Page 10 of Enticing

I watch carefully as he glances back at her through the rearview mirror of his fancy SUV, a grin spreading across his handsome face. “I love mac ‘n cheese, short stack.”

Short stack?

Izzy doesn’t miss a beat. “That’s what we’re having for dinner. You wanna have dinner with us?”

“Oh, Izz.” I turn to face her, hoping to stop the inevitable disappointment when he hopefully politely declines. “I’m sure Leo has other plans that don’t?—”

“How could I turn down dinner with two beautiful ladies?” he lays it on thick while his impossibly blue eyes crinkle as he turns a corner.

I can think of a few ways he could turn down dinner, but I keep that to myself. Izzy seems to like him, which means maybe she’ll stay excited for hockey instead of giving it up like every other thing we’ve tried since leaving her father last year.

“There’s three of us,” she tells him. “Me, Mom, and Lennox.”

“Lennox, huh?” he asks curiously.

Izzy bobs her head. “But she’s a baby and doesn’t eat real food yet. More for us that way.”

Leo nods, unfazed, and I wish I could say the same.

This man has no idea how much every word out of his mouth is affecting me. Ratcheting up my anxiety, which has already been off the charts lately. No one is this charming. They’re just not. Not unless they want something, and I have nothing left to give.

He turns those eyes on me, and I feel their warmth down to the tips of my cold toes and curse myself for it. Stupid zing. “I mean, if it’s all right with your mom, of course.”

I open my mouth to tell him it doesn’t seem like he’s left me much choice when Izzy answers for me.

“Of course it’s all right with her. She makes the best macaroni. She likes to make it crunchy on top.”

“I love the crunchy stuff,” Leo agrees, and any chance I had of telling him no flies right out the window with the happy little squeal of joy from my daughter.

At least he’s in for a surprise . . .

The crunchy stuff is usually burned macaroni.

Leo throws the SUV in park once he pulls into the driveway, and Izzy hurries out of her car seat and races toward the house.

“Slow down, speed demon,” I yell after her as I close the car door behind me, but it’s no use. She’s already left us in her dust.

“Listen,” Leo starts as he lets himself out of the car. “I don’t have to come in, if this is weird for you.”

Weird for me? Is he serious?

“Well... I can think of about a hundred other ways to get a much better meatloaf and macaroni and cheese dinner that don’t involve taking us home, but if you’re good with it, I guess it’s the least I can do to say thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me.”

I tilt my head and stare at him.

I really should have said—Of course it’s weird for me. What I want to know is why isn’t this weird for you? You don’t know us, and now you’ve rescued us, which to be honest pisses me off. And now my daughter invites you to dinner for burned macaroni and cheese, and you accept. If Caitlin and Bellamy didn’t vouch for you, I’d think you were sketchy as hell, Sinclair.But I keep my inner skeptic to myself instead. He did help me out tonight.

“Haven’t you ever met a nice guy before, Addie?” He winks and walks around the car to my side as a big, fat drop of icy-cold rain smacks me in the face.

“Nice guys don’t exist,” I argue as we walk into the house.

“Ahh... so you’re a cynic,” he laughs, and I shake my head and kick off my shoes before I go in search of Mrs. Murkey with Leo following behind.

“I’m a realist,” I answer as we walk into the kitchen, and Mrs. Murkey hands me a fussy Lennox. I sway from side to side, trying to stave off the witching hour meltdown she’s inevitably due for right about now and run my hand over her tiny tuft of blonde hair, while Lennox sucks viciously on her bright pink binky.

“Good luck. Little Miss Lennox has been awfully fussy this afternoon.” She looks behind me, and her eyebrows shoot up high enough to touch her white, curly hairline. “Are you going to introduce me to your handsome caller?”

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