Page 46 of Guarding Over You
“How about you?” she asked, her voice quieter now. She hesitated, her guard wavering just enough for him to see the shadow beneath it. The uncertainty and hope that she might not be as alone as she feared.
“Could be a conversation for another time… if you’re willing. You’ve got to bring Gracie to her visit on Saturday, right?”
“I do,” she said, her brow furrowing. “But it’s in Saratoga, and it’s stupid to drive all that way there and back just to turn around an hour later.”
He held her gaze, his hand still wrapped around hers before he finally let go, slowly, deliberately, like he was forcing his fingers to listen to reason. Forcing her eyes to stay locked on his.
The warmth of her skin lingered against his palm long after he released her.
Too soon. Wrong place. He knew all that.
But if he was honest, every part of him wanted to close the distance again and see if the spark tightening in his chest was real, or just wishful thinking. Was it just something that was going to burn out like the playful fireworks they’d held in their hands over the weekend, or light back up and explode into the sky?
And judging by the way her breath caught when he finally stepped back, he wasn’t the only one wondering.
“Why don’t I meet you there? We can get lunch. It will help you kill the time before you pick her back up. Keep your mind off of what you want to say to him but are afraid to bring up.”
He was pushing by voicing that, but if he didn’t push, he’d wonder and sometimes wondering was worse than making your thoughts known.
“I can’t ask you to do that. You’re working Friday and Saturday night.”
“So? I’m not going to sleep all day Saturday before I go in. I’ve got to eat. What time do you have to drop her off?”
“I’m not positive yet. It can change, but there is a window. It depends on what Billy’s plans are. I’ll get the notification by the end of the day. Could be morning or afternoon.”
He thought that was ridiculous, but he could see her being accommodating so that there was growth between father and daughter, even if that growth broke a little something in her along the way.
“I’ll work around it if I can. If you want me to. Maybe it’d be nice to have another lunch together, this time without a ton of prying eyes or a child looking at me as if I’m some god.”
She burst out laughing. “Oh my God, Blaze. You know how to brighten my day. God? Really?”
“Kind of runs in my blood.”
“What does? The ego and cockiness?”
“Genetics. We’ve all got it. The women love it.”
She snorted. “I bet they do.”
“Here’s the thing about Ridgeway men. We reserve it for a select few and those women who get it.” He brushed his knuckles across his chest, her eyes watching the movement. He was taking a page from Ash’s book and hamming it up, but it was fun at the same time. “They thank us for it in the end.”
She shoved his arm in a playful move. The woman who had flirted with him before she put those walls back up. He was slowly chipping them away.
“I bet they do,” she said. “And you want to give me a taste of it?”
He leaned down. “I didn’t think you’d banter with me like this, but I’m glad you are. Gives us something else to look forward to.”
“You’re making it tempting. Just the fact of how much fun I’m having talking to you is another to urge me on.”
“Points for me. What else is?”
Her eyes moved over his body in a slow, thorough appreciation sending blood rushing to his dick. Been a long time since he had that quick of a reaction also.
“The man standing in front of me. The one who got my timid daughter to not be so timid.”
“I noticed that,” he said, his voice more somber. “That she was shy the first day and not since.”
“She doesn’t normally open up to any man. She’s always been a little wary of strangers at first, but once she knows it’s fine, she’s good. Friendly. Playful and excited. But the last year or more changed that.”
