Defensive Daddy

I didn’t want to come across as disrespectful, and I certainly didn’t want to cross any lines, but I reached out and patted her knee gently. “This was nice, Samantha. Tonight, I mean.”

She nodded. “Yeah, it was.”

Her gaze kept flitting down to my mouth, and if she was trying to hide it, she wasn’t doing a very good job. Goddamn it, she was silently begging for me to kiss her. I could see it. Hell, I could feel it. The want. The need. The chemistry.

But, I couldn’t risk giving her a reason to jump to the conclusion that I was on the rebound. Wait, I scolded myself. She needs time to trust you.

“And I thought I’d already had an awesome day with Little Man Levi.” I gave her a reassuring smile. “He’s a good kid, Samantha. You should be proud.”

“I am. And thank you for staying with him. I’m sure it’s not your idea of an ideal day.”

Mentioning Levi seemed to have rescued her from her embarrassment, and I stood up, offering a hand to help her up from the couch, too. “Let me tell you something. I was raised with two sisters. Trust me when I say that getting to hang out with Levi and play trucks and superheroes is much closer to my ideal day than the hair barrettes and makeup and Barbie dolls I’ve been subjected to in the past.” I pointed a finger at her, daring her to laugh. “And, believe me, contrary to what you might think, pink is not my color.” I gave her a wink. “Not having my own son around all the time is hard, Samantha, but getting to spend the day with Levi today—that helped. Now, walk me to the door, will you?”

She chuckled softly, and the sound stirred something within me as I tugged her the ten feet toward the door with me. “Thank you,” she said as I pulled my shoes on. “All joking aside, thank you. You were a lifesaver today.”

“A real, live Superman,” I reminded her with a wink.

“Yes. For Levi,” she said as her eyes met mine. “And for me.”

I felt my stomach clench at the weight of her words. Something smoldered in her eyes, and if I wasn’t careful, the fire burning in mine was going to collide with it and there’d be no going back. “I’m here, Samantha,” I promised her, my voice now hoarse. “For Levi, and for you. If you need me, for anything, I’m here.”

“I’ll be sure to remember that.”

I leaned forward, my hand gently grazing her forearm, and I kissed her cheek. “Do me a favor and remember that domestic god bit, too, okay? A guy can never hear that enough.”

She turned to face me just as I pulled away from her, but I halted, my face only a breath away from hers. Heat radiated from her skin. Mixed with the desire in her eyes and the sweet scent of wine on her lips, I was suddenly intoxicated by her.

If Samantha had planned to follow up my witty comment with something else, it was lost amongst the electricity that sizzled where my fingertips touched her arm and the fiery spark between us.

“Goodnight, Samantha.” I breathed the words against her lips, in hopes of conveying that it was taking every ounce of restraint I had in me to leave her standing at that doorway, wine glass in hand, the breathy promise of what we could become left on her cheek.

“Goodnight,” she whispered, still as a stone.

I let my thumb trail lightly down her arm, and I stepped away with a sigh. I’d just told that woman about the hardships I’d recently dealt with regarding my ex and my infant son, and yet nothing seemed to compare to how difficult it was for me to walk out of that apartment, leaving the beautiful woman staring after me, especially when I could see it in her eyes that she wanted me just as much as I wanted her.

CHAPTER FIVE

SAMANTHA

Last night, I barely slept. My mind had been racing with thoughts of Cooper and all he’d done for Levi and me without even being asked. Then, to top it off, I’d had to make things awkward just as I always did. Never fails.

Wiping the sleep from my eyes, I threw my blankets off and forced myself out of bed. If I could have just stayed snuggled in there all day, I would have. I snuck down the hall to Levi’s room and saw my precious sleeping boy with his Superman and Spider-Man action figures tucked into bed beside him. A smile stretched across my lips, and happiness flooded my heart.

Kissing Levi on the forehead, he barely stirred, so I quietly retreated from his room to start getting ready for the work day.

My phone vibrated briefly, alerting me that I had a text message. Looking at the screen, I saw it was from Ethan. My heart dropped into my stomach.

Please don’t cancel on him again...

Ethan: I’ll be there at 7:30 to pick up Levi.

Well, holy shit, I thought to myself. Tuesday was already off to a surprisingly pleasant start.

Fresh out of the shower with a towel still wrapped around me, I heard a knock at the door and quickly grabbed my phone. I clicked the middle button to view the time. It read 6:00.

Who the hell was knocking on my door at this hour?

I rushed down the hall, reached the door, and peered through the peephole.