Page 31 of Merry Little Midlife Matchmaker

“Mo-om,” Zach complained.

“Shoes,” I replied.

Zach’s shoulders dropped, but he headed for the foyer. My mother followed, and I brought up the rear.

“Thanks for watching them tonight,” I told my mother.

“No problem at all. I’m glad we got to help Sean out with his decorations. I’ll wait for you in the car.” She kissed my cheek, then kissed Sean’s, and hustled the kids out to her vehicle.

I pulled my shoes on and ignored the press of Sean’s presence. He leaned on the wall opposite me, his long legs dominating my peripheral vision.

Finally, I stood and zipped my jacket. I gave him a bright smile. “Well. Goodnight!”

“Lizzie—” His voice was quiet, but it stopped me in my tracks. He glanced around the edge of the wall to check on Mikey, then turned to me. “About earlier…”

Nope. We werenotdoing this. It was humiliating enough to know that the erection hadn’t been caused by me, but by a random reaction of his body. I didn’t want to have to fumble my way through this conversation and possibly reveal the fact that I was desperately, hopelessly attracted to him.

The fact that I’d basically humped him from underneath him was mortifying enough as it was.

He’d made me remember far too many things that were better left buried. Like the touch of a man’s hand against my bare skin. Or the press of his cock against my opening. Or the tight, hot release of a strong orgasm.

He wasn’t for me. I couldn’t have him, and I wouldn’t torture myself by indulging thoughts about the impossible.

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” I said, waving a hand and affecting a casual laugh. “It happens. Night!”

If my cheeks were red when I got in my mother’s car, it was probably because of the cold.

FOURTEEN

SEAN

It happens.Those were her exact words. I stared at the ceiling in my bedroom and frowned, sheets twisted around my restless legs.

Did it happen, though? How often did it happen that men got hard and pressed themselves against her the way I had? And why did that thought make me want to tear my own skin off?

She’d waved me off like it had meant nothing to her, and I’d nearly lost my mind.

Maybe it was all this talk of matchmaking. I hadn’t been on a date in a long time, so the prospect of spending time with a woman was making my body go haywire. Maybe the Butlers had been right, and it was time for me to put myself out there. I could date someone; it didn’t have to be anything serious. I didn’t have to introduce her to Mikey or think about marriage and commitment.

So maybe my agitation was generalized; I needed to blow off some steam.

Or maybe it was just the fact that Lizzie was soft and plush and kind and perfect. I didn’t want to blow off some steam. I wantedher. I wanted to tug the knot of her sweater and let it fall open so I could admire her body. Touch her. Taste her.Watch her face while I made her come on my hand. I wanted her writhing and desperate and begging for me.

But—it happens.

Sighing, I scrubbed my palms over my face. It was all well and good to find her irresistible, but she was my best friend’s little sister. I couldn’t mess things up. Not when Mikey was smiling and laughing so soon after the move. Not when he seemed to have found a friend in Zach, when he’d integrated into his school so well and so quickly.

“Dad?”

I turned to see my son in my doorway, his hand gripping the jamb while one foot scratched at the back of his opposite calf.

“Yeah?”

He took a step into my room. “I just wanted to say thanks. For the tree and everything.”

All the fight and tension went out of me. I pushed myself up to a seated position and leaned my head against the headboard. “You were right about the tree, buddy. It looks really good, and it was fun to decorate it together. I should have gotten one every year.”

“Do you think…” He bunched his lips to the side, then wandered into the room and climbed onto my bed.

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