Harper had her arms around him, her face snuggled into his neck. His lips slowly curved upward, a smile meant just for her.
Mesmerized by his very presence, Mari felt her heart pounding as she recalled the way he’d kissed her the night before.
“How’s my Princess Pink Rose?” he said, then he winked at Mari, his gaze never wavering from her face.
“We went swimming,” Harper said as she pulled away and looked at him.
“You did?” His gaze slid to Mari for a moment, and at the look in his eye, her whole body heated. “Maybe I can go swimming with you tomorrow.”
“Today!” Harper said.
“I’m sorry, Princess Pink Rose. I have to leave in an hour.”
Harper’s lower lip slid into a pout and she crossed her arms. “Paint my nails, Daddy. Please.”
He laughed. “I think I have time to do that.”
Her pout vanished. “Yay!”
He set her down and turned to Mari. “Can Mari help me?”
Harper nodded with enthusiasm.
“Great! Meet me by the pool in a few minutes and bring all of your nail painting supplies.”
“Okay.”
Ten minutes later Hank was sitting beside Mari with Harper across from them. Even though he couldn’t kiss Mari—couldn’t even touch her—he loved that she was there, was part of his time with Harper.
“There’s already polish on your nails,” he said to Harper with mock-confusion. “What am I supposed to do?”
Harper giggled. “You have to take it off, Daddy.”
“Take it off? You mean like with an eraser? Or maybe I should chew it off.”
That sent her into gales of laughter. “No. You use the green stuff.”
Hank’s eyes shot up. “Green stuff? Like grass?”
“No,” she said with another burst of giggles. She pointed to a bottle sitting on the ground in front of Mari. “That stuff.”
He picked it up and examined it, then unscrewed the cap and sniffed it before pulling it away with his mouth puckered. “That doesn’t smell very good. You want me to put it on your nails?”
Harper nodded like this was a serious thing. “Yes. You have to or it won’t come off.”
“Okay. If you say so.”
Twenty minutes later the old polish was off and the new was on. He was getting pretty good at this.
“What do you think?” he asked Harper.
She admired her fingers and toes. “Pretty.”
“Yes it is.”
“Can you push me on the swing?”
“Of course.” They all stood and made their way to the play set, Harper racing ahead. Hank had to get ready for his date with Simone soon, but dang it if he was going to let her dictate his time with his daughter. Tempted to call her and cancel, especially as Mari walked next to him, he gritted his teeth. As a kind of rebellious move, he took Mari’s hand, which earned him a surprised look. Smiling at her, when her lovely face lit up, he gently squeezed her hand.
This fed right into Mari’s fantasy—her, Hank, and Harper. A happy family enjoying a beautiful September afternoon. Painting nails and playing on swings. Could her life be any more perfect?
Yes, her mind screamed. It would be perfect if it was real.
Another part of her argued that it was real, completely real. Just because they had to keep their feelings a secret didn’t make them any less real.
“Push me, Daddy,” Harper called from the swing.
Hank released Mari’s hand with a look of regret, and she desperately wanted to slip her hand back into his, to feel him close to her, his arms securely holding her, his lips claiming hers.
That would have to wait. No matter how difficult. And when they no longer had to keep their love a secret, it would be all the sweeter.
“Coming, Princess Pink Rose,” Hank called out as he jogged toward Harper.
Mari watched him go, her heart contracting with love and longing. The last few nights with him had been wonderful, but tonight she would be on her own, and she knew the only thing she would be able to think about would be him out with Simone.
Frowning, she reached the play set and watched him push Harper on the swing.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Saturday morning Mari woke early. She hadn’t slept well, tossing and turning all night as she wondered what was happening on Hank’s date with Simone—where had they gone, what had they done, how late had they stayed out?
Throwing the covers off, Mari climbed out of bed and quickly showered before going into Harper’s room. Harper’s long, blonde hair was spread out on her pillow, and soft snores filled the room. Smiling, Mari left and went downstairs.
