4. Bella

It was hard not to be sucked into the magic of the day at Colt and Ava's. There were games everywhere, snacks, desserts, candy, soda, movies, toys, balloons, and just about anything else you could imagine for a birthday party. The house looked like a tornado of pink had blown through. Add in ten other excited Littles, and Bella was having the best time.

When she'd first shown up, she was so nervous that she'd sat in her car trying to give herself a pep talk. The thing about being married to an emotionally abusive asshole was at some point, you start believing all the negative things that were said to you. Even a year later, she was still affected by his cruel words.

Ava had finally bounded out of the house and practically dragged Bella inside. She'd make sure to thank her friend later because if that hadn't happened, she was pretty sure she would have backed out and gone home. All of Ava's friends were so sweet and fun and treated her like she was part of their friend group from the second she'd walked in. Which was why she was waiting for Lucy to finish her turn at hopscotch so she could go next.

Just as she was getting ready to go, the hair on the back of her neck stood up and goosebumps flared over her skin. The feeling of someone watching her had her turning around to see who it was. A set of steel-gray eyes was practically burning through her and she didn't feel like she could breathe.

"Bella!" Ava called, waving her over.

It was at least thirty seconds before she could get her feet to move. With each step closer to the intimidating man, her heart rate kicked up another notch. When she reached Ava, Bella had to crane her neck just to look up at the man. Everyone was tall compared to her five-foot frame, but he seemed much more imposing. She guessed he was at least six-foot-three or more.

"Bella, this is my boss, Chase. Chase, this is my friend, Bella. Bella's going through a divorce and she could really use a lawyer to help her…"

She stopped hearing whatever Ava was saying as she peered up at the man. He was the most gorgeous creature she'd ever seen. Besides his height, he had the most interesting eyes and a chiseled jaw that she was pretty sure could cut stone. His dark brown hair was tousled perfectly, with some silver mixed in at his temples. She let her eyes wander down to his chest and had to remind herself to take a breath. The navy-blue T-shirt looked soft and was tight enough she could see the lines of his muscled chest.

God, Chase was a freaking sight to see. She could have stared at him all day. Unlike Ava's Daddy, his arms weren't completely covered in tattoos. Instead, she only saw a half sleeve poking out from his shirt and she had to force herself not to reach out and push that sleeve back so she could run her fingers over the ink and examine every inch of it.

"Bella? You okay?"

The feel of Ava's hand on her arm made her startle slightly and she hoped he hadn't noticed her staring. How embarrassing!

"What? Yeah, I'm good. What were you saying?" Bella asked.

Ava gave her a smug smile that told Bella her friend knew she was staring. "I was saying that Chase has an opening on Monday morning if you'd like to come in to talk about what's been going on."

Her eyes traveled up that muscular chest until she met his eyes, which were pinned to her face with an unreadable expression that made her squirm.

"Bella, it's nice to meet you," he said, holding out his hand.

That squirmy feeling had only intensified at his voice. Her nipples hardened and she was thankful her bra had enough padding to hide her aching peaks.

She wondered if she had drool coming out of her mouth as she stared at his enormous hand. It was one of those manly hands that you could tell he used for more than just office work. She wondered what he did to get the light callouses on his palms. Then she wondered what those palms would feel like on her bottom.

Ava's shoulder bumping into hers made her realize she was still staring at his hand instead of shaking it. She was thankful for her friend's silent shove so she wouldn't embarrass herself more than she already was.

"It's nice to meet you too," she said as she slid her fingers into his grasp.

If it were possible to get an electrical shock from a person, she was pretty sure Chase was shocking the hell out of her based on the zing running through her entire body. Holy crap! That touch was…just wow. Suddenly she wasn't as worried about the possibility of drool as she was about the wetness between her thighs. She was concerned it might soak through her panties and run down her leg.

"Monday would be great. Bring any documentation you have, and we'll go through it," Chase said as he kept his hold on her hand.

Sheesh, she was going to start panting if he didn't let go soon. The man was sex on a stick. A very yummy stick.

Thankfully, one of the men in the house called his name, and he quickly excused himself. But not before giving her one of the most breathtaking smiles she'd ever seen.

"See you Monday, then, Bella," he said before disappearing into the house.

Her eyes felt like they were going to pop out of her head as she turned to Ava, who was grinning like a fool.

"You never told me you work for a sex god," she murmured.

Ava burst out laughing and wrapped her arms around Bella's neck. "What, and ruin the fun that I just had watching you salivate over him?"

Bella closed her eyes and sighed. "Oh my God, I'm so embarrassed."

"I was kidding. You were fine. Chase is like the nicest guy ever. Except in the courtroom. He scares the poop out of me when I watch him in court. Plus, he's good friends with my Daddy, so you can trust him."

That made her snort. "Yeah. I trusted Jared and look how that blew up in my face."

Ava took her by the hand and led her back over to the hopscotch course. "Yeah, well, Jared is an idiot. Chase really is a good man. Colt wouldn't be friends with someone who wasn't, and he certainly wouldn't let me work for him if he were a bad guy. Chase will help you. Just give him a chance and enjoy the gorgeous sights to be seen while doing it."

The wink Ava gave her made her giggle and shake her head. "You're a dork."

Her friend shrugged and smiled. "I know. Now, back to having fun. Do you need a spare change of panties before we hopscotch?"

Bella burst out laughing, covering her face as she was pretty sure it turned beet red. She really did need a change of panties, but she wasn't going to admit that to Ava. Instead, she shook her head and tried to bite back the grin that was plastered on her face.

Addie and Emma joined them then, and Bella was so thankful she could have hugged the women as they took the attention off her and started a new game of hopscotch with the four of them.

When it came to her turn, she slipped right back into the headspace she'd been in before meeting the sex god and started hopping through each box until she reached the end. Ava was jumping up and down excitedly as she crossed the finish line. It was the best feeling having friends again. Jared had taken everything from her, but she was slowly rebuilding and she vowed to never let a man take anything from her ever again.

As Addie started her trip through the hopscotch squares, Bella looked toward the house. Her breath caught again as she met those steel-gray eyes. They were locked on her and though he was nodding at whatever Colt had just told him, he seemed to be focused completely on her. It made her feel squirmy again.

Ava leaned over and whispered, "By the way, he's a Daddy. A very single Daddy."

Her heart beat hard inside her chest but she just scoffed. "So? That has nothing to do with me."

Ava giggled. "Okay, whatever you say. Might want to wipe the drool off your chin, though."

She reached up to wipe her chin but thankfully it was dry. Ava burst into a fit of giggles as she skipped off toward the backyard play structure.