Page 27 of Under His Protection
And then the door opens and Melissa walks in. “Oh! Hi.” Her eyes widen. “I forgot my phone. I’m so sorry—I didn’t mean to barge in on you guys. Again.”
I release Haley and take a step back.
“It’s fine,” Haley says, her breath catching. Her cheeks flush a pretty pink. She grabs her purse off the foot of her bed. “We were just leaving.”
Out in the hallway, I reach for Haley’s hand. “This roommate thing is going to take some getting used to.”
* * *
We arrive at the McIntyre apartment building around six forty-five. I park in my assigned spot in the underground garage, and we take the elevator up to my floor.
Luckily, we’re alone in the elevator. I take the opportunity to draw Haley close and kiss her. It’s mostly a peck on the lips because I don’t want to mess up her lip gloss any more than I already have. Besides, this isn’t the place to do this.
Haley surprises me by slipping her arms around my waist and leaning into me, pressing her face against my chest and breathing deeply. “You smell so good.”
“I took a shower before I came to pick you up.”
She laughs. “No, it’syou.Yousmell good.” She gazes up at me with a playful pout on her face. “I’ve missed you.” And then she leans up for a kiss.
And this time it’s not a peck on the lips. I wrap my arms around her and hold her close. Her mouth is suddenly hungry and eager against mine, and hot desire rushes through me. As our kiss deepens, I slide my fingers into her hair, groaning because having her in my arms like this feels so damn good.
Without warning, the elevator doors swish open, and we break apart.
Mack and Erin stand there, staring at us.
Haley takes a step away from me and says, “Hi, Dad!”
Mack looks at his daughter, and then at me as I’m wiping strawberry-flavored gloss off my lips. Even if he didn’t actually see us kissing, he sure knows now because we’re both flushed and breathing hard.
“I hope we didn’t interrupt anything,” Mack says.
“No, sir,” I say. Nervously, I clear my throat. “Not at all.”
When we step out of the elevator, Mack wraps his arms around Haley, lifts her six inches off the ground, and kisses her cheek. “Hey, sweet pea! How are you?”
“I’m great, Dad,” she says as he sets her down.
“What brings you two here tonight?” he asks her.
“We’re having dinner with Layla and Jason. What about you guys? Where are you headed?”
“We’re going out for sushi,” Erin says.
Everyone who knows Erin knows she loves sushi. She opens her arms to Haley, and the two girls hug.
It’s not lost on me that the age gap between Mack and Erin is actually greater than the one between me and Haley. He has a problem where Haley and I are concerned, and yet hemarriedErin recently. Erin’s only about five years older than Haley, and technically she’s Haley’s newstepmom. The irony is huge.
Mack’s gaze meets mine, and he nods in greeting. “Hello, Philip. I heard about what happened Tuesday. Good job on resolving that embezzlement case.”
“I can’t take any credit for it. The case sort of resolved itself. There wasn’t much for me to do other than call 911 and let the police work it out.”
Mack pats my shoulder. “Still, good job.”
Mack and Erin step into the elevator. Just as the doors are closing, Mack says, “Maybe we’ll catch up with you later this evening.”
The doors close, and the elevator descends.
Haley blows out a breath. “Do you think he saw us kissing?”
