wouldn’t watch them when I asked you.”
“Of course not.” Barry grinned. “I do plenty for you already.” His gaze shifted to Molly, and he dipped a cavalier bow. “For Ms. Leigh, however, I am more than willing to go above and beyond the call of duty.”
Please don’t do me any favors, her narrowed gaze told him.
“Thanks,” she said aloud, “but they’re really not used to strangers, and—”
“He’s very strange,” Tyler interjected.
“Only from spending too much time with you, O-Difficult-One,” Barry replied blithely. He gave the boys a big smile—but a genuine smile. Kids could always recognize the real thing. “Hey, guys, I was just about to send down to the kitchen for an ice-cream sundae. Anyone wanna join me?”
An enthusiastic chorus of “Yeah!” answered, and the twins abandoned Molly to run to him.
Marvy. He’d found the magic words. Her brood was as chronically hungry as any healthy, growing boys ever were. They’d stick to him like super glue if they thought he’d feed them.
Molly gave up. They obviously weren’t going to let her delay this, and it was probably just as well she get it over. Surely she could control her hormones for however long it took to convince Tyler to let her retain custody of the kids.
“Okay.” She turned to Barry and the boys, who were giving their ice-cream orders to Hanson to deliver to the kitchen. No doubt the food would arrive back here in gold dishes on a jewel-encrusted tray. “Just make sure those sundaes are small ones,” she warned. “Too much sugar and they’ll be wired all night. I’ll never get them to sleep.”
“No problem,” Barry said. “The ice-cream here is actually homemade frozen yogurt with only natural fruit for flavoring and a little raw honey.” He winked. “Ty’s a physical fitness nut.”
“Really?” Her brows rose as she looked at Tyler. Whoever would have guessed they had anything in common?
“I’m not a ‘nut’ about it,” he replied. “But, yes, I do try to take care of my body.”
A sudden gleam in his eye seemed to say, I bet I could take real good care of your body, too.
Molly’s mouth went dry. In the second of tension that followed, her voice rang out like a bell.
“Kiss-kiss! C’mon, pretty boy, give me a kiss.”
“Amazing.” Tyler looked ever so ready to oblige. “Are you a ventriloquist? I never even saw your lips move.”
And, at the moment, he was staring at them quite intently.
Where was a hole to crawl into when she needed one?
“It was Admiral Byrd,” Molly choked out. “The Myna—one of his tricks. I say ‘kiss-kiss,’ then put a bit of food between my lips, and he’ll take it out with his beak.”
“Sounds like fun.” Slowly, Tyler leaned toward her. His breath blew out warm and minty with his words. Why had she never noticed before what a sexy aroma mint was? “I have some sunflower seeds in my office, if you’d care to demonstrate, Ms. Leigh.”
Oh boy, would she.
No. Molly jerked back as she realized she’d been drifting forward to meet him, her mouth parted in readiness, her breasts almost grazing his chest. And right in front of the kids! She was really losing it.
Pulling in a deep breath to steady herself, she glanced over her shoulder at the three boys. They were busy putting Fluffy the Wonder Dog through his repertoire of tricks (all two of them) for Barry Baker, and hadn’t noticed her and Tyler.
Thank Goddess.
They all seemed fine without her, and Barry seemed to have everything under control. He obviously had a way with kids. Relieved, Molly turned back to Tyler, only to see him striding for the far door he’d entered from.
Huh?
He’d refused to delay their meeting, demanded she accompany him now, yet he was leaving without her? What was his problem? From the way he walked—more of a stalk actually—he looked angry about something. Angry with her?
Yeah, well, she expected him to be angry before their impending confrontation was over. But she hadn’t even started to read him the riot act yet.
Molly hesitated a moment, staring after him, studying the rigid line of his back, the grim set to his shoulders as he exited the pool area. She read him like a billboard.
He wasn’t angry. He was hurt.
Damn.
She glanced again at the boys hanging around Barry like he was Father Goose, like he was their long-lost relative or something. Tyler was the real long-lost relative, and her trio had spurned him flat-out. He might have expected them to be clinging to her, but it must have been a rough blow to see them take so instantly to someone as much a stranger to them as himself.
Oh, hell…
Knowing she was probably making a big mistake, Molly hurried after him…
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About the author:
https://www.mimiriser.com
Mimi Riser is a longtime author of both fiction and nonfiction, including several series and spanning a variety of genres (with flavors ranging from sweet to spicy hot). Her books celebrate the upbeat, the offbeat, and “beating the odds.” She began life in the urban northeast, but now resides in the rural southwest with her best friend and husband Rob. (And, yes, she believes in love at first sight. Doesn’t everyone?)
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