by S. J. McCoy
He put his coffee down and stood up with a smile. And just because April wasn’t interested in him, it didn’t mean he couldn’t do something nice for the kid, just because. He went back inside and headed for the shower. What the hell? He was going to go over there this morning and make the offer. See what they could set up. He didn’t need to be a selfish prick. Marcus could use a helping hand, and maybe April could use a friend.
He had to wonder if he wasn’t crazy as he pulled up in front of her house. What would she think when he just stopped by unannounced like this? What if she didn’t want Marcus to take guitar lessons with him? He shrugged as he climbed out of his car—he was about to find out.
He knocked on the door and waited. A few moments later it opened, and there she was. Damn, she was beautiful! Her hair was piled on top of her head in a messy bun, and she was wearing glasses—he’d never seen her in glasses before, but he loved the look on her! Her lithe body did all kinds of things to him, standing there in pink pajamas and a little white tank top that did little to conceal her pert breasts.
Her cheeks flushed red, and the color spread down her neck and over her chest, drawing his eyes back to her breasts. He couldn’t help noticing the taut peaks through the thin fabric. Were they for him? He hadn’t seen them a moment ago.
“Hey.” He swallowed. His voice sounded low and husky.
“Hi,” she squeaked. There was no other word for it; it was a squeak! He felt bad. She was embarrassed to be caught in her PJs, no doubt.
“I’m sorry, I should have called, but I don’t have your number. I thought I’d stop by.”
She nodded. She seemed to do that a lot. “Do you want to come in?”
He nodded back, relieved that she wasn’t about to turn him away again. He couldn’t help but admire the way her ass swayed as she walked down the little hallway and led him into the living room. It was light and bright with patio doors that led out to a small backyard filled with flowers and planters.
She turned to face him. “I’m sorry. I’ve been studying this morning. I didn’t get dressed or anything.” She looked down at herself, then back up at him with an apologetic smile.
She didn’t need to say sorry; he loved the look on her. If he could just keep his mind away from thoughts of getting her out of her PJs and into bed! “No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have just stopped by, but we didn’t get a chance to talk about Marcus last night.” He looked around, wondering where the kid might be.
She smiled. “I thought you were just being kind. He really would love for you teach him. If you want to.”
He nodded. “I do. Is he here?”
“No. He stayed at Megan and Michael’s last night. He won’t be home till suppertime.”
Hmm, so she was all by herself for the day? He smiled. “Do you have any plans for today?”
“No…I…what…what do you mean?”
She looked scared to death. He smiled again, hoping she might relax. “What I mean is, this town kind of sucks when you’re all by yourself like I am. Anyone I might want to hang out with has a partner who they’re already hanging out with. I guess it’s selfish of me, but I’m glad you’re by yourself for the day. I don’t suppose you’d want to hang out, would you?”
She stared at him. Did she think he was nuts? Did she wonder why the band guy was asking her to hang out with him when she wanted to stay home and study? Apparently not.
She nodded, as a big smile spread across her face. “I’d love to!”
“Great!” He hadn’t known he was going to ask her. Even as he did, he hadn’t expected her to say yes. And now that she had he had no idea what they were going to do. “Do you want to go get a late breakfast at the resort?” Even as the words came out of his mouth, he wished he could take them back. The last anyone had seen of him last night was when he’d left the resort to go make sure she got home okay. If they showed up there for a late breakfast, he knew what people would think. And it was okay that they would think that of him, but not of her. She wasn’t like that, and he wouldn’t want her to be.
He was relieved when she shook her head. “I’d rather not. If you’re hungry, I can make us some breakfast. I haven’t eaten yet myself.”
He grinned. “That’d be awesome! Thank you.”
“Okay, well.” She looked flustered now. “I need to shower and get dressed.”
He wished she wouldn’t. She looked so damned cute like that. “So, how about I go to the store? What do we need?”
“I don’t think we need anything. I have bacon, sausage, eggs, everything we could need for breakfast.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Do you have anything for dessert?”
“Dessert?”
He laughed. “Yup, the best breakfasts need a dessert. Don’t worry. I’ll go take care of it. You go take your shower. Do you need me to pick up anything else?”
“Oh! Milk, if you would?”
“You betcha!”
“I’ll leave the door on the latch so you can get back in.”
“Great. See you in a bit.”
~ ~ ~
April smiled as she let the warm water run over her. Was this happening? Apparently, it was. Eddie did seem like a good guy, and the fact that he hadn’t forgotten about Marcus earned him a whole bunch of brownie points in her eyes. She’d never thought about it before, but life must get quite lonely for him, just as it did for her. He might have lots of willing bodies to keep his bed warm at night, but those women were here for a night or two, a week at the most. That didn’t give him the opportunity to make real friends, and like he said, most of the people they knew here were all coupled up. If he wanted to be her friend, then she would willingly accept. She’d never had a male friend before—Guy would never have allowed that. And it didn’t hurt that he was so damned sexy—she got a friend and someone she could swoon over! How neat was that?
