Building the Perfect Daddy

by Brenda Harlen

  “You play Barbies?” Kylie asked her babysitter.

  “I can play whatever you want,” Maura told her.

  The little girl beamed and skipped off to get her dolls.

  “I guess that’s everything,” Lauryn said, picking up her purse and heading to the door.

  “Not quite,” Maura said, following her.

  “What did I forget?”

  The babysitter held out her arms to take the baby.

  “Oh, right.” Feeling foolish and oddly reluctant, she pressed a kiss to Zachary’s forehead and passed him to Maura.

  Rachel followed her out the door. “They’ll be fine,” she promised.

  “I know they will,” Lauryn agreed.

  “I see Andrew finally remembered to come over and replace those weak boards,” Rachel noted, looking at the new wood beneath her feet.

  “Actually, that was Ryder,” Lauryn told her.

  “Oh, right—I heard that his crew is doing some work on the house.” The other woman’s eyes twinkled. “How’s that going?”

  “I wouldn’t know, I’m not allowed to even peek in the kitchen.”

  “I’m not talking about the kitchen but the man.”

  “I guess you’re a fan of Ryder to the Rescue, too?”

  “I do like the look of a man in a tool belt,” Rachel confirmed. “Why do you think I married your cousin?”

  Lauryn sighed. “I wish I’d been half as smart and found a man who was handy around the house—or at least one who knew how to change a toilet paper roll.”

  “Well, you’ve got a Mr. Fix-It now.”

  “I don’t have him,” she denied.

  “Then you’re not trying hard enough,” her cousin’s wife said, followed by an exaggerated wink.

  Lauryn shook her head, but she was smiling when she drove away, and feeling incredibly grateful for the support of her often outrageous but always loving family.

  Because she was still thinking about Rachel and Maura when she pulled into a parking space in front of The Locker Room, she didn’t pay much attention to the pickup that occupied another space. It wasn’t until she got out of the van that she spotted the Renovations by Ryder logo on the side—and then saw the man himself leaning against the building near the door.

  “I came to help you with inventory,” he said, before she had a chance to ask.

  “Why?”

  “Because we can go for dinner when it’s done.”

  She narrowed her gaze. “I never agreed to that plan.”

  “I know. And I never suggested the plan because I knew you would think of some reason to shoot it down,” he admitted.

  He was right, and it irked her that he was right, that he could read her so easily. And, of course, now that he was here, she would feel ridiculous sending him away so that she could complete the task on her own. Instead, she shrugged, “I can’t say I understand why you want to spend your birthday counting golf balls, but I’m not going to refuse your help.”

  “I think you’ll figure out the why—” he flashed a quick grin “—eventually.”

  She slid a key into the lock to release the dead bolt, then stepped inside to disarm the alarm and gestured for him to enter, locking the door again at his back when he’d done so.

  “I’ve inventoried everything in the storeroom,” she told him, heading toward the back of the store. “But I haven’t had a chance to check what’s on the floor. I just need to get the lists from the office.”

  He followed her lead. She found the documents in the folder where she’d left them, but they weren’t exactly as she’d left them.

  “Is something wrong?” Ryder asked.

  “These are all complete.” She noted the initials in the corner of each page. “Somehow Adam got this all done today.”

  “I think your new manager is bucking for a raise.”

  She managed a smile. “He knows he’ll get one, as soon as I can afford to give it to him.”

  “Well, I’m glad that was quick, because I’m starving. All I’ve eaten since breakfast is a cupcake, and that’s only thanks to you.”

  “I’ve got half a dozen more that I meant to send home with you,” she told him.

  “We can get them after,” he told her, clearly not budging on the dinner idea.

  But sharing a meal with him—just the two of them—would really mess with the boundaries she was anxious to maintain. “Look, Ryder,” she said, trying to reason with him. “I’m flattered by the attention—as any woman would be—but you can’t possibly be interested in me.”

  “Why can’t I be?” he challenged.

  She hadn’t expected him to make her spell it out, but because she’d been thinking about him—and thinking about all of the reasons she shouldn’t be thinking about him—she had a ready answer. “Because you’re Charisma’s most famous handyman and heartthrob, and I’ve got one failed marriage, two kids and a few years on you.”

  “You’re really hung up on the age thing, aren’t you?” he mused.

  She shook her head. “Out of everything I just said, that’s the one fact you focused on?”

  “It’s the only fact I can’t dispute, because you refuse to tell me how old you are,” he pointed out. “Aside from that, I think I’ve figured out a way to prove my interest is real.”

  “How?” she asked warily.

  “Like this,” he said, and lowered his head to kiss her.

  Chapter Twelve

  Lauryn had seen the warning signs.

  The way her heart beat just a little bit faster whenever Ryder was near. The way even an accidental touch made her skin tingle. The way his smile made her feel all warm and fluttery inside. But she’d ignored those signs, attributing them to the fact that he was just so darn sexy and it had been so long since she’d felt anything.

  Still, she didn’t expect that her body would shift from slow burn to full blaze within a second of the first brush of his lips against hers.

