Page 12 of Just Like That

“He’s asleep,” she said as though she could read my mind.

Hazel walked across the grass in her flip-flops, and I focused on the trees behind her rather than the way the breeze lifted her soft red hair.

When she got close enough, there was a ripple of uncertainty that fluttered across her perfect features. For a split second, she almost looked scared.

It was gone in a second, though, and in its place Hazel stepped up and rolled her shoulders back.

“Honey, I’m home!” Hazel’s soft brown eyes crinkled at the corners from her wide grin.

My breath expelled in an impatient huff.

Hazel mirrored my sigh and looked around with wide eyes. “Woof. Tough crowd ...”

Her humor almost pulled a wry smile from me.

She swallowed hard and met my unyielding eyes. “Did you change your mind about me parking here?”

I gritted my teeth. It was the most practical solution I could come up with on the fly. “It’s fine. Did you have a better option?”

Hazel laced her fingers together, pushing her shoulders back and straightening her spine. “I’m a go-with-the-flow kind of girl. This isn’t much different.”

The way her lips quirked to one side was cute and endearing. I caught myself staring at her mouth. It was plump and lush and looked like a hell of a good time.

I tore my gaze from her mouth when Hazel looked over my shoulder to the house at my back. “You live here?” she asked.

My house was custom built and far too large for any one man. The black siding nearly vanished under the towering trees. A trail of flat cobblestones wound a path from the driveway to the steps of the porch, and I’d made sure the landscaping melded seamlessly with the surrounding trees. At the back of the house, floor-to-ceiling windows provided spectacular views of Lake Michigan. The house stood proudly on top of a towering sand dune that led to a private beach.

Sure, it was a beach I never had time to enjoy, but it was mine.

My home was a few miles out of town, which offered me the seclusion and privacy I craved. Why on earth I thought it was a good idea for her and Teddy to camp out on my property was beyond me.

It had to be the stress. That was the only excuse for giving up my privacy to a woman and child with a ridiculous claim that I was the kid’s father.

I tried my best to appear unaffected by her poking. “Are you surprised that a bachelor has taste?” I shot back.

Her eyes narrowed but didn’t waver as she stopped at the base of the stairs. “Surprised to see you live in an overpriced, secluded hideaway where no one would hear it if I screamed? No. No, that tracks.”

I stepped down to stand beside her and leaned forward, pulled by an invisible tether that drew me to her sass and inconvenience. I was close enough to hear the hitch of her inhale as I soaked in the warmth of her skin. My gruff whisper floated across her ear. “If the neighbors can’t hear my woman scream, then I’m not doing my job right.”

As soon as the words were out, I bit back a curse. My eyes sliced to the side, immediately checking to see if Teddy had heard my slip of the tongue, but the inside of the bus was dark and still.

Fucking idiot.

Something about being near Hazel Adams made me lose my composure. Like there was a feral animal locked inside a cage in my chest and she stood on the outside, waving the key.

Taunting me.

I turned to go inside.

“Do you want to have breakfast or something tomorrow?” Hazel asked as I climbed the stairs. I slowly faced her, unsure of how to gently tell her that sharing a meal with her was the absolutelastthing I needed to be doing.

Against the setting sun, she looked sad and tired.

And young.

“How old are you?” I asked, ignoring her question about breakfast.

Her chin lifted. “Twenty-five.”

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