Safe Bet (The Rules 4)

“She’s fine. They’re running a few tests, making sure she’s all right, and then they’ll most likely release her. Hopefully we won’t be here for too much longer,” he explains.

“Hold on.” I look at Wade. “Keep an eye on Autumn, will you?” I say before I resume my conversation with Drew. “Do they know what’s wrong?” I head for the bathroom doorway, needing the distance. I don’t want Autumn to overhear my conversation and get worried about her mom.

“They have some suspicions, but it’s nothing major, so don’t worry.” He pauses. “How are the kids?”

“Jacob’s in bed and Autumn’s getting a bath before she goes to bed.” I turn away just as I hear an extra big splash and wince. “Maybe Wade is getting a bath too. I’m not sure.”

Drew chuckles. “Better go check on them then. I’ll text you when we’re on our way home.”

“Thanks. Keep me posted.” I end the call and turn to find Autumn’s already out of the draining tub, a thick pink towel wrapped around her tiny body. She’s grinning up at me, bouncing on her feet.

“Uncle Wade took care of me!” she declares.

My gaze finds Wade’s. He’s drenched. His T-shirt, his hair, all of him is soaking wet and I try my best to stifle the laughter trying to escape.

“I think Uncle Wade needs a towel too,” I say with amusement as I pass him one of those thick towels. Somehow he appears even more masculine drying his hair with a pink towel, his bulging biceps making my knees weak, but I keep that comment to myself.

Autumn’s exhausted so it’s a breeze putting her to bed. I leave her bedroom to find Wade lingering in the hallway, his T-shirt still clinging to his chest in the most distracting way possible. I try my best to avert my eyes, but it’s difficult. The wet fabric clings to every muscle, accentuating all he’s got.

And he’s got a lot.

“You want to change into a different shirt?” I ask him.

His expression is one of total relief. “If you can dig one up for me, yeah. I can’t believe how much she splashed me. I used four extra towels to clean up all the water on the floor.”

I make a mental note to put all of those towels in the washing machine later. “There are a few clean T-shirts in the laundry room that belong to Drew. I’m sure they’ll fit you.”

Wade follows me into the laundry room and I grab a T-shirt off of the folded stack that sits on top of the dryer. “Here you go—” I whirl around, the words sticking in my throat when I witness what’s in front of me.

A shirtless Wade—and the reality is even better than what my imagination conjured up earlier.

My mouth goes dry as my gaze roves over all that bared, smooth skin hungrily. Wow. He looks like a Greek statue. Like an Adonis. I don’t know if I’ve ever stood so close to such a fine male specimen on display before. My fingertips tingle and I’m tempted to reach out and touch. Stroke and caress and explore and, and, and…

“Here you go.” I shove the shirt in his direction, my fingers coming into the briefest contact with his pecs and my knees literally go weak.

Ridiculous.

“Thanks.” He takes the shirt from my grip and tugs it over his head, all of that beautiful skin disappearing, just like that.

I’m immediately disappointed.

“You’re welcome.” My voice comes out squeaky and I clear my throat. “I appreciate the help.”

“You did most of the work.” He grabs his wet T-shirt off the floor where he left it and drops it into the nearby sink.

“Well, it is my job,” I say, my voice laced with sarcasm.

He cracks a smile. “You do it well.”

His words almost sound suggestive.

You wish.

I shove my inner mocking voice into the deepest recesses of my brain.

“You want me to stick around until Drew and Fable come home?” he asks, his voice full of concern.

“Oh, I’ll be fine.” I smile. He should get out of here. Wade Knox is a distraction I absolutely do not need. “Thank you for offering though.”

“Are you sure?” He reaches out and brushes his fingers against my upper arm, making my skin tingle. He only wanted to comfort me but instead all I can think is him taking my clothes off. My thoughts are totally out of control. “I don’t mind staying.”

“You don’t have to. Really I’ll probably just go to bed after you leave.” My cheeks go hot at my saying the word bed, which is silly.

“As long as you’re okay with being here by yourself.” We both start walking until we end up at the front door. He turns to face me. “You can text me if you need anything, all right?”

“But I don’t have your number.” I frown.

Wade holds out his hand. “Give me your phone.”

I enter my passcode and then hand it to him, and he proceeds to tap away at the screen before handing it back to me. “Just added my number to your contacts. Text me so I have your number too.”

“Okay.” I do as he says, sending him a simple one-word text.

Hey.

He smiles when he gets it, then pockets his phone. “Call me or text me whenever, okay? See ya.”

And with that, he’s gone.

I got out of that house as fast as I could, tormented by my lusty thoughts for the Callahan’s nanny.

My palms are literally sweating as I grip my steering wheel tight and I try my best to relax my fingers, cracking the knuckles with a quick flex before I settle my hands on the steering wheel once more. My grip is loose, my thoughts are loose, my emotions are all over the place.