He bounced Thomas in his strong arms. “Was actually mostly a false alarm. More stinky than messy.”
“Yeah, he does that sometimes.” Ethan nodded solemnly at his little brother.
“But we better get you guys back home in case he decides he wants to regroup and try again.”
Quinn couldn’t help the snicker that escaped. She met Ethan’s eyes. He was snickering too.
“Glad you think it’s funny.”
That only made them laugh harder.
“Okay, all rug rats into the car.” Baby turned and pointed at her. “I will be back to get you in a couple of hours for dinner. No kids this time.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it.”
Baby did show back up on time. Quinn hadn’t had any real doubts that he would, even though she had teased him about it.
She opened the door as he knocked, immediately falling under the spell of his charming smile as she opened it.
“Good, you’re still here.”
“Did you really think I wouldn’t be?”
He looked adorable standing there in his jeans, dark gray Henley, and damp hair from the shower he’d obviously just taken.
Hell, adorable was way too innocent a word for how Baby looked.
Mouthwatering.
That was a much better phrase to describe the man standing in front of her.
“After last week, and then earlier today, I totally wouldn’t be surprised at any woman who decided to play games by not answering the door.”
It hadn’t occurred to her that maybe she should get back at him slightly by making him wait. She didn’t know if that was because of her age—thirty-nine was getting a little old for playing games—or because it had been so long since she’d been on a first date.
He tapped her on her nose. “You just got your professor look.”
“Professor look?”
He nodded. “When you’re examining the different angles and trying to figure something out. You have that look a lot, so I gave it a name.”
She raised an eyebrow. “I see.” She threw his own phrase at him.
He smiled, a deep, personal smile that she knew was just for her. Baby smiled a lot; he was a friendly guy. But she was beginning to realize that his smiles had different meanings.
This smile said she better be careful or he—
“Fuck it,” he muttered, leaning her back against the door. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about doing this for more than a week.”
His lips crashed against hers.
She clutched him to her, aching. She’d ached for him since the night in his truck. She wanted to beg him to do that to her again while she was fully sober, to prove to herself that it couldn’t possibly be as good as she remembered.
So impossibly good.
She lost all train of thought as one of his arms banded around her hips and pulled her up against him, the fingers of the other hand sliding into her hair under her bun. All she could do was wrap her arms around his neck and hold on.
This wasn’t a gentle kiss. It was hot and demanding, deepening until it was a melding of mouths. Quinn was drowning in it.
Eventually he pulled back. She didn’t want him to, and it helped he didn’t seem to want to either.
“Damn it.” He leaned his forehead against hers, his heavy breathing matching her own. “I’m taking you on that date. I’ve messed up twice, and I’m not going to let even my own libido stop me this time. I’m going to sit across the table from you and show you that I can, in fact, be the type of man you want to spend time with.”
She reached up and ran her fingernails lightly down the back of his neck, not able to deny the thrill it gave her when he shivered. “I already know that. I don’t have to go to dinner for you to prove that’s true.”
“Good. But I’ve been watching three rug rats all day, and if I start kissing you again there’s no way I’m going to have the energy to follow through the way I want to without sustenance. Dinner.”
“Dinner.” She smiled.
“Where do you want to go? We can drive into Reddington City if you want. I know you’re still trying to avoid Phoenix.”
She shook her head. “I’m going to have to face him sometime. If we happen to run into him tonight, then so be it.”
“Good. Because I know he’s been distracted over the stuff that happened to him and Girl Riley, but eventually he’s going to remember that I mentioned knowing you.”