Licking my lips, I try to breathe. Truth? I can do truth. It’s not so hard. Right?

“Yes.”

One of his dark brows rises. “Yes to what?”

If I have to elaborate, I might expire on the spot. “Does it matter when the answer is yes?”

He smiles, and it’s like the dawn cresting over the sea. “When it comes to you, Fiona, the answer always matters. But I’ll take that as a yes to all of the above.”

The chair scrapes as he rises, and my heart threatens to pound right out of my chest. But he doesn’t approach me. No, the smug bastard just finishes off his coffee in one gulp and puts the mug in the dishwasher.

He glances at me over his shoulder before he goes. “Can you be ready in an hour?”

“Hello? What about everything that I said?”

He doesn’t blink. “Those are all fears. I respect that. But let’s take things as they come and see what happens. Okay?”

“Okay.” That’s all I manage. This guy makes my head spin. He’s just so reasonable. I don’t have any defense against it. Against him and his damn sexy self. Damn it.

“Good.” He gives me that smile once again. “Dress warmly. It’s cold out today.”

“You’re kind of bossy,” I call after him. “You know that?”

He stops and looks back at me. “Apparently only with you, Cherry.”

I don’t say another word, just watch his tight ass move beneath his jeