The moment they pulled into her driveway, he saw her standing in the backyard in front of a barbecue grill. Kylie looked up the moment she heard his truck and their gazes connected. His gut clenched when an irrepressible smile lit her face.
“Wow! Tiffany was right. Her mom is a knockout,” Marcus said with such profound amazement that Chance sharply turned his head to look at his son.
Marcus’s gaze was glued to Kylie, so Chance let himself stare at her, too, letting his eyes roam over her features. Kylie was a beautiful woman, and that was the main reason he—a man known to have good self-control—had been in such a bad way since meeting her. She was wearing a sundress and the turquoise color flattered her.
“Isn’t she pretty, Dad?”
Chance swallowed. In his book she was more than pretty, or beautiful or even gorgeous. There wasn’t a word he had to define just what she was, although the word perfection came pretty close. And not for the first time he wondered how she’d succeeded in keeping men at bay all these years.
“Dad?”
He knew his son was waiting on his response but he dared not look at Marcus for fear of him recognizing the lust in his eyes. “Yes, she’s pretty.”
Moments later, Marcus asked, “Aren’t we going to get out?”
Feeling a lot more confident that he had regained a semblance of control, Chance glanced over at Marcus. “You sound rather anxious.”
Marcus chuckled. “I am. I want you to meet Tiffany. She’s really something else.”
Chance nodded as he opened the door to the truck, thinking that, evidently, it ran in the family, because he thought Kylie was something else as well.
As Kylie watched Chance get out of the truck, she could no more stop the flash of desire and excitement that raced through her body than she could have denied her next breath. And to make matters worse, Chance’s eyes were glued to her and she knew he was remembering their kiss as much as she was.
She had thought about it a dozen times since it had happened. Her response to him had surprised her, overwhelmed her, until she’d come to grips with the fact that Chance Steele wasn’t your typical man.
Today he was wearing a pair of jeans and a crisp white shirt, and it was the first time she’d seen him dressed in anything other than a suit. He looked the epitome of masculinity, fine and sexy.
She forced her gaze from him to the young man walking by his side. So this was Marcus, the potential root of her troubles. He favored Chance and was almost as tall. He had the look of youth, but like his father, Marcus’s features were sharp and well-defined. And she was glad to see that he eschewed the popular baggy pants and was dressed neatly in a pair of shorts and a shirt. It wasn’t lost on her that he was checking her out with as much curiosity as she was him.
“I hope we aren’t too early,” Chance said, breaking into Kylie’s thoughts when they reached her.
They were early; a good thirty minutes to be exact, but she didn’t have any complaints. “No, Mr. Steele, you’re right on time,” she said, addressing him formally. They had decided not to let the kids know they had been in constant communication with each other. They didn’t want to run the risk of Marcus and Tiffany thinking they were gaming and plotting behind their backs, even if they were.
“Tiffany is inside getting dressed and I was setting up the grill. I hope hamburgers and hot dogs sound okay.”
Chance chuckled. “You aren’t trying to pay me back with the hamburgers, are you?”
“Pay you back for what?” Marcus asked.
Both Chance and Kylie glanced at him. “Nothing,” Chance said quickly, clearing his throat. She knew he hadn’t meant to let that slip.
“You must be Marcus,” she said and then gave him her full attention and offered him her hand.
His grin was unrepentant as he took it. “Yes, ma’am. And you’ve got to be Tiffany’s mom. You’re pretty just like her.”
Kylie smiled. This kid was a real charmer and before the evening was over she intended to see if his charm was the real thing or not. “Thanks.”
“Do you need our help with anything, Ms. Hagan?” Chance asked, glancing around at her big backyard.
Kylie looked up at him and smiled. “I think it would be fitting if you called me Kylie, that is if you don’t mind me calling you Chance.”
He smiled. “No, I don’t mind at all.”
“In that case, Chance, there is this one little thing I might need help with. Tiffany thought it would be a good idea to put up the volleyball net in case anyone was interested in playing after dinner. If I can get you and Marcus to set it up, that would be wonderful.”