Page 48 of One More Heartbeat
Athena hoists Peony onto her hip. “Thank you for lunch.” She glances down at my daughter and waves at me. “Say bye-bye to your daddy, Peony.”
“Bye-bye.” Peony’s words are soft and tentative, her tone innocently sweet. She waves at me, her hand movement mirroring the flapping of a baby bird.
And I feel like I’ve just won a trillion dollars.
I wave and stand. “I’ll walk you two to the hotel. Or if you want, I can drop you off. My SUV is parked around the corner from here.”
“Do you have a car seat for Peony?” Athena asks.
I cringe. I hadn’t thought to pick one up in Eugene yesterday. Guess I can add that to the list of things I’ll need to pick up in the city tomorrow.
“It’s nice out. Peony and I can walk. We’ll see you tomorrow.” Athena turns to Zara. “Thank you for the food. It was delicious.” She starts toward the door.
“I’ll walk you to the hotel.”
“That’s okay,” Athena tosses over her shoulder to me, her tone bordering on dismissive. “We’ll be fine.”
Peony peers around Athena’s arm, her lips pressed in a little pout. Iget one last glance at the combination of Kenda’s and my features, and then she and Athena disappear into the hallway.
I drop my ass into the armchair. “I can’t believe I forgot to get a car seat,” I mumble to myself, dropping my head on the back of the chair. I rub my hand down my face.
Zara sits on the armrest and drapes her denim-clad legs over my thighs. “Don’t be hard on yourself. You’re doing great.” She brushes aside a strand of hair on my forehead and winces.
“You sure about that?”
“Absolutely.”
I raise a challenging eyebrow. “Is that why you just winced when you said I was doing great?”
Confused divots form between her eyes. “I didn’t just wince.”
“Yes, you did.”
Zara’s features twist into an expression I recognize. She’s replaying in her head the last few minutes of our conversation, trying to figure out what the heck I’m talking about. “That wasn’t why I was wincing.”
“Then why did you make that face if you weren’t cringing at how bad a job I’m doing?”
“It’s nothing. I hurt my shoulders a few months ago, and they still bother me from time to time.”
I frown. “How come this is the first I’m hearing of this?”
“Because it’s no big deal.”
“If it’s no big deal, you wouldn’t have winced when you moved your shoulders.” I spread my legs apart and pat the spot between them. “C’mon, Golden Girl. Sit here and I’ll massage them. See if I can get the knots out.” Or whatever it is that has caused her discomfort.
“That might work.” She shifts to sit between my legs. Her ass lightly touches my package, and I have the sudden need to adjust myself.
She undoes the buttons of her cardigan and lets the top slide down her arms, leaving her shoulders bare under the thin strap of her tank top.
Blowing out a steadying breath, I push her hair aside, exposing her neck and shoulders, and gently massage her tight muscles, working out the knots.
This isn’t the first time I’ve massaged Zara’s shoulders, butsomething…I don’t know what…something feels…different…this time. There’s a fluttering in my chest, a breathlessness I can’t explain.
Zara drops her head forward, and a soft moan escapes her. The sound goes straight to my cock.Dammit, it’s not that way between us, I remind it.We’re friends.
The kind without benefits.
I blow out another slow breath.Mind back in the game, soldier.