She shivered as she ran the sponge over her body, she’d just have to be careful that she didn’t get carried away imagining what it might be like if he were interested in more than friendship! He wasn’t. She knew that. But that didn’t stop her imagination! She’d have to watch herself there.
She was in the kitchen when he came back. He grinned and held up a bag as he let himself in. “You’re going to love this!”
She laughed. “What kind of dessert do you have with breakfast? I’ve never heard of that before.”
“Well, then you’ve never lived! Breakfast should always end with dessert. If nothing else, you should at least save your pancake till last.”
She cocked her head to one side.
“Most people eat a pancake alongside their eggs and bacon and whatever. That’s just wrong! You wouldn’t eat your cake at the same as your steak, would you?”
She laughed. “No, I suppose you’re got a point there. So, what’s in the bag?”
He opened it up and beckoned her to come see. She stepped toward him and they both peered inside. She had to laugh when she saw store-bought doughnuts and chocolate brownies. Didn’t he realize that she spent all of her working days making those things—and making them fresh, from scratch? She looked up and met his gaze. Her breath caught in her throat somewhere as his hazel eyes looked back into her own. Their noses were inches apart. Her heart started to hammer as she considered how easy it would be to kiss him like that girl had last night. It hammered even harder at the thought that he looked as though he wanted to kiss her! Her throat was dry. She ran her tongue over her lips. He dropped his gaze to watch and then looked back into her eyes and leaned forward.
And then the phone started to ring. She sprang away from him and went to answer it. It was a wrong number! She tried to steady her hands and her heart as she hung up. She should be grateful! He’d probably wondered what she was staring at and why she was acting so weird. She’d totally let her imagination run away with her there! No way had he wanted to kiss her! She’d just imagined it all.
She gave him a bright smile as she went back into the kitchen. He was unloading
his goodies from the bag. “Is everything, okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, it was a wrong number, if you can believe that! Anyway, you were telling me about dessert with breakfast, and it sounds as though that’s what I spend my days making.”
His smile faded. “Shit! I didn’t think. I’m sorry. You don’t need doughnuts and brownies. Especially not store-bought ones. I bet you’re sick of even the good ones that you make at the bakery!”
He looked so crestfallen, she felt bad. “Not at all. Who could ever get sick of doughnuts?” she asked with a laugh.
He smiled. “Not me. And I got some cookies too.”
“Ooh, now you’re talking. What kind?”
“White chocolate chip and macadamia.”
She laughed. “You’ve redeemed yourself. They’re my favorites.”
He grinned. “Then you can have them all.”
“Thanks. I suppose I’d better get the bacon started though, or we’ll never get around to dessert.” As she turned to the oven, she was glad the phone had rung when it did. Eddie didn’t show any sign of wanting to kiss her or anything other than wanting to have fun and laugh with a friend. She must have imagined it all, and the phone had saved her from making a complete fool of herself!
Once their plates were empty, she smiled at Eddie. He was such good company, such easy company. She’d never in her life had a man over for breakfast. She’d rarely ever even been alone with a man other than her ex, and yet she felt completely relaxed. They’d talked and laughed as they ate. All they’d talked about was what they were eating, what they each liked. Eddie had made her laugh by explaining the way he ate his eggs, first cutting off all the white and putting that into a sandwich he made out of his toast which he then dipped into the yolk. She’d tried it herself—and it was good!
“Would you like some more coffee?” she asked.
“Please. You have to have coffee with dessert.”
While she poured them each a cup, he opened up the packet of cookies and slid them over to her side of the table. Then he opened up the doughnuts and grinned at them. “I love doughnuts!”
“But you never come in the bakery?” There’d been many a time that Chase had come in to buy goodies for Kenzie and April had wondered about Eddie. She’d assumed he must be a health freak; by the looks of his body, she wouldn’t have had him down as a doughnut lover. She took a big swig of her coffee in an attempt to distract herself from thoughts of his body. Even as she burned the roof of her mouth, she couldn’t help admiring his muscular forearm as he reached for a doughnut.
“I don’t know why. It’s just never been part of my routine. I stock up on these things,” he nodded at the packet in front of him, “whenever I go to the grocery store. I’m sure the ones you make are better, though.”
“You have no idea what you’re missing. You should come in and see me; I’m sure I’ll give you something that will put a smile on your face.” She felt the heat in her cheeks. She should have found a different way to say that!
It seemed to her as though there was some heat in the way he looked back at her. “How could I turn down an offer like that?”
She held his gaze. Did he mean what she thought he did?
He smiled kindly. No. Of course, he didn’t. She was just getting carried away again. She smiled back, not knowing what she could say that wouldn’t make things worse.
When they were finished eating, Eddie helped her clear the table and do the dishes, which was strange—very strange. She’d never had a man help her in the kitchen before. Well, Marcus helped all the time, but he was her little man. Not a full grown man yet, she had him help her with everything around the house so that when he was a full grown man, he’d be more like Eddie than like his father. She sucked in a deep breath at that thought. Not like Eddie. Just like a good man, not a chauvinistic pig like his father.
