Page 14 of Daddy's Little Mama Bear

Mac stared at Janie and Eleanor as they munched on their nuggets. He wanted this every day. Janie looked up and made eye contact with him. Her cheeks went red. He needed to not just stare at her but also talk. He didn't want to make things awkward while they ate.

"How's work going for you?" Mac asked. "You edit books, right?"

"Yeah, I do," she replied as she sat her fork down. "It's going well. Keeping me busy but it also allows me to have time with my daughter."

"That's good. I bet it's nice to have her close." Janie nodded her head and it fell silent between them. "How many authors do you edit for?" he asked.

"Three consistently. But I have some authors ask me to just do one manuscript and I never hear from them again," Janie replied. "But those three told me they wouldn't go to anyone else so it's nice knowing I have some loyal customers."

Eleanor slapped the little table in front of her. Mac looked over at her and gave her a smile.

"Do you want Mac and Cheese?" he asked.

She squealed in delight and he started to slowly feed her some. Everytime he would check to see if the temperature was okay, even though he knew it was. Before coming into the dining room, he had made sure that nothing was too hot for either one of them. Mac didn't want them burning their lips or tongues on anything. Eleanor happily ate every bite he gave her.

"You don't have to do that," Janie said. "I can do it."

"I would like to, if it's still okay," Mac replied. "I miss feeding someone." A blush went across her face and Mac wanted to know what she was thinking. Could she be thinking about him feeding her? He would love to do that.

"I'm happy that work is amazing for you. If you need anything, let me know. You have my phone number," Mac said as he looked at her.

She nodded her head and went back to eating.

Right now it didn't feel like the right time to tell her that he wanted to pursue something with her. How he was going to tell her, he didn't know. He had been dropping hints for the past couple of months, but she hadn't done anything.

Which made him think that he needed to spell it out for her. See if she was just oblivious to the hints he was dropping or if she didn't reciprocate his feelings. But Mac didn't think it was the second thing. Finn and several of the other owners had said she was interested in him. He just needed to show her that he was serious and wouldn't walk away, that her daughter was precious to him, as well.

"Would any of you guys like Oreos and ice cream?" Mac asked. He also made sure to be stocked in those so if they ever came over, he had some unhealthy snacks for them to eat.

"No, thank you," Janie said. "I've got to get Little Bit in bed." She had spelled out the word ‘bed’ which made him think that Ellie didn't like to go to bed.

"Well, let me walk you to your door," Mac said. She went to protest but he stopped her.

"I know it's just across the lawn, but I want to make sure that you get home safely. While this is a good neighborhood, something could still happen," Mac said. "I would never forgive myself if something happened when it could have been prevented."

"Okay, thank you," Janie replied. He watched as she picked up Eleanor and held her close to her body.

"Do you want to take any of the leftovers?" he asked.

"No, thank you."

"Next time I'll have to cook for you, not just heat up some food." A blush crept up on her cheeks but she didn't say anything. They walked across his lawn and to her front door. She unlocked the door and looked back at him. Mac leaned forward, kissing her forehead. "Goodnight, Pinky. If you need anything, call me."

She looked at him funny. "Goodnight, Mac."

"Night, Princess."

"Macie!" Ellie tiredly said and waved back at him.

"Precious," he whispered as Janie closed the door.

He stood there for a couple of seconds, taking everything in. She hadn't said no to him cooking for her again, but she hadn't said yes. Mac would just have to work on that.

CHAPTER FIVE

JANIE

She had been ignoring and hiding from Mac any time she saw him. Janie knew it wasn't right, but she didn't know what else to do. Everything was getting so complicated and she hadn't had time to sort through things.

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