“Guilty.” He looked delicious this morning. Seriously delicious. Why wasn’t Rip in an app? I’d go broke using all the extra coins or whatever they charged for his avatar just so I could stare at him—and I’d just made things super creepy.
“Gotta go.” I bolted toward the door, nearly tripping in my heels, and narrowly survived a bunch of scattered Legos in the middle of the floor. “Love you guys!”
“Love you too!” Viera announced.
“Me too!” Ben yelled following Colby outside the house. “Uncle Rip, will you miss Colby?”
“Terribly,” Rip said, voice tight like he was lying through his teeth.
“I’m leaving you the van.” I forced a smile, then made a quick getaway, calling over my shoulder, “Your car can go really fast!”
“Colby!” Rip called after me. “You hit a mailbox just three weeks ago. Come back with any scratches on her and you’ll be rubbing them out with a toothbrush!”
“Ewwwwww.” Ben made a face and ran back into the house while Rip stood there, arms crossed, looking every bit the sexy accountant who saved people from their taxes like a damn hero.
“You must know a lot about rubbing one out,” I said in an innocent voice.
Rip’s jaw dropped, and I refrained from doing a happy dance, although the fact that I’d actually gotten a reaction out of him was cause for celebration. “I rarely have to… hey, what was the name of that vibrator Monica got you?”
“There are kids!” I roared.
“They’re inside,” he snapped back.
“Unattended,” I pointed out as Mrs. Harris opened her front door, grabbed the paper, and then stood there, sipping her coffee like we were her morning entertainment.
“It was a male’s name… let me think…” Rip tapped his chin with his fingertips. “The Duke of Hastings…” I sprinted away from the car, and before I knew what I was doing I was clapping a hand over that gorgeous and ridiculous mouth.
His eyes flashed as I very slowly pulled my hand away. “Tell one person, and I’m putting a pillow over your face once you fall asleep.”
“I like pillows.”
“You won’t be alive to like this one, Rip.”
“What, are you embarrassed?” He leaned down, his mouth inches from mine. “Don’t be… we all have needs. Oh, and Colby, next time you try to win an argument, I’d remember this moment right here. But don’t worry, you’re practically family, this is a safe space, you know? You can have all the feelings you want, promise.”
“Safe space my ass,” I said through gritted teeth. “Now flash one of those sexy smiles over to Mrs. Harris so she doesn’t think we’ve been arguing.”
“Did you just call me sexy?” he said, ignoring my comment.
I tried like hell not to flinch. “It was a total accident, but yes. I’m desperate,” I teased in a way that I hoped would shut down the situation. “So hurry up. I want her face flaming red and her brain thinking about taking out her dentures and going to town.” Where did that even come from?
I blamed Banks.
Or maybe it was just exhaustion?
“You’ve single-handedly killed any future erections. You know that, right?”
Good. “Dentures, dentures, dentures. Hurry!”
Muttering a curse, he slowly turned his head and gave Mrs. Harris a little wave and then bam.
The smile.
Not a forced one.
Not the ones he grudgingly gave me.
But a holy-shit-I’m-selling-all-my-worldly-possessions-for-one-more smile.