Seduced By The Single Dad. Yvonne Lindsay

pushed for denial, for smoothing things over after neatly sweeping them under the carpet. But no. The truth was better. “Yes, Nell. You are pissing me off.”

      “Good.” Nell tipped her head to the side. The overhead fluorescents made her fabulous hair shimmer like a red waterfall. “Don’t you hurt him, or you’ll be answering to me.”

      Chloe sat tall. “I don’t know for sure what’s going to happen. But Quinn’s an amazing man who means a lot to me. The last thing I would ever want to do is hurt him.”

      Nell’s swivel chair squeaked as she flopped back in it and folded her arms across her spectacular breasts. She stared at Chloe, unblinking, for a grim count of ten. Then: “Look. I like your plans for the house. You know your job. I like the way you carry yourself. And I hardly knew you, back in the day. You were four years ahead of me in school. I only knew your reputation as the perfect one, the one headed for a good marriage to a rich husband, two-point-two children, a soccer-mom-and-country-club life—and some chichi career that you could fit in between social engagements.”

      “Something like interior design, you mean?”

      “Hey. If the glass slipper fits...”

      “As it turned out, it didn’t. Not by a long shot. And that was then, Nell. I’m not that girl anymore.”

      Another long, measuring stare from Nell. Finally, she shrugged. “You know, I think I believe you.” She got up and held down her hand. Chloe did want peace with Quinn’s sister—with all of his family. After a moment’s hesitation, she took Nell’s offered hand and rose. Nell said, “Looking forward to working with you.”

      “I’m sure it will be interesting.”

      “Right. And listen. When you tell Quinn about this little talk we had—”

      Chloe didn’t even let her finish. “Why would I tell him? The way I see it, what just happened is between you and me.”

      Nell arched an auburn eyebrow. “Fair enough.” And then she grumbled, “I’m really starting to like you. How ’bout that?”

      “I’m glad. I’m going to do my best not to disappoint you—though you did go a little overboard just now.”

      Always a fighter, Nell stuck out her chin. “You think so?”

      “Yes, I do. Then again, it’s nice to know how much you love your brother and that you have his back.”

      * * *

      That evening, Chloe spent a pleasant hour with a sketch pad, drawing a series of small figures that looked a lot like Annabelle. The figures all wore different versions of a magical, multilayered, brightly colored fairy princess costume, complete with wings—because what’s a fairy princess costume unless there are wings?

      A little later, when Quinn showed up, she took him downstairs to her home office and showed him the drawings.

      “She would love it,” he admitted with some reluctance. And then he shook his head. “You know she wants a puppy, too? There’s no end to what Annabelle wants.”

      Chloe laughed. “The puppy’s your problem.”

      “So far, we’re holding the line on that.”

      “I just want to make this costume for her.”

      He took the sketch pad from her, dropped it to her desk, then wrapped his arms around her and kissed the end of her nose. “You’re a pushover.”

      She grinned up at him. “I promise to get myself under control soon when it comes to dealing with her. But I want to do this for her. I want her to have her dream room and I want her to have her fairy princess dress.”

      He chuckled. “You’re giving me the big eyes. You’re as bad as she is.”

      She traced the crew neck of his Prime Sports T-shirt with her index finger and then she pressed her lips against the hot skin of his powerful neck. “I would need to take her measurements, and probably let her see the sketches, to make sure I’ve got it right, got it just as she imagines it. So she would have to know ahead of time that she was getting what she wanted...”

      “Yep. The big eyes,” he muttered gruffly. “I know what you’re doing.” He kissed her then, a lovely, deep, slow one, after which she sighed and gazed up at him hopefully. Finally, he grumbled, “Wait a week or two before you bring it up to her. At least she won’t think all she has to do is bat her eyes and beg a little and everything she wants will just drop in her lap.”

      “I’ll check with Manny, too, to make sure he’s okay with it. And if he gives the go-ahead, I’ll wait two weeks to show her the drawings. How’s that?” she asked, batting her eyes for all she was worth.

      He gave in. “Fine.”

      “Thanks.” She sighed and turned in his embrace so she could lean back against him.

      He put his arms around her waist, and she felt his warm lips in her hair. “How’d your meeting with Nell go?”

      Chloe thought of his little sister’s biker boots hitting the desk, of the hot, protective gleam in Nell’s emerald-green eyes. “Great. I like her. I think we’ll work well together.”

      “She can be a hard ass. Don’t let her intimidate you.”

      Chloe smiled to herself. “Not a chance.”

      And then she caught his hand and led him back upstairs to her bedroom, where they made slow, delicious love.

      He put his clothes back on at a little after midnight. She hated to see him go and she told him so. And then she kind of waited for him to point out that, if they were married, he wouldn’t have to go.

      But then he just kissed her again and said he’d see her tomorrow.

      She put on her robe and walked him to the sliding door in the great room. Once he was gone, she stood looking out at the stars, thinking about saying yes to him.

      Wanting to.

      Because she wanted him. She liked him—and she liked his daughter and Manny, too. He wanted a wife and a mother for Annabelle. And all her life, she’d longed to be an excellent wife to a good and decent man, to be a loving mother. The idea of having Annabelle as her own made her heart feel too big for her chest. And the part about having Quinn’s babies?

      That hollowed her out and made her burn.

      But speaking of burning...she’d been burned before, and badly. And it hadn’t even been three weeks since that first night Quinn came up the hill and joined her in her bed.

      How could she be sure of him in such a short time? With her track record, how could she be sure of anyone?

      The stars outside were silent. They had no answers for her.

      * * *

      Tuesday flew by. She had several customers at the showroom. And she had shopping to do, an endless list of goodies that would be needed for Quinn’s remodel.

      When Chloe got home that evening, she saw a moving van at the house across the street. She went on over. Manny was there, directing the movers. He greeted her with a grin and a hug and said that Quinn was down at the other house feeding Annabelle her dinner on the last night they would spend at home until after the remodeling.

      Chloe explained about the fairy princess dress.

      Manny said, “She’s gonna love that.”

      “So it’s okay with you? You don’t think I’m a complete pushover?”

      “I think we got a little girl who loves her princesses. And you want to help her with that. Sounds about right to me.”

      She thanked him and then glanced around, admiring the soaring stone fireplace and the thick log walls. “Give me a tour?”

      “Getting ideas for this one already?”