Page 60 of Under Daddy's Spell

“Not a football fan, I take it?”

“Except for running, I’ve never been what you’d call the sporty kind.”

He grinned down at her.

“What?” she demanded, but he shook his head.

“An audible is when the quarterback changes the play at the line of scrimmage.”

“O-kay...”

“I’m the QB, calling the plays for the rest of the week. Tomorrow will be at your place. We’ll order in and talk this out. I’ll pick up Rufus and take him to my house on Thursday. I’m cooking. Prepare to spend the night. On Friday, get someone to close the bookstore because I want to introduce you to jazz at the Davenport and shrimp and grits at Tableau.”

“Do I get a say?”

Amusement glinted in his eyes. “Do you have a problem with any of that?”

She didn’t. “No.”

He gathered her close. “You’ll learn soon enough that Daddy knows best, but you always have a say, Tessa.” He kissed her again, soft, sweet, and lightly nibbling on her lower lip. It wasn’t nearly enough, but he had to go. “Walk me to the door.”

Taking her hand, he led the way, not waiting for her agreement. But Tessa didn’t mind. She found his take-charge manner rather hot. It might be different with something more important, but that was a bridge she’d cross later.

As they emerged from the aisles, a crack of lightning, so loud it must have struck nearby, stopped them both in their tracks. The lights went out a split second later. Tessa gripped his hand in the darkness.

“You can’t go outside in this storm,” she exclaimed at the same time he declared, “I’m not leaving you here without power.”

“What about your meeting?”she asked.

“I’ll call in for it. Do you have a flashlight?”

“Behind the register.”

Using the light on his phone, he led her to the front counter and held it for her as she searched for what she needed. As soon as she switched on her hands-free work light, the power came on.

“Thank goodness,” she breathed.

Jordan stared out the front window, frowning when a gust of wind and rain battered the glass. “The storm isn’t letting up. Are you going to be okay here by yourself?”

She pulled the weather up on her phone app. “There’s a warning, but it expires in thirty minutes. Go. I’ll be okay.”

“I don’t like this,” he replied.

“Although I don’t always act like it, I’m a big girl.”

He hooked his hand behind her neck and hauled her close. “You don’t know how much leaving you rubs against the grain, but my meeting is important.”

“You’re right next door... Daddy.”

He closed his eyes. “That’s not helping me leave you, baby.”

The stunning pools of blue reappeared ever so briefly before he took her lips in another smoldering kiss. It left her weak-kneed, which she thought until now was something that only happened in books. But, when he released her, she had to grab hold of the counter, knocking over a stack of books as she steadied herself.

As Jordan bent to pick them up, she remembered what she was doing when he came in.

“I’ll get those,” she all but shouted. “You’ll be late for your call.”

But he’d already scooped them up.

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