Tempt Me

“That sounds good,” Mia said, but she bit down on her bottom lip, clearly taken aback by the news.

“Don’t worry. I won’t be under foot. My boss will keep me plenty busy and I’ll be going into the office for regular meetings.”

Her lips twitched in a half smile. “If you say so,” she said somewhat neutrally, although he heard the uncertainty in her tone.

If he were a betting man, he’d say she’d come to the same conclusion he already had. With Bailey in school, they’d be around each other more. Alone without a buffer, making it that much more difficult to keep any simmering feelings under wraps.

* * *

The week flew by and the weekend arrived. From high eighties, the temperature had fallen to the mid-sixties, typical Connecticut fall weather. Unusually, Mia had Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday to herself. Although she was on call if Austin needed her. Today, Bailey’s grandparents were here to visit, and Austin and his parents took Bailey and her friend Lisa for an early morning at the Bronx Zoo before the lines became crazy.

Mrs. Rhodes had extended an invitation but Mia didn’t feel right intruding on family time if they didn’t need her to work, and they insisted they didn’t. The last thing she wanted to do was join them and pretend to be like the big, happy family they weren’t. She knew her place and she planned to stay there no matter how hard it was slowly becoming.

She slept in and then decided to take a walk around the neighborhood in the gorgeous fresh air, something that had become a ritual while Bailey was in school. As she rounded the corner where that odd black car had parked earlier in the week, she was relieved to see it was no longer there.

She would love to walk a dog on her trips around the block, but it wasn’t her place to suggest a pet to Austin. Even if she did think a puppy would be good for Bailey. One of the foster homes she’d lived in had a mixed-breed dog that had slept at the foot of her bed. She knew many people weren’t as lucky as she was in foster care, which was the reason she wanted a big family of kids someday. Kids she rescued from the system as she hadn’t been.

She rounded the corner back to the house, unnerved to now see the same car idling on the corner, only to have it pull away as she reappeared on the street. She rushed inside and shut the door behind her, heart racing but she didn’t know why. She’d just have to mention the car to Austin again.

She headed to shower and she changed into a comfortable pair of black leggings and an oversized shirt. She skipped makeup and pulled her hair into a messy wet bun on top of her head.

Austin texted her to let her know they were on their way home, and she walked downstairs to put out the cold cuts, bread, and salads for lunch.

Soon after, the alarm chime went off, announcing their return. The side door opened and the girls tumbled in, giggling and laughing, the adults behind them.

“Mia! We saw gorillas!” Bailey yelled, her excitement making her voice carry.

“They were so funny,” Lisa said, a grin on her face.

Mr. and Mrs. Rhodes walked in behind the girls, followed by Austin. A baseball cap was backwards on his head and he wore a casual sweatshirt and jeans, a delicious look for the man usually in black slacks and white dress shirt she considered his work uniform. She tore her gaze from his sexy self and glanced at his parents. They were a good-looking couple, making it easy to see where Austin got his looks, and they were warm and sweet, and it was obvious how much they doted on their granddaughter.

“Tell me about gorillas!” Mia said, catching Austin’s shake of the head and finger over his lips too late.

Oops, guess she wasn’t supposed to ask that.

“The gorilla was playing with his privates!” Bailey said on a shriek, followed by uncontrollable laughter—hers, Lisa’s, and even Austin’s parents’.

To her shock, a red flush tinted Austin’s cheeks. His daughter had embarrassed him. Oh my God, how adorably sexy.

She swallowed hard. “Okay, come settle down and eat and you can tell me about the other animals you saw,” she said to the girls. Hopefully the others were better-behaved than the gorillas.

Austin shot her a thankful glance, laughter dancing in his eyes. She grinned and that sexual attraction simmered along her nerve endings.

“Mia, you really should have come along. It was fun to see the various animals. You would have enjoyed it,” Sarah Rhodes said, her voice kind.

She had short, dark hair and brown eyes that reminded Mia of her son’s, while Austin was the spitting image of his father, John, but the older man’s eyes were a mossy green. If his father was anything to go by, Austin would age well, not that she’d had any doubt.