When she heard Hank talking to Mrs. Stillman, her heart raced. The sound of his voice left her yearning for his arms to be wrapped around her, for his eyes to be focused on her, for his mouth to be on hers. But when she pictured him embracing Simone, focusing on Simone, kissing Simone, pain radiated throughout her chest.
Softly sighing, she entered the kitchen. Pushing a bright smile onto her face, she said, “Good morning.”
Hank and Mrs. Stillman, who were both standing next to the counter as they chatted, turned to her.
“Good morning,” Mrs. Stillman said, but her usual bright smile had dimmed.
Wondering what was going on, Mari looked to Hank, whose gaze went right to her, his eyes never wavering. “Hi there,” he said. A small smile lifted his lips.
She approached the pair, stopping when she reached them. Though her mind refused to stop thinking about Hank and Simone, she could see something else was happening .
“Mrs. Stillman was just telling me that her husband is having foot surgery on Monday morning,” Hank said.
Mari turned to Mrs. Stillman. “Oh my goodness. I hope it’s nothing serious. Is there anything I can do?”
Mrs. Stillman placed a hand on Mari’s arm with a warm smile. “It’s a minor procedure, and thank you for offering, but we’ll be fine.” She glanced at Hank. “I was just telling Hank that I’ll be gone all next week to care for my husband. We were discussing what to do.”
Without missing a beat, Mari said, “I can help out.” She smiled. “I do know how to cook.”
“Are you sure?” Hank said.
“Of course. Harper can help me. We’ll have a blast.”
Relief filled both Hank’s and Mrs. Stillman’s faces.
“That would be a great help,” Hank said. “Some nights we can order in, but if you can take care of the other meals, that would be awesome.”
“No problem.” This would even add to Mari’s fantasy that she, Hank, and Harper were a family. They would have the house to themselves all week. Just the three of them. Excited now, she said, “Harper and I can go to the grocery store this weekend to prepare. It’ll be fun.”
Mrs. Stillman laughed. “I’m glad you’ll enjoy it.”
“It’ll be a change of pace.”
They discussed a few other duties that Mari would take over—primarily laundry and keeping the house tidy—then when Harper wandered into the kitchen, Mrs. Stillman made French toast.
Hank was beyond impressed that Mari had volunteered to basically take over all of Mrs. Stillman’s work on top of caring for Harper. He knew women did all of those things all of the time, but since Mari was still willing to when she didn’t have to, it touched him. Another reason he was falling in love with her. He could never imagine London or Simone offering to take on the cooking, laundry, and cleaning. No. Both of them would hire a service. No question.
As he pictured Simone, he thought about their date the night before. Despite his severe irritation with her, the evening had gone reasonably well. They’d gone to dinner and a play, but when Simone had suggested they go dancing, he’d begged off, claiming he was too tired, that he had to get his rest before Sunday’s game. They’d called it a night relatively early, and as he’d driven home he’d harbored a secret hope that Mari would be up, waiting for him. Of course she hadn’t been,
and he’d been disappointed.
Now though, he looked forward to the coming week when they could spend time together. They would have to be careful around Harper, of course, but other than that, they wouldn’t have to hide their searing attraction for one another.
Hank sat with Mari and Harper as they ate breakfast.
“I’ll be gone for a few hours this morning,” he said, “but I’ll come home for the afternoon before I leave again to check in at the hotel.”
“I thought your game was at home tomorrow.”
“It is, but when we have home games, the entire team stays at a hotel the night before. I don’t have to check in until seven though.”
“Why does the team stay in a hotel when you could stay in your own house?”
“It’s a good way to make sure everyone is ready for Sunday’s game. Plus we usually have a last-minute team meeting, and on Sunday morning they feed us the right kind of breakfast to get us ready. Also, when everyone’s together, no one will be late to the stadium.”
