Defensive Daddy

I was alone.

I was also a man who preferred to get things done, and I’d never minded getting a little dirty to accomplish it, if needed.

No matter the context.

Mornings like this, though? With no plans, no strenuous workouts or practices, and nothing to bide my time? I didn’t do very well without some kind of goal, and laziness wasn’t exactly a trait I harbored.

But a man could only clean and do small jobs around his own apartment for so long. It’d been weeks since the doctors advised me that I wouldn’t be hitting the ice this season, but I wasn’t kidding...there wasn’t a leaking faucet or squeaking hinge to be found in my place. The apartment was small, neat, and maintained. Nothing fancy, but it was min

e. And Tommy’s.

It was the one thing no one could take from me. Because, evidently, injuries could take my job, even it was just temporary, and Zoey could take my pride.

Two coffees, a big plate of bacon and eggs, and one long, hot shower later, I knew I had to do something. Anything. Before I went absolutely insane with the boredom. It occurred to me to make my way out into the hallway and knock on my new neighbor’s door, offering to help her unpack or carry boxes or something.

If she didn’t want me to talk while I did it, fine. I could be the brawn she needed—well, within reason, and my coach and doctors would have a shit fit if they knew I’d even thought of it. But I could help her out. Purely because I needed something to occupy my time, and she obviously needed a friend.

Friend.

Right.

If yesterday’s interaction was any indication, friendship was the last thing that pretty little auburn-haired beauty was interested in.

Good thing I had enough interest for the both of us.

If I turned the television off and strained my hearing a bit, I was convinced I could hear the odd laugh or babbling of the neighbor’s kid through the living room wall. Suddenly, very clearly, I heard a familiar voice speak, just as exasperated as she’d been the day before.

“Levi, please get over here and put your coat on so we can go to the store!”

They were leaving. Which means...

I dove for the entryway, shoving my feet into my boots clumsily. In my haste, I couldn’t even get my injured arm into my jacket on the first attempt. “Shit,” I hissed under my breath.

Plucking the keys from the entryway table, I stopped to listen. Nothing. So, they weren’t in the hallway yet.

Act calm, act normal. I didn’t know why it was so damn important to me to meet her again under the ruse that it was by chance, but I didn’t want her to know I’d been listening in, either. The last thing I needed was to spook her.

I heard the apartment door open from the hallway, and I took a deep breath.

Show time. One, two...three.

I swung the door open and sauntered out as though I had all the time in the world to get wherever I was going. The first thing I noticed, just like yesterday, was her eyes, made up with mascara that only accentuated the blue depths of them. The second thing was that they were trained on me, unblinking, like I’d caught her red-handed in some unthinkable act.

“Oh, hey,” I offered. But I couldn’t seem to move, either, trapped under the intensity of her gaze. The door of my apartment remained open, my hand still on the handle.

“Uh...” A deep blush crept into her cheeks, and she pushed her son gently behind her, shielding him from me. “Hey.”

God, she was gorgeous. Without even fucking trying.

But she may as well have reached through my chest and ripped my heart out, the way she hid the sandy-haired boy from me. “Get all moved in?” I finally asked, realizing I was staring.

“Oh.” She waved a hand after pulling her apartment door closed and locking it. “Not really. I—”

Her gaze flitted over at my own door, and I closed it. “Well, hey, anyway,” I said awkwardly, not wanting to come right out and offer to help her immediately. “I thought you must’ve been the one who rented 2B. I’m Cooper. Looks like we’re neighbors.”

Her eyes pierced through me, an icy blue that resonated somewhere deep within my soul.

I didn’t know if it was smart, but I kept my eyes locked on her, too, and held out a hand.