  Then he lifted his hands to her face, his fingertips trailing gently along the line of her jaw, down her throat. The feather-light touch raised goose bumps on her skin and made everything inside her quiver. He slid a finger beneath her chin, tipping her head back just a little so that he could deepen the kiss.

  He coaxed her lips apart, slowly and gently, as if they had all the time in the world and he’d be happy to spend every minute of it kissing her. Then his tongue slid between them to dance with hers—a slow, sensual seduction that made everything inside her tremble and yearn.

  She’d never thought a kiss was a big deal. How could she have known when no one had ever kissed her the way that Ryder was kissing her now?

  When he finally eased his mouth from hers, they were both breathless.

  “Do you still think I’m not interested?” he asked her.

  “I can’t think at all when you kiss me,” she admitted.

  He smiled, apparently pleased with her response. “Good,” he said, and lowered his head again.

  She stepped back, quickly.

  Thankfully, he didn’t follow, because Lauryn wasn’t sure she had the willpower to turn away from him a second time.

  “What are you in the mood for?” he asked.

  She blinked, uncomprehending. “What?”

  His lips curved again in response to her obvious befuddlement. “For dinner,” he clarified.

  “Oh.” She exhaled a slow, unsteady breath and tried to refocus her thoughts.

  “Casa Mercado?” he suggested.

  She glanced down at her jeans and T-shirt. “I don’t think I’m appropriately dressed.”

  “Valentino’s?” he offered as an alternative.

  She shook her head. “Too much risk of running into my sister or her husband or someone else i
n his family who would report back to her.”

  “Report what?” he asked curiously.

  “That I was having dinner with America’s Hottest Handyman.”

  “An event not worthy of any tabloid headlines,” he assured her.

  “My sisters would disagree.”

  “Do you have a better suggestion for dinner?”

  She considered for a minute, then nodded decisively. “Eli’s.”

  * * *

  Eli’s was famous for juicy cooked-to-order burgers and thick, hand-dipped milk shakes. The atmosphere of the diner-style restaurant, on the other hand, was nothing spectacular. The booths were red vinyl, the tables white Formica, the walls decorated with retro movie posters and all of it was illuminated by bright fluorescent lights.

  It certainly wasn’t the type of place that Ryder would have chosen to take any woman on a date. On the other hand, he hoped the casual atmosphere would help Lauryn relax in a way he suspected she wouldn’t in an establishment with linen tablecloths and a wine list.

  She ordered a bacon cheeseburger with curly fries and a vanilla milk shake; he went for the double, also with fries and a chocolate shake.

  “Mmm, this is good,” she said, after taking the first bite of her burger.

  “Anyone ever tell you that you’re a cheap date?” he asked teasingly.

  “This isn’t a date,” she said firmly.

  He just smiled. “You say to-may-to—”

  “I say, this isn’t a date,” she interjected.

  “I invited you to dinner and you, after some bribing and cajoling, agreed. That sounds like a date to me.”

  Her lips twitched as she fought against a smile. “Are bribing and cajoling part of your usual dating routine?”

  “No, I have to admit this is a first for me,” he told her. “You’re not the first woman to ever say no, but you’re the first who’s intrigued me enough to want to change the no to a yes.” A fact that probably surprised him as much as it surprised her.

  He’d been perfectly content with his life. He certainly hadn’t been looking for any entanglements. And then Lauryn had opened her front door—with a sweetly smiling child by her side and a chubby-cheeked baby on her hip and all kinds of attitude in her gray-green eyes—and he’d been hooked.

  He’d dated all kinds of women—blondes, brunettes and redheads, tall and short, slender and curvy. All that was required was a mutual attraction—and an understanding that there would be no strings, no regrets and definitely no heartache when it was over.

  His feelings for Lauryn were different, and he hadn’t yet figured out what he was going to do about them. He wasn’t looking for love. Truth be told, he wasn’t entirely sure he even believed in it. While he couldn’t deny that his sister had found something special with her husband, he wasn’t certain it would last for a lifetime. He hoped it would—for the sake of Avery and Justin and especially Vanessa—but he wouldn’t put any bets on it. Being with Lauryn made him want to gamble on his own future.

  “I have two kids,” she reminded him.

  “You have two wonderful kids,” he agreed.

  “And Kylie is just starting to get used to her father being gone.”

  “I’m not trying to take his place,” Ryder said, wanting to be clear about that.

  “I know that, but Kylie doesn’t. She only knows that there’s an empty place in her life, and suddenly you’re there and you’re letting her have pizza and playing Barbies and...”

  “And you don’t want her to get attached,” he finished for her.

  “I don’t want her to get hurt. Again.”

  He nodded, because he understood that she had reasons to be cautious. He could even acknowledge that she was smart to want to put on the brakes; he just wasn’t convinced that she would succeed. The kiss they’d shared proved the attraction between them was both mutual and intense, and he was looking forward to following wherever it might lead. “I can’t change the fact that I’m going to be around a lot over the next couple of months—maybe longer.”

