Touchdown - Leslie North Page 0,25

to collect the tossed breakfast. He worked at cleaning the spilled food up while Jill shared some bites of her scrambled eggs with Kevin and Shelley, who kept repeating “Yummyyyyy.”

Once Cameron was settled, Maxwell cleared his throat and returned to his seat. But this time, he faced Jill directly, making no mistake about his intentions.

“Look at me, Jill.”

She set her fork down and turned toward him. Their knees brushed and he pressed his palms to the tops of her knees.

“Can I be honest with you?”

Her stomach plunged to the floor. Here it was. All the reasons why he was a bachelor and needed to stay one. Maybe he could even run through a detailed list of why she was deluded for even thinking there was attraction between them in the first place.

“Yes,” she forced out.

“I debated for hours about whether or not to find an emergency babysitter—an untested babysitter—because I wanted so badly to take you to that engagement party and have you on my arm,” Maxwell said, his voice gritty from the early hour, but unwavering. Solid. Sincere. “Shit is getting kind of weird these days, but it’s only because I really think there is something happening here and we’re acting like there isn’t.”

“Yeah.” A weak laugh slid out of her. That was the understatement of the century. “But still, I shouldn’t have been snappy.”

“It was three a.m.,” he countered.

“But you deserve to go have fun. However you want,” she said.

“Next time, I want it to be with you,” he said, squeezing her knees ever so slightly. Just enough to send heat racing to her core. She swallowed hard, memorizing the view of his big hands engulfing her knee. Trying not to imagine how they might look covering her breasts. Sliding up a hip. Or moving between her legs.

The butterflies were back, and this time, they’d spread through her entire body. She smiled, swatting his arm. “Eat your breakfast before it gets cold.”

He squeezed her knees one last time before releasing her, turning to his plate of food. She finished her food off, sharing the last few bites with the toddlers, before realizing it was definitely time to leave.

“I have to go,” she said, clearing the table of her plate and the triplets’ dishes. “I’ll be back late tonight.”

“I’ll make your sleepless night worth it,” he said mysteriously, which just sent another jolt of anticipation through her.

She didn’t want to get too excited—knew better than to get too excited—but it was hard not to when he watched her with a look that said he might be capable of eating her alive.

Maxwell had an animalistic side to him, she could already tell. And after playing the role of new parents for so long…well, maybe it was time to let this other side out to play.

He let the triplets down from their high chairs, and they wandered toward the play area. Maxwell followed her to the front door once she’d collected her briefcase and purse. At the front of the house, he held the door open for her, biting at his bottom lip as she stepped onto the porch.

“Hey, wait. One more thing.”

She turned to look at him, and he stepped toward her, cupping her face in his rough hands. Everything happened so fast then: the way he dipped down toward her, the faint scent of his cologne filling her senses, and then his lips. Velvet heat against her mouth, his fingertips digging possessively behind her ears as he coaxed a long, intense kiss from her.

When they parted, her heart was pounding. She couldn’t look away from the depths of his chocolate gaze.

“Have a nice day,” he said, pushing her gently at the hip. She stumbled toward her car, her mind swirling with everything all at once: confusion, disbelief, complete and utter horniness. She walked to her SUV with glass knees, everything around her threatening to crumble or explode.

So she wasn’t crazy. There was mutual attraction going on. And Maxwell planned on exploring it.

She just still wasn’t sure if she should.

Jill waved weakly through the window before pulling out of the driveway and into his ritzy neighborhood. She wasn’t even on the main thoroughfare before she realized this was an emergency and she needed to talk to her best friend Marie. Stat.

She dialed her best friend’s number through the Bluetooth connection in her car just as she was pulling into the morning traffic. She had a twenty-minute commute, and Marie was an early riser, so this could work out perfectly.

Marie picked