Page 35 of Stick Play

He nods and does just that, and it’s so adorable, my ovaries start doing the Macarena. Good Lord. They throw kisses back and I flick the light off. We step into the hall, leaving the door open an inch.

“Thanks for reading. They seemed to enjoy it.”

He nods, puts his hand on the small of my back and leads me down the hall. I peek in on his father, who is still sleeping, and give Ash a satisfied nod.

“Glass of wine to wind down before bed?”

I should probably just go to bed. I’m tired after very little sleep last night, plus I worked all day, but my brain is stimulated…and well, let’s face it. Other parts of my body are stimulated too. I just can’t let anything happen between us, not with a house full of people.

Downstairs, we head to the kitchen and he grabs a bottle of wine from a shelf. “You keep wine on hand?” I ask and instantly wish I hadn’t. Of course, he does. He entertains bunnies all the time.

But you haven’t seen that lately, Gina.

He shrugs and I take in the way his muscles flex and relax again. My body warms, recalling the way those muscles did the same thing from my touch. “Yeah, lots of the WAGs like wine. I like to make sure I have their favorite kinds on hand when they visit.” He glances at the bottle. “I’ve seen you drink merlot a few times, so that’s what I grabbed for you.”

Observant.

Considerate.

God, people who call him an Ash-hole got it all wrong. Am I the only one who sees this other side of him? If he treated other women the way he treated me, no way would they call him anything but sweet.

“Oh, right. WAGs.” He pours me a generous amount and hands it to me. “That’s nice of you.”

He eyes me. “What, you thought I kept it on hand for all my bunnies?”

Busted.

“I’m sorry. That was presumptuous, and maybe not that nice of me. But you’re a single guy and can have as many bunnies as you want. There’s nothing wrong with that, Ash. It’s when you’re attached or married and having all the bunnies, that’s wrong.”

“For the record, I don’t want or have all the bunnies, and don’t believe everything you read.”

Everything I read? I’m not sure what he means by that, and instead of pressing, I ask, “You haven’t ever been serious with anyone?”

He glances down and a moment of heavy silence fills the kitchen as well as my lungs. His head slowly lifts, and I’m guessing whatever he’s about to tell me comes from a dark, painful place. “Yeah, once. But like your ex, she turned out to be something different too.”

I wince, truly gutted that he’s gone through some kind of tragedy, as well. “I’m sorry.”

Putting an end to the conversation—he clearly doesn’t want to talk about his ex—he grabs a beer from the fridge. He takes a long pull from the bottle, and as I watch him, I can’t help but want to kiss him and taste it on his tongue.

Alrighty then.

“Question,” is all he murmurs as he continues to hold his bottle.

I sip my wine and take in the seriousness in his features. “What?”

He tips the bottle toward the stairs leading up to the bedroom. “That’s how we handle it when they want something, by saying ‘we’ll see’?”

My heart squeezes at the way he says ‘we’. It’s only ever been me and for some reason what we’re doing here feels like a team effort, and I don’t hate it. Nope, I don’t hate it at all, and that’s really not a good thing under the circumstances. “It’s the way I like to handle it. It’s not a yes or no, and it seems to satisfy them.”

“Got it.” He grins. “You’re good at this mom stuff.”

“It’s trial and error, to be honest. There is no manual. Well, there is, but there shouldn’t be. Every child is different and just so you know, you’re good with them too, Ash.”

“I spent a lot of time with my dad. I think I get the ‘guy’ stuff. When it comes to girls, that’s a whole different story. I didn’t have any sisters, or a mom, and I think without that female influence, I’m just not sure about how to give a little girl what she might need. I don’t want to mess them up.”

“I do know.” Zoe isn’t getting the male influence she needs, and I can’t help but think that could affect future adult relationships. Wanting to lighten the heavy mood, I bump him. “When it comes to grown women. You got it going on.”

He steps into me and catching me by surprise, slides his hand around my body to pull me close and bends to kiss me. I moan and wrap my arms around his shoulders, going up on my toes as he deepens the kiss. When we finally break away, I’m breathless, panting, and…aroused.

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