Hardwood - K.M. Neuhold Page 0,45

bar with me that night we met.”

“I’ve never been very good at cooking. Don’t get me wrong, I know enough to get by with the basics, but nothing I’ve ever made has come out tasting like this.” He takes another bite, rolling his eyes back with theatrical pleasure and moaning.

“I learned right after Val and I divorced. I always liked cooking, but I never got too fancy with it. But then all the sudden I was living on my own and facing single parenthood, and I didn’t want to be that dad who couldn’t cook. I hated the idea of Livi dreading her time with me for any reason, even if it was something as silly as her mom having better food. So, I took a couple of night classes at the community college to brush up on some of the basics and watched a lot of the Food Network.”

“That’s sweet that you went to that much trouble to impress your daughter.” He smiles at me with a tender expression.

“Yeah, well, now all she wants to eat is takeout pizza,” I confess lightly, and we both laugh.

“Then she’s crazy, because this is incredible.”

“I’m sure Val has some magic way of getting her to eat whatever she cooks rather than always giving in to her pizza request,” I admit with a self-deprecating shrug. I’m sure my daughter is the last thing Watson is interested in discussing on our first date, but he doesn’t complain. He just reaches over and puts a hand on mine.

“You know that girl is crazy about you, right?” he says.

“What?” I cock my head curiously.

“She talks about you all the time. Last week, she was bragging to a couple of boys how her dad helped her build a clubhouse in her backyard over the summer. I’m guessing she just held the boards for you or something, but she was extremely proud of it.”

“Oh no, she put most of it together herself. I was just there to supervise,” I correct.

Watson’s eyebrows shoot up. “No way.”

“The kid is a savant with a set of tools,” I say proudly.

“I guess that explains why she rolled her eyes and told Tommy that building a birdhouse was child’s play,” he says.

“She did not,” I can’t keep the amusement out of my voice as I picture her emasculating some poor eight-year-old boy.

“She’s a special kid.”

“That she is,” I agree. “I’m sorry, talking about my kid probably isn’t proper first date etiquette.”

“I don’t mind,” he assures me. “I love the way you light up when you talk about her.”

We finish dinner, and Watson helps me clean up, insisting on drying the dishes while I wash them. We stand at the sink, our shoulders bumping as I wash each dish and then pass it over to him. He whistles and sways a little while we work, shooting me a grin each time I steal a peek at him.

“Are you whistling ‘Mama Mia’?” I ask, quirking one eyebrow at him, our fingers brushing as I pass him a plate.

“If you have a problem with Abba, there’s no way this relationship can last,” he warns.

“No problem with Abba,” I assure him with a smirk. “I’ve just always preferred ‘Dancing Queen’ to ‘Mama Mia’.”

“I don’t discriminate when it comes to Abba,” he says solemnly, drying the final dish and setting it in the rack.

“Why don’t I pour us a couple of glasses of wine and we can go sit on the couch?” I suggest.

“Mmm,” Watson hums, stepping closer and wrapping his arms around me, pulling me close enough that our noses brush, and I can feel the bulge starting to stir in his pants. My whole body tingles, and it hits me all over again that I can’t believe I denied myself this feeling for so damn long. Instead of crying this time, I decide a more productive outlet for all the emotions dancing inside me is to kiss the hell out of the man I happen to be pretty crazy about.

The kiss turns heated immediately, Watson’s tongue pushing past my lips and tangling with mine, hot and wet and forceful. I run my hands over his chest, dying to know what it will feel like to touch him without all these clothes in the way.

“I suppose it couldn’t hurt to move this to the couch,” he says as he pulls back from the kiss.

“Wine?” I offer again.

“Sure.”

I pour two glasses while Watson heads into the living room to get comfortable. I also take a second to adjust