Page 24 of Detention with Daddies

Her hands meet my chest, but she doesn’t push me back, an echo from the last time we were this close and I was kissing her.

“We don’t have to do anything serious, but I have to admit…I feel a bit like a teenager, craving a little make-out session and some cuddling?”

That’s the crux of it. I want to hold her in my arms. Just be with her nearby.

She purses her mouth, but it slowly turns into a smile. “Text me your address.”

OLIVIA

I arrive at Nick’s house after nine. It’s a small two-story house with blue shutters that match Nick’s eyes.

When he opens the door, he grins at me and my small bag. Yeah, spending the night means pajamas, a change of clothes, a toothbrush.

“Are you sneaking me up to your room past your daughter?” Because he hadn’t asked me to come in front of her, but he also didn’t hide how he felt about me in front of her. Kisses on the cheek, lingering touches…

And seeing him as a dad? Wow, who knew that would be so attractive?

I should have guessed though, everything about Nick is attractive.

“No. I told her you were coming.”

My body overheats at the admission, and I swear he clocks it. He’s so damn observant.

Nick takes my hand and leads me inside.

His house is cozy. Warm. A reflection of the pretty outside. Matching and not quite what I expected from Nick. There are touches of a woman who is not Ruby.

He pulls me into the kitchen. “Want a drink? A snack?”

“Wine? A beer?” I ask. I’m really not fussy, but I could use something stronger than water to get over my nerves. This is a big step.

He pulls a bottle from the fridge and pops it open to pour me a glass of sparkling white. He even has wine glasses. I suppose that’s a sign of being a proper adult.

Offering me the glass, Nick watches as I take a sip before he’s slowly moving into my space. The glass finds the counter as the inches disappear between us.

“How are your parents?”

That makes me laugh. “They’re good. Tired. They work a lot.”

“Mmm, like you.”

I smile at him, enjoying how he notices things about me and the way this man cares about the various parts of my life. About my family. Enough to ask.

He pulls in a deep breath, expanding that broad chest right at eye level. “How I enjoy making you smile.”

Nick leans in, kissing me softly. It’s a slow press of our mouths, driving my need sky-high. I want to grab hold of him. Because my skin is on fire.

And he’s barely touching me. It’s so opposite of what I expected from him. For all of the overt flirting, the clear attraction with him. He’s moving so slowly.

Our noses brush with the ghost of a kiss. A tease.

It makes me bold.

“Take me upstairs?”

Nick groans low, tipping his forehead against mine before taking my hand and escorting me up to his room.

The master bedroom is spacious and more masculine than what I’ve seen of the rest of the house. But it still has the telltale signs of a woman. The art on the walls, the decorative frame of the mirror above the dresser, the curtains.

---