“That makes sense.”
He watched her for a moment. “Are you going to watch the game?”
Her lips immediately curved upward. “Of course.” Then she put an arm around Harper. “Right, Harper? We’re going to watch your daddy on TV tomorrow.”
“Uh-huh,” Harper said around a mouthful of French toast.
Hank laughed, pleased to know that Mari would be watching him. So much had changed between them over the last week. They had to keep their budding relationship secret, but knowing she was there for him, that she was his, did something special to his heart.
Mari had finished going over some final instructions with Mrs. Stillman, who would be leaving that afternoon and not returning for another week, when Hank walked into Harper’s room where she and Mari were sorting Harper’s laundry.
“What are you ladies doing?” Hank asked.
“Harper, tell your daddy what you learned today.”
A serious expression came over her face as she pointed to the clothes on the floor. “You have to make two piles, daddy.”
“How come?”
“So you don’t get them mixed up.”
Mari laughed. “Harper learned how to separate the light-colored clothes from the dark ones.” She smiled at Harper. “Cause we don’t want everything to turn grey, right?”
“Right,” Harper said with a firm nod.
Hank smirked. “Good idea.”
“So,” he said with a meaningful look at Mari. “Do you ladies want to go for a swim?”
Harper pumped her fists into the air as she jumped up and down. “Swimming!”
“Mari?”
“Sounds like fun,” Mari said with a shy smile. And with any luck, Simone wouldn’t show up and ruin it again.
“Great. I’ll throw on my swim trunks and meet you out by the pool in a bit.”
A short time later Mari and Harper walked out to the pool. Hank was already in the water, and as Mari removed her cover-up, revealing her blue bikini, she was very aware of Hank’s gaze on her. Glancing his way, when she saw the lazy smile lifting the corners of his mouth, she had to push down the burst of heat that swept over her.
“Ready to get in?” she asked Harper.
“I need my floaties.”
Mari helped her put them on, then walked her to the edge of the pool.
“Jump in,” Hank said, his arms open, ready to catch her.
Harper’s smile filled her face, and after only a second’s hesitation, she leapt into Hank’s arms.
Mari wanted to do the same, but instead she demurely walked to the stairs and waded in to the cool, turquoise water, then made her way to Hank and Harper.
“There you are,” Hank said with a grin when she reached him.
“Yes. Here I am.”
Harper was busy splashing and kicking, not paying attention to the adults, which is when Mari felt Hank’s hand slip into hers under the water. Gripping his hand, she gazed into his eyes, her love for him filling her heart.
Then Mari looked toward the house.
“Don’t worry,” Hank said, drawing her attention back to him. “I told Mrs. Stillman not to let anyone in—even Simone.”
Feeling more relaxed, Mari smiled, her hand still clutching his.
“Look at me!” Harper called.
They both turned to her. She was about ten feet away and doing her best to swim towards them.
“Look at you,” Hank said as he released Mari’s hand and moved in Harper’s direction.
Smiling as she watched them, Mari made her way to them.
“Let’s play shark,” Harper said when they were together.
Hank looked at Mari with a grin. “I’ll be the shark.”
A thrill went through her at the look in his eyes, then she grabbed Harper’s hands and swam backwards with Hank trailing a few feet behind Harper.
“Go, Mari, go!” Harper squealed. “The shark’s gonna get me!”
Mari laughed and swam as fast as she could, which wasn’t all that fast, especially going backwards. It didn’t take long for Hank to catch them, and when he grabbed Harper, she screamed in terror, a huge grin on her face.
“Got you!” Hank said.
Mari released Harper’s hands and laughed with them.
They did this a few more times, and then Harper said to Hank, “Now you get Mari.”
Hank looked at Mari, his lips curving into a smile that sent a frisson of heat pulsing through her. She loved the idea of Hank chasing her, especially because he would easily catch her, but would Harper tell London about it?
