Avery grinned and opened the door. “Dylan! What a nice surprise. Oh! Let me take some of those.”
Before Avery could drop her bag, Olivia rushed forward. “I’ve got them.” She took some of the bags out of Dylan’s arms, allowing her sister to finally head out the door.
Leaving her alone with Dylan. He’d changed from his work clothes of pressed pants and collared shirt into a pair of worn jeans and a navy polo tee. She caught a glimpse of his fine ass as he walked to her kitchen with his armful of bags.
He placed them on the counter and turned. “How’s it going, sunshine?”
Her hand immediately went to the pendant and he grinned. “It’s going.”
“You look gorgeous.”
She felt herself blush. “Thank you. You look pretty good yourself.” His arms were muscular from time in the gym, and his skin was tanned a warm golden color. His shirt revealed a sexy hint of hair on his chest and that same tanned flesh. Her mouth watered, and she wondered what he’d taste like if she gave him a slow lick from the end of the V in his shirt up the strong column of his neck.
She shivered at the thought.
“You okay?” He’d caught her staring, and a knowing smirk lifted his lips.
God. She nodded. “What’s for dinner?”
“Arturo’s. The best Italian around.” He proceeded to pull out a variety of tins with aromas th
at smelled heavenly, transferring them to dishes she provided.
They worked well together in the kitchen and settled in to eat. The meal passed quickly, and they drank a good amount of the chardonnay she’d served. They discussed work and some of the changes to his job since Riley, his assistant, had cut back after the birth of her daughter. They talked about football and how frustrated the entire team and management were that they’d fumbled and lost the final game that would have led them to the Super Bowl.
“I am so full,” she said when she couldn’t eat another bite. She looked at the table with all the remaining food.
He’d brought them so many options—chicken parm and pasta dishes, some that she knew the names of, others that were chef’s specials. There was no way they could eat everything, so she’d settled for sampling each. “Everything was delicious, Dylan. Thank you.”
“My pleasure.” He smiled, and the simple act lit her up inside.
Her stomach rolled like a teenager with her first crush. And her sex pulsed, a distinct reminder that she was a woman sitting across from an extremely attractive man who wanted her—and was willing to pull out all the stops to get his way. She was drawn to him on so many levels.
He was smart. He did his job well. He loved football. And he’d set his sights on her. She was attracted to him beyond reason, and this extravagant meal had simply shown her another side of his persistent personality. To her surprise, she couldn’t say she minded being the recipient of all this attention. But the idea of a relationship between them still scared her. More like the idea of a relationship that would ultimately end did.
She picked up one of the dishes still overloaded with food. “I’ll wrap these up for you so you can take them home and freeze them,” she said, rising from her seat. She might not be able to escape from her desire for Dylan, but she could keep busy and get out of her own head.
“You keep the leftovers. You can defrost one after a long day.” He winked at her and stood, then proceeded to help her clean up and freeze the leftovers.
He was making it very difficult not to enjoy and appreciate his thoughtfulness.
“Thanks for helping me. You really didn’t have to.”
He shrugged. “I wanted to.” He leaned against the now-closed dishwasher.
“Well, your mother must have raised you right.”
“She didn’t raise me at all,” he bit out, the harsh tone of voice catching her off guard. He’d been so easygoing all night.
She swallowed hard. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hit a nerve.”
He shook his head and swore under his breath. “You had no way of knowing. She took off on us right after my sister, Callie, graduated high school. I still had another two years left. But she was barely around before that. My sister and I pretty much made do on our own.”
Wow. That was unexpected. And so opposite of how she’d been raised. In a big, fancy house with everything she’d ever wanted. A father who ran a hotel empire and traveled constantly—for business, she’d thought—but she’d had her mother and her siblings to support her. Olivia was so close to her own mother she couldn’t imagine getting through the hard parts of her life without her mother’s sage advice and wisdom.
She glanced at him from beneath her lashes. His expression had shuttered, his jaw tensed. Her heart hurt for the little boy who’d clearly been forced to make do.
“What about your father?” she asked hesitantly.