Loving the Nurse (A Single Dad Romance)

“What if I’m never ready, Megan?” If I was strong enough or brave enough, maybe I would just jump into things with Antonio and hope for the best. But I wasn’t. I was scared, terrified actually, that he would break me worse than the others.

“If you’re never ready, then you’ll miss out on what could be something really great, or at least really hot. And worse? You’ll have to watch him move on.”

That was the worst part, knowing he would move on eventually, probably to a woman who was everything I wasn’t, which would confirm my fears. “This sucks.”

Megan laughed. “Right? But this is the sucky part, once you figure out what you want and go after it, the rest is pretty damn great.”

“Spoken like a woman who has hot sex with the love of her life on a regular basis.” The doorbell rang and I sighed.

“Expecting someone?”

“No,” I frowned and got up. “Maybe it’s cookie season,” I sang and made my way to the front door.

“Oh, if so, invite them in with all the boxes!”

I laughed at Megan’s sweet tooth. It made perfect sense for her to work at a bakery. I opened the door and froze at the sight of Antonio. It was the same man I’d grown used to over the past few months, bad boy sexy with tattoos and panty-dropping smile. But, gone was the black t-shirt and grey jeans, replaced with blue. Light blue denim and a deep blue t-shirt that highlighted his olive toned skin, gave it a magnificent glow in the early afternoon sunshine. Down girl.

“Antonio, what brings you by?” There was nothing I could do about the husky nature of my voice so I ignored it.

And that crooked smile he flashed that said he heard it too. “You. Of course.”

“Damn.” Megan’s whispered the word loudly and when I glanced over my shoulder, I found her fanning her face. “I think I’m gonna go home, maybe see if Casey has room in his schedule for a little afternoon delight.” She wiggled her eyebrows and grabbed her purse off the table beside the door. “Call me later. Much later, I hope.” Then she slid past Antonio and disappeared.

Traitor.

I turned back to Antonio and smiled shyly as I took a step back. “Come in.”

He stepped inside and I backed up against the wall. We stared at each other awkwardly, for a long moment. “You’re here.”

He smiled. “I am.”

“To see me.” It wasn’t a question and I bit back a smile.

“Yep.” That nervous smile of his was almost as hot as the cocky one, only more endearing.

I knew I was in trouble. “You’ve seen me, so…” I let the word hang in the air, curious to see what he would say, or do, next.

“I see you, Augusta.” His words were deep and gravelly, thick with lust as his brown eyes raked me up and down, several times. His nostrils flared with heat. “You look beautiful today.”

My instinct was to deny his words, to reject them outright, but I remembered his accusation from the other day and sighed. ‘Thank you, Antonio.” I wore a simple denim skirt and a t-shirt from a charity run several months back. I didn’t look beautiful, but I wouldn’t argue.

Not this time.

He flashed a knowing smile and took another step closer before he kicked the door shut behind him. “I brought you something.”

“You don’t have to bring me anything, Antonio.”

“I know, but I wanted to.” He produced a small white box with a gold ribbon wrapped around it. “For you.”

My hand shook as I accepted the gift that he seemed shy about giving, and I looked down at it. “What is it?”

“Open it up and see.”

My other hand shook as I tugged on the ribbon until it unfurled, and lifted the flap on the box. “Antonio,” I gasped at the sight of the small chocolates. “They’re beautiful.”

“Thanks. There are dozens of discards at home, damn shaky hands,” he growled with a self-deprecating smile.

“Why?”

“That day at the hospital when I kissed you, your mouth and tongue tasted like you’d just finished indulging in a piece of quality chocolate. It was delicious, and all I’ve been thinking about is making you some.”

“You made these?”

He nodded. “There are four different flavors.”

I reached inside to take one and he took the box from my hand. “Hey, those are mine!”

“They are,” he said softly and reached for my hand. “But I made them and I want to see you enjoy them. Completely.”

I didn’t know what that meant but the heat in his gaze and the clench of his jaw, rendered me speechless and I let him pull me into the living room and guide me onto the sofa.

Antonio sat beside me, body twisted so we faced each other. He set the box on the coffee table and plucked one from it with his thumb and forefinger. “Open up.”