“Your daddy’s too fast for me,” she said as she tossed a look of warning at Hank.
“He’s the shark,” Harper said.
Hank read the warning on Mari’s face, but the opportunity was too good to pass up.
“That’s right,” he said to Harper. “I’m the shark. But I think Mari’s a scaredy-cat.”
Harper giggled, and when he looked at Mari, she was frowning.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “That wasn’t nice.”
“No,” Mari said, her eyebrows raised. “It wasn’t.”
He moved closer to her, wishing he could kiss her, but knowing that would be foolish with Harper watching. Instead, he reached under the water and stroked her back, eliciting a soft gasp from her.
“I think it’s time for me to get out,” she said.
“Why?”
“I just…” She shook her head as she glanced toward Harper, who had turned and begun swimming away. “I can’t do this right now.” Mari made her way to the edge of the pool.
“Hang on,” he said before following her to the edge. At his words, she turned, her back to the wall. Hank looked toward Harper, and after making sure she was swimming the other way, he moved close to Mari, trapping her between the wall and his body.
“Hank,” Mari said, her body on fire as he pressed against her.
“Shhh.” He pressed a finger to her lips. Then, after he glanced toward Harper once more, he kissed her with a passion that bound her to him.
“Daddy!” Harper called out, and he sprang away from Mari.
Mari’s head jerked in Harper’s direction, but she wasn’t looking their way. Heaving a sigh of relief, Mari smiled at Hank, whose eyes crinkled as he smiled in return.
“What is it, baby?” Hank asked.
“Look at me,” she said.
Hank laughed, then after tossing another smile at Mari, he swam away.
Mari watched him go, her heart brimming with love while her mind reminded her that this could all fall apart at any moment.
Chapter Thirty
“Is my daddy on TV?” Harper said the next day as she and Mari sat on the couch in the family room, ready to watch the game.
Only the two of them were in the house—Mrs. Stillman was spending time with her husband before his surgery the next day—and the only sound came from the TV.
“He’ll be on in a minute,” Mari said, eager to see him
.
After they’d finished swimming the day before, she and Hank had played games with Harper and taken turns reading to her, and after Hank had grilled chicken for dinner, he’d had to leave for the hotel.
After he’d told Harper good-bye, he’d pulled Mari out of Harper’s view and held her in his arms for an extended embrace before kissing her one last time.
Her love for him grew with every kiss, and despite having to keep their relationship a secret, she was happier than she’d ever been.
“There he is,” Mari said as the offense took the field. Love and pride mingled within her, and she couldn’t wipe the smile from her face as she watched him play. He did well, making several first downs before being tackled each time.
She remembered how he’d flinched when he’d picked Harper up the previous Monday, the day after his game, and as she watched the huge men fall on top of him, she cringed on his behalf.
By the time the second half began, the Vipers were tied, but they had possession of the ball. Mari grinned as she realized how much she’d learned about football already.
She watched as quarterback Josh Wisner handed the ball off to Hank. Hank took off at a sprint. No one was near him and he was thirty yards from the end zone. Mari leapt to her feet, shouting, “Go go go!”
Harper did the same and Mari smiled while keeping her eyes glued to the TV. As Mari watched, she noticed Hank do a little hop as the hand not holding the ball reached for his left leg, but he kept running. Her smile slid from her face and she went silent as she watched him nearly fall. Something was wrong. So very, very wrong.
Heart pounding with worry, Mari watched as Hank, only a few yards from the end zone, began to stumble. Despite that, he reached the end zone, tumbling to the ground. Touchdown. He didn’t get up and he was in obvious pain. After a few moments he rolled onto his back.
What had happened? Was he okay?
Heart racing with fear and worry, Mari stared at the TV.
The voice of the announcer broke through her troubled mind and she heard him say something about a pulled hamstring. Was that bad? What would that mean for Hank?
Blindsided (Fair Catch Series, Book Three) Page 13
