Chapter Eleven

Evie

The birds were chirping, the sun was out, her parents weren’t at the shop, and not a single suitor was in sight. What a glorious day. The only storm cloud around was the conversation with Jonah from the other day.

None of it sat right. Not only had she inadvertently hurt Ryan, she’d asked Jonah to lie to his family. What kind of person asked that of a friend? A desperate one, that’s who. She thought back to their near-miss sex-capade and knew that he had made the right decision by turning her down. But rejection still hurt.

However, she wasn’t going to think about Jonah right now. She was going to think about her good day.

“Barbara,” she said, setting an oversized mug on the counter. “Hazelnut latte for Barbara.”

Evie went back to the register and asked the next customer, “What can I get you?”

“Fifteen minutes of babysitting.”

Evie had to blink. She knew the voice but barely recognized the man in front of her.

Jonah?

He was wearing a charcoal suit with a deep blue button-up and his hair was actually styled. Well, as close as it could come to a style when he clearly needed a haircut. Then there was his beard, now more like a five o’clock shadow on his ruggedly masculine face that had her traitorous heart taking a nosedive into her stomach.

Double-checking that her mouth wasn’t gaping open, she said, “Look around. I’m one of two baristas here.”

His eyes widened as if just noticing that there were other people in the shop. “I know this is a big ask, but I’m desperate.”

Well, she was embarrassed. She’d hoped to go at least a week before she had to see him—long enough for them both to forget her ridiculous proposition. She could still taste the whipped cream from being pied and there he was looking larger than life, and sexier than a desperate man had the right to look. But beneath the good looks was a frazzled father.

Waverly had her arms locked around his neck, there was a suspicious brown stain on the cuff of his shirt, and he had the look of a parent who was one temper tantrum away from going under.

“What happened to daycare?”

“They won’t let her come back until she’s potty trained so I hired a sitter for the day and she was a no-show.”

“You’re not helping your case here,” she said, repeating his words from the other day.

“I deserve that,” he said. “And we’ve been working on it. Look, I really need just fifteen kid-free minutes. I have a meeting with a potential employer and it’s a big deal.”

She catalogued his outfit. Now that she’d collected her tongue up off the floor, she had a chance to really see what he was wearing. “And you’re dressed like that?”

He looked down, clearly baffled. “What? I’m in a suit.”

“That’s like two sizes too big.” He’d clearly lost the dadbod he’d had while married. Now he had the body of a runner, which made sense, since she saw him hit the pavement every morning after he dropped the kids off at school.

“It’s all I had. Is it that bad?”

She walked around the counter and started undoing his tie. She whipped it off and went to work undoing the top two buttons of his shirt. Her fingers brushed his Adam’s apple and there went that nosedive sensation again.

Her gaze flew to his and she found him staring at her lips. He didn’t even bother to hide his interest. “Trying to get me out of my clothes, Evie?” Her name was said on a low rumble that sent her pulse racing.

She shook her head to clear it. “Shut up while I’m trying to be nice. Here.” She took Waverly from his hands and plopped her on her hip. Oblivious to the heated tension in the air, Waverly started playing with Evie’s hair. “Lose the coat.”

“I’ve never undressed in public, but I think I like it.”

“It isn’t an undressing. It’s an emergency fashion intervention.”

It reminded her of the other intervention, which reminded her of her steamy dream last night that led to a meet-and-greet with her battery-operated boyfriend this morning that had her body going from warm to surface-of-the-sun blazing.

“He’s supposed to arrive any minute. All I need is twenty minutes.”

“You said fifteen.” But Evie was already breathing in the sweet scent of baby powder and peanut butter, causing her hormones to go into a baby-induced frenzy.

“You said yes.” He looked behind him to another man in a suit. Only this one, lord help her, had a red rose. “Or I could ask your mom and leave you to your suitors.”

“Gee, what a choice the universe is giving me. I have to pick between two men who are trying to commandeer my morning. I already have a family of hijackers to contend with.” And if she’d had time to spare it would have been spent studying for her entrance exam.

“I know what I’m asking, and I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

She sighed. She didn’t want to be an asshole, it was only fifteen minutes. And she knew what it was like to be a struggling single parent desperate for a lifeline. Plus, time with Waverly wasn’t a hardship. “You owe me.”

“I’ll bring over a tray of my famous spaghetti.”

Her mouth began to water. “With homemade noodles?”

“Homemade from a box.”

“Then I expect a big bottle of wine to go with it.”

“Noted,” he said and that was his cue to leave, only he stood there, staring at her. She was staring back and something new passed between them. Something dangerous and intriguing. He cleared his throat. “I should…”

“Yeah. You should.”

But neither moved, and the moment grew until it was hard to breathe without taking in his yummy male scent. Or the way his eyes dilated and his nostrils flared.

“Cookie,” Waverly said, reaching her pudgy fingers out toward the jar of cookies on the counter, effectively breaking the moment. She was as relieved for the distraction as she was disappointed. Which made no sense at all.

“I promise I’ll make it fast,” he said and turned around, heading for a man who was waving him over. Evie watched him walk away and couldn’t drag her eyes off the way his ass filled out those slacks.

“Are you Evie?” the next customer in line asked. “Of You’ve Got Male?”

Evie looked at the rose and sighed. “I’m Evie of You’ve Got a Toddler with a Dirty Diaper. You want to help with that?”