  She narrowed her gaze. “Why ‘maybe longer’?”

  “Virginia thinks our viewers might appreciate seeing the results of a more comprehensive project, and she wanted me to discuss the possibility with you.”

  She took another sip of her milk shake. “What would a more comprehensive project entail?”

  “Letting us loose in other rooms of your house,” he explained.

  “I didn’t even want you in my kitchen,” she reminded him.

  “But it hasn’t been so bad, has it?”

  “It’s only been a week,” she pointed out.

  “You’re right,” he admitted. “But Owen doesn’t like gaps in the schedule, so he’d probably agree to anything you want.”

  “Why is there a gap in your schedule?”

  “We were originally supposed to head to Georgia to work on the restoration of an antebellum mansion in Watkinsville, but the purchasers have encountered a few snags in their attempts to finalize the paperwork.” Having finished his own meal, he stole a fry from her plate. “So what do you think about letting us tackle some more jobs around your house?”

  “I’m tempted,” she admitted, nudging her plate toward him. “But I’m not sure how I feel about my kids living in a construction zone for an extended period of time.”

  “That’s a valid consideration,” he acknowledged. “On the other hand, we’re talking about work that you’re going to want to have done eventually, and if you have it done now, you won’t have to look forward to the noise and debris in the future.”

  She sighed. “You sure do know how to tempt a girl.”

  He grinned. “Imagine what I could do if I was actually trying.”

  * * *

  Lauryn didn’t want to imagine.

  She didn’t dare let her mind travel too far down the path of any temptation connected to Ryder Wallace. Because more than an hour after they’d left the store—after the kiss—her blood was still humming in her veins.

  If he makes you happy, you should go for it.

  She didn’t know if he made her happy, but there was no doubt he made her yearn. After almost a year and a half of hibernation, her hormones were suddenly wide-awake and clamoring for attention.

  Ryder’s attention.

  Which was precisely why she should thank him for dinner and walk away. Instead, when they left the restaurant she asked, “Did you want to come back to my place to get those cupcakes?”

  “Inviting me home after a first date?” he teased.

  “It wasn’t a date,” she said again.

  He just grinned.

  “And I’m only inviting you to come over to pick up the cupcakes,” she further clarified, as much for herself as for him. Besides, Maura and Rachel would be there to chaperone so she didn’t have to worry about him trying to steal any more kisses—or her own desire to give them away.

  “I’ll be right behind you,” he promised.

  Except that her cousin’s wife and daughter stayed only long enough to say hello before they hurried out the door, with Rachel giving her an encouraging wink as she waved goodbye.

  Lauryn pulled one of her dining room chairs across the floor, then stood on the seat to reach the top of the hutch where she’d put the box to ensure it was out of reach of her daughter’s sweet tooth and eager grasp.

  Ryder was immediately behind her. She sucked in a breath as his hands grasped her hips. “What are you doing?”

  “Making sure you don’t fall.”

  “I’m not going to fall,” she assured him. “I do this all of the time.”

  “Do you know how many household accidents occur every day because people think any piece of furniture is a ladder?” he asked her.

  “No, I don’t. How many?
”

  “I don’t know the number offhand,” he admitted. “But it’s a lot.”

  “This is sturdy Garrett-made furniture,” she told him. “And you can let go of me now.”

  His eyes, when they lifted to hers, were filled with heat and wicked promise. “Maybe I don’t want to.”

  Her tongue flicked out to moisten her suddenly dry lips. “Do you want your cupcakes to end up on the floor?”

  He lifted his hands away, then removed the box from her hands. Lauryn stepped down off the chair.

  “Thanks for these,” he said.

  “Those were to thank you,” she reminded him. “And thank you for dinner, too.”

  “It was my pleasure.”

  She walked him to the door. “Happy birthday, Ryder.”

  “Thanks to you and the kids, it was,” he said.

  And then he kissed her again.

  And though she knew kissing him back was a very bad idea, he felt too good to want to stop. In fact, he tasted so good that she wanted to get closer, but there was a box between them. As if he could read her thoughts, he set the container on the table by the door, freeing his hands to touch her. And those strong hands proved to be every bit as talented as his mouth.

  Watching him on television, she couldn’t help but admire his confident skill as he swung a sledgehammer or taped drywall or nailed trim. Since getting to know him, she’d wondered how it might feel to have his hands stroking over her body, those callused palms sliding against the soft skin of her breasts, her belly, her thighs. It had been a long time since she’d had a man’s hands on her—a long time since she’d wanted a man’s hands on her. And when those strong and oh-so-clever hands slid beneath the hem of her T-shirt, his warm touch surpassed every one of her fantasies.

  A soft, blissful sigh whispered between her lips. She didn’t want him to stop—she didn’t ever want him to stop kissing her and touching her. But somewhere in the back of her mind, where a few brain cells were still functioning, she accepted that while getting naked with Ryder might feel really good tonight, she needed to think about tomorrow.

  She eased away from him. Breathlessly. Reluctantly. “We can’t do this.”