Page 28 of Stirring Attraction (Second Shot 2)
But I’m not sure I’m the one for the job. Even though I’d like a glance at his ass. . .
She turned her gaze to Dominic. “No, I asked him to come inside.”
Even though part of her still held a grudge for how he’d pushed her away over and over while he went off to save the world, she wanted him here. She craved security and last night he’d provided. Along with eight hard inches of proof that he wanted to do more than peek at her panties . . .
She looked down at the rubber mat beneath her feet. Why did it have to be him? After all this time, why did she still want him? And what was she going to do about it?
“If you want him here, Lily, he can sip coffee all night,” Noah said, his voice gentle and so damn kind.
“Thanks.” She looked up at the man who’d been by Dominic’s side almost as much as she had in high school and for some time afterward. “He’s reviewing the police file for me. I was hoping to talk to him about it during my break.”
Noah nodded, his expression flashing “Pity! Pity” in the same way the neon Big Buck’s sign announced the bar’s location to the cars passing by outside. “I’m glad he’s being useful for a change.”
“He’s been a big help so far,” she admitted. “He’s . . . comforting.”
To the point I want to slip into the back room and take a very different type of break.
“Good. Since he was shot, we haven’t heard much from him. And before that it was all threats.” He raised his voice and looked over her shoulder in Dominic’s direction. “I’d rather have him looking out for you than throwing punches at me for knocking up his little sister.”
Dominic raised his mug in a mock salute. “Just waiting for the right time.”
The door leading to the back room swung open and Josie walked in with the squirming baby in her arms. “Right time for what?” she demanded.
“To take a swing at him,” Dominic said.
Josie marched past the service entrance to the back of the bar and down past the row of empty barstools to where her brother sat. “Well, before you try to fulfill your big-brother duties, I need you to hold Isabelle while I kiss her father.”
Dominic accepted the little girl, who looked like she’d rather be set loose to crawl around the barroom floor. But as soon as she settled onto her uncle’s lap, she let out a squeal of delight and reached for his beard.
If he hadn’t been holding the baby, Lily would have picked up the martini shaker and hurled it at him. Lying with her head on his lap and feeling the proof that he still wanted her had dialed her desire up to a nine. But seeing a glimpse at the future she’d always wanted—Dominic and a baby—pushed her into that dangerous place where she wanted something she couldn’t have.
Lily looked away in time to see Josie slip into Noah’s arms and kiss him, long and hard, audience be damned.
“I can do a lot of damage with one hand,” Dominic called.
Josie broke away from Noah. “Oh, stop it, Dom. If you wanted to hit him that badly, you would have come back and done it a while ago.”
“Probably,” he acknowledged. The little girl on his lap tugged on his beard and he turned his attention to her.
Having dealt with her brother, Josie turned to her. “How are you?”
And wasn’t that a loaded question. Still terrified of my own shadow felt like the wrong answer. But feeling like my ovaries are doing backflips at the sight of your brother with a baby would probably lead to questions she couldn’t answer. From Josie, Noah, and of course the man who managed to leave her feeling pissed off, turned on, and safe, all at once.
“Fine,” she said, though she stopped short of forcing a smile. That would probably be overkill.
“Josephine,” Dominic barked. “Stop looking at her like that. Lily is not about to fall apart. And if she was, bringing her in to work here probably wasn’t your brightest idea.”
“I know she’s not,” Josie snapped. “And there’s nothing wrong with working here.”
“Noah has a reputation for taking in strays.” Lily jumped in before the siblings took their fight to the next level.
“Strays?” Dominic said.
“That’s just because Noah picked up a box of kittens,” Josie explained.
And hired Josie when she came back to town, then quickly added Caroline to the staff.
Dominic slid off his stool. “Noah, how about giving Lily a break. Between the two of you and the baby, you should be able to manage the Sunday-afternoon crowd.”
