Page 17 of The Single Dads Club
I straighten my spine. “Fine. We’ll stay.”
His full mouth breaks into a happy grin. “Good. That was easy. Now, let’s talk about your place of employment ...”
I shake my head, frowning at him. “Don’t say a word, buddy.”He’s been driving me to work and my old neighbor watches Ella until I get off and he comes back to pick us up. I’m not sure what the plan is when he’s gone, but my job is one thing he doesn’t get to dictate.
Alexei only chuckles, but I can tell he was serious, and this is a topic of conversation we’ll be discussing in the future. God, this man. He’s equal parts gorgeous and infuriating.
He may have won this round, but I have no intention of giving in so easily.
Chapter Six
Alexei
I’ve just boarded a plane to California, but all I can think about is the woman and baby I’m leaving behind.
It took quite a bit of convincing to get Ryleigh to stay at my place while I’m away this weekend. I almost thought I’d have to threaten to tie her to a chair, but in the end, she finally agreed. It should be strange, I’ve known her only a handful of days, and yet I trust her completely in my personal space.
My agent, Slate, thinks I’m insane, but he hasn’t met Ryleigh. She’s the furthest thing from a gold digger you could find. I’ve had to fight with her every step of the way to get her to let me help.
Even the smallest things are difficult with her. She’s insisted on cooking for me as a way to earn her keep, which has been fine with me. I hate cooking, but I need to eat so often, it’s a necessary evil. Ryleigh seems to enjoy it. She’s made herself at home in my kitchen, and loves coming up with new dishes for me to try. The homemade fettucine Alfredo she made last night was almost as good as sex.
Scratch that.
It was amazing, but yeah, nothing is as good as sex. Living with a gorgeous woman I’ve seen naked twice has fucked with my brain. Now I have sex on the brain like a horny teenager.Fantastic.
I’m way overdue for some action, but there’s no way I can hook up with some random woman while Ryleigh and Ella are staying with me. At this point, I’m pretty sure the only woman I could get it up for would be Ryleigh.
How does this woman I barely know own me already?
My mind keeps remembering those tight-ass shorts she had on at the club and those gorgeous tits. Jesus, those tits and everything that’s below them have haunted my dreams.I’ve dreamt about her every night. Touching her. Kissing her. Rolling her nipples under my thumbs.
Unfortunately, she hasn’t shown the least bit of interest. Actually, that’s not entirely true. After dinner during her second night there, she lingered in the kitchen, standing close, her pretty blue eyes locked on mine, and for a second, I got the feeling that she wanted me to kiss her—or that she wanted to kiss me. Fuck, I wouldn’t have complained either way.
But there was no way I was going to make things awkward and freak her out. For all I knew, she’d panic and hightail it out of there. The thought of her and Ella out there somewhere fending for themselves wasn’t a chance I was willing to take,especially not in the middle of winter in Chicago.
So instead, I busied myself with cleaning the kitchen. Ryleigh left to lay Ella down, and when she came back and washed bottles beside me at the kitchen sink, all the tension from earlier was gone. We shared another glass of wine and talked about our favorite movies before parting ways to head off to bed—in separate bedrooms. It didn’t stop me from jacking off that night while thinking of how she looked in the bathtub, but at least I didn’t do something stupid like make a move on her.
She gets hit on all day every day at her job, and I’m not about to be like one of those Neanderthals and expect her to share her body with me just because I’m helping her. If and when she decides to share that delicious body of hers with me, it will be because she’s as desperate as I am to explore what could happen between us,not because she feels like she has to share my bed for a warm place to stay.
“You ready for the big game, Ivan?” my friend Doug asks, clapping one hand on my shoulder as he passes me in the aisle to take the row behind me. The plane is big enough that each player has his own row, which is helpful when you stuff sixty-five football players onto a plane together.
“Born ready, baby,” I quip.
The truth is, the game is the furthest thing from my mind, and I hope I can get through it without letting my team down.
I pull out my phone to text Ryleigh one last time before we need to switch over to airplane mode.
Hey, Ry—you guys okay? We’re about to take off.
A second later, my phone pings, and my mouth twitches in a smile.
We’ll be fine, Alexei. Go win that game. For me and Ella. :)
I chuckle and tap out a reply.
You going to watch me on TV?
I watch as the last of the players and staff board the plane and wait for her to reply.