“Thanks for coming over,” she said. “This was so much fun.” She was pretty sure he must have had enough of her by now.
He gave her a puzzled look. “Are you getting rid of me?”
“No. I just thought you’d want to get on with your day now.”
He smiled. “You are my day. You said Marcus isn’t back until tonight, so I don’t see why you should hang out here by yourself and I should go home and hang out by myself. We should go do something. Have some fun.”
“Like what?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Do you want to go for a drive? A hike? Do you want to take a boat out? Go fishing? What do you normally do? What do you like to do?”
She shrugged back at him. “I don’t normally do much of anything. I don’t even know what I like to do. I haven’t had chance to find out since I’ve been here. Between work and Marcus, there’s not much time left for anything else.”
Eddie put his hands on his hips and raised an eyebrow at her. “Well, then. We need to change that. You, my friend, need to start having some fun, and I will be more than happy to help!”
She laughed. “Why, thank you. I could use a guide to help me find some fun again. It’s been so long I might have forgotten how.”
He shook his head. “Now that’s just sad. But don’t worry, we can work on it.” He smiled at her. “But I’ll need a commitment from you.”
“A commitment?” What did he mean by that?
“Yes, you need to commit to making time for fun. And you need to trust me and be prepared to give things a go to find out if they are fun. No excuses, no backing out on me.”
She nodded uncertainly. She wasn’t sure if she could commit time to having fun, she had so much else to do.
He waggled a finger at her. “I’m serious. And don’t go making excuses that you can’t because of Marcus. It strikes me that little dude could do with more fun in his life, too. I’ll be happy to teach you both.”
She smiled. “In that case, I’m in.”
“Good girl. Now go grab whatever it is you take out with you because we need to get started right now.”
April laughed, happy to go along with whatever he wanted. This was already more fun than she’d had in a long time!
Chapter Four
Eddie cut the engine and smiled at her. “So, what’s the verdict so far? Are you having fun yet?”
April laughed. She looked so much happier than he’d seen her look before. She looked younger, carefree. She looked the way he thought she should look all the time. The wind was blowing her hair around her shoulders; her brown eyes sparkled in the sunlight reflected off the water. “I’m having so much fun, thank you. I haven’t been on a boat for years!”
“What? You mean you live here, and you haven’t been out on the water yet?”
Her face fell. “It’s hard by myself. I don’t know what to do. I wouldn’t feel safe taking Marcus out when I have no clue what I’m doing.”
Eddie felt bad. “Well, now you have me.” He shouldn’t have phrased it that way. It sounded so much more than what he’d meant, but it also sounded a whole lot like what he wanted. Was he nuts? He barely knew her. And she had a kid! He hurried on before his mind got too caught up in any of that. This was supposed to be about having fun, not about anything serious. “I told you I’m happy to be your fun guide, you and Marcus. So, what else haven’t you done because you can’t do it by yourself?”
She took her time to think that one over. Her cheeks had flushed again when he’d said she had him. He needed to stop embarrassing her like that. She wouldn’t want him even if she could have him! What would someone like her see in someone like him? She looked lost in thought, then a big smile spread across her face. “I’ve kept promising him that one day we can rent four-wheelers from the resort and take the trails up into the mountains, but again, I’m scared to go with just me and him. What would I do if something went wrong? You probably think I’m pathetic, and you’re probably right, but I’ve never done anything by myself before. I’m useless.”
“Hey! Don’t you talk about my friend like that. You aren’t useless. You’re pretty dam
ned smart if you ask me. How many people go off and do things without thinking about what they’ll do if something goes wrong? They’re the kind of people who end up in trouble. You’ve got Marcus to think about. You can’t afford to take risks.” He grinned. “And I would love to go four-wheeling in the mountains. When do you want to go? Next weekend?” He wasn’t about to let her off the hook while she was playing along. This could turn out to be a lot of fun for him, too. He wasn’t about to admit it, but he’d thought about going four-wheeling. It wasn’t much fun by yourself, though—and like her, he was practical about something going wrong and having no one else around.
She smiled. “That would be wonderful. I know Marcus will be thrilled. But don’t let us hog all your free time, will you? I mean,” her cheeks flushed again, and he wondered what was coming, “I imagine you get busy with the resort guests on the weekends.”
He sucked in a deep breath.
She held up a hand. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to offend you; it’s not a criticism or anything. It’s none of my business anyway. I just don’t want your groupies getting mad.”
He stared at her for a long moment then let out a laugh. He couldn’t exactly deny that a lot of his weekends had been spent with women he’d hooked up with at the resort—what else was a guy to do around here? “Well, if you don’t mind hanging out with me, you’d be saving me from them.”
She let out a little laugh of her own at that. “Really?”
He nodded vigorously. “Really. You’d be doing me a favor, and besides, I’d rather spend my time with you…”
