blink at him until something sharp pinched my side—Kit.
“Hi,” I choked out.
A throaty chuckle vibrated between us as his grin widened. “Are you ladies sticking around for a few rounds at the Lantern?”
It was common knowledge that the softball team celebrated wins and losses with beers at the local dive, the Lady’s Lantern.
I had glanced at my sisters, hoping for any type of rescue, when Kit hopped off the bleachers. “Nope,” the P popped effortlessly as she landed on her feet.
“Maybe.” Elodie smiled as she moved away from the bleachers and wrapped herself in Cal’s arms with a giggle.
“What about you?” Austin’s eyes raked down my front, and I could feel every smoldering inch of his gaze.
“I have Winnie.” I adjusted my attention to my daughter, occupying myself by fixing the hair behind her back. “No fun for me,” I joked.
“I’m sure you get to have a little fun.” His voice was thick and dripped with innuendo.
Oh god, he remembers.
He had to remember. He was smiling like he knew exactly what I tasted like and was dying to bring it up right in front of me.
“Of course we have fun, Mama,” Winnie exclaimed. “We go to the beach and dance with the waves. We bake cookies and plant flowers.”
I softened and smiled down at my daughter. “You’re absolutely right, Win.” I scrunched my nose at her. “We do have lots of fun, don’t we?”
At that moment Brody jogged over to our little group, a towel around his neck, and handed Austin a Gatorade. “Hey, have you two officially met yet?”
“No.”
“Oh yeah.”
Our voices tangled over each other as my eyes flared in Austin’s direction. He had the decency to wipe away his smile with a swipe of his hand.
Brody either didn’t hear or chose to ignore our awkward interaction as he finished half of his Gatorade in one chug.
“You should consider asking him for help with Winnie,” Brody said.
“He lives right next door, helps out with the construction stuff, and is good with kids. His schedule with Wes is flexible, so both mornings and evenings shouldn’t be a problem. ”
My jaw and my stomach dropped. I nearly laughed, but instead the sound was more of a panicked, unhinged hack.
“Are you okay?” Brody asked.
“Fine. I just, um,” I stammered.
“Just a thought.” Brody shrugged. He slipped the towel from around his shoulders and snapped it, whipping Austin in the butt hard enough to make him yelp.
I finished packing our things, doing whatever I could to steady my breathing as my heartbeat danced wildly out of control.
With Winnie tucked under my arm to keep her from running off, we headed back to our cars. I stared straight ahead, making a beeline for my escape.
The man I’d had completely anonymous, slightly illegal forest sex with was now playing softball with my family, waving at my daughter, and being recommended as my childcare solution.
This is not sustainable.
As I buckled Winnie into the car, I glanced across the lot to see Austin talking with my brother, Hayes. Somehow that man had gotten my impossible grump of a brother to actually laugh.
Winnie had noticed too. “I like Austin. He seems nice.”
A half-hearted hum was all I could manage as my brain all but imploded.