Page 84 of The Single Dad

“What is it?” I ask.

“It’s a silent art auction. It’s for charity. For the children’s hospital, if memory serves. My friends and I are all going, and I can expect to run into some clients and colleagues there, as well.”

“Oh,” I say. “Well, that sounds pretty fun.”

“It will be,” he agrees. “Oh, and I almost forgot to mention—it’s fine if you want to invite a friend. There’s an extra seat at our table for the evening.” He hesitates, then adds, “As long as it’s not a guy.”

A shiver of delight goes down my spine at his possessive tone.

“You sound a little jealous,” I tease. I don’t want to take it much further than that. I have to be careful not to push too hard, or make it seem like I’m getting attached.

“I’m not jealous,” he says. Then, after a pause, he adds, “But if I saw another guy touch you, I think I would be… tempted… to remove that man’s hands from his body.”

I laugh lightly. “Sure. That’s not jealousy. Not at all.”

A begrudging smile tugs at his perfect lips, and then, before I know it, those lips are inches from my own.

He kisses me, and as he does, his fingers trail down my body. They graze my inner thigh, then slide along my swollen pussy.

And, as always, I lose myself in his touch.

* * *

Cole

Outside the windows in my home office, the sky is a gentle shade of deep orange, fading into the gray of the clouds. It’s early in the evening, and from the other room, I can hear the sounds of Riley playing with Archie: her voice, and Archie’s cheerful peals of laughter.

The doorbell sounds. I consider getting up to answer it myself, but I hear Riley call out, and her footsteps echo in the front hall.

There is a quiet exchange of words, unintelligible from this far away, and then the sound of the door closing. A few moments later, she appears in the doorway to my office.

A large garment bag is slung over her forearm, and she wears a baffled, worried look on her face.

“What the hell is this?” she asks.

I lean back in my chair, regarding her steadily. “It’s a dress.”

She scoffs a little. “I know that, but what’s it doing here?”

“I ordered it for the charity auction,” I tell her. “I wanted to make sure you had something to wear.”

She blinks at me, seeming stunned, then unzips the top quarter of the garment bag. She pulls away the plastic, giving me a glimpse of the black, charmeuse fabric of the dress. The torso is inlaid with a careful, hand-sewn pattern of diamonds.

“Are you kidding me?”

“I don’t understand,” I say. “It’s just a dress. I figured you might not have one for this kind of function, so I—”

“Cole, this looks expensive.”

I tilt my head. “So? What’s your point?”

“It’s too much,” she says. There’s a little crease of concern between her eyebrows. It’s kind of adorable.

“It’s really not,” I say with a shrug. “Everyone there will be wearing a dress like that, and it’s not as if I had to bankrupt myself to get it. Trust me, Riley. I can afford it.”

Despite this assurance, she still looks somewhat freaked out. She zips up the top of the garment bag as if hiding the evidence of a crime, then thrusts it at me, shaking her head.

“I can’t accept this,” she says.

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