A moment ago, she’d been thinking about him and now here he was. The universe was toying with her. Nerves hurtled through her stomach in a blink and her grasp tightened slightly on Cole’s hand. “Jesse. What are you doing here?”
“Making a delivery,” he said and stepped aside. Brody raced in, grinning. “Hi, Miss Jill! Surprise!”
“Hi, Brody, it’s so nice to see you.” She looked up at Jesse again as concern whipped through her suddenly. “We weren’t expecting Brody today. Is Lucy all right?”
“She’s fine. Got a meeting with an architect is all and can’t really get the work done with—” he paused to give Brody a knowing look “—this little distraction running around. Mom’s off to Dallas for the day, so…”
“I get to play,” Brody explained and took off for the far corner where the train set was stored.
“Miss Jill…” Cole’s voice, even more urgent.
Right. She’d forgotten. To Jesse, she said, “I’ll, uh, be right back.”
A slight smile curved his mouth. “You go ahead. I’ll wait.”
Heart racing, stomach spinning, Jillian hurried Cole to the bathroom. By the time she returned, Jesse was perched uneasily on one of the kid-sized chairs sprinkled around the room. Mac sat on his lap, excitedly telling him a story. Her little hands waved, her eyes sparkled, and Jesse was giving her his complete attention.
Not fair, she thought. Not fair that a man that gorgeous, that dangerous, could be such a softie with her daughter. Most men she’d known put on a show of paying attention to Mac, just to get in good with Jillian. But it didn’t take long before their eyes slid away, their patience dissolved, and soon, it was clear that they either didn’t like children or simply didn’t want to be bothered with them.
Jesse was different.
Damn it.
Not only did he affect Jillian on an almost cellular level, but he cared about Mac. Yes, he was good with Brody, too, but the little boy was his nephew. She would expect him to be kind and patient with family. The fact that he showed the same attention to her little girl really touched Jillian’s heart. And that was dangerous.
As if he sensed her watching him, Jesse slowly turned his head and met her gaze. Even from across the room crowded with noisy children, Jillian felt the quick jolt of heat that raced from the center of her chest right down to the soles of her feet. A fire burned in her belly and just below, she felt the ache of need pulse into life.
Oh, don’t do this, Jillian. She had a job, an apartment and the start of a brand-new life. That’s what you need to focus on. Not the gorgeous cowboy that makes you burn. Her internal voice was stern, and she fervently hoped that this time, she’d listen to that voice rather than ignoring it.
“Horsies?”
Jillian heard her little girl and sighed. Mac had a serious crush on horses—and the cowboy who’d introduced her to them.
“When you come back to the ranch, you can ride the horse again, all right?”
Satisfied with that, Mac squirmed off Jesse’s lap then ran to the corner to play with Brody. Not only was her daughter getting too attached to Jesse, but she was clearly starting to think of Brody as a big brother.
She turned back in time to see Jesse lever himself out of the child-sized chair. He headed right for her, and she could only think that watching him move was like seeing a lion slowly uncoil himself and get ready to—Okay, maybe not attack, but to stalk. Not that Jesse was a stalker or anything, it was just—Oh stop, Jillian.
When he was close enough, she took a breath and told herself to get a grip. She wasn’t some timid virgin, for heaven’s sake. But even as she reassured herself, she had to admit that she’d never dealt with a man who was so completely male.
“What’s the matter?” Jesse watched her, a quizzical expression on his face.
“What? Nothing. Really.” Jillian shook her head, took a breath and told her racing heart to slow the hell down.
“Okay.” He didn’t look as though he believed her, but he let it go. “Lucy will be here in a couple of hours to pick up Brody.”
“Sure. That’s fine.” He was standing so close to her that she could see tiny gold flecks in his dark chocolate eyes. Why hadn’t she noticed them before?
“Got a lot of kids in here today.”
Safe subject. Good.
Jillian let her gaze sweep over the children in the big, bright room. “I know. Apparently there’s some big dance here at the TCC in a couple days.”
He nodded. “The black-tie gala.”
She turned and glanced at him. “That’s it. Well, some moms are out shopping for it and others are working here, getting ready for the big event.” She shrugged and smiled. “So, we’ve got a full house. I don’t mind, though. I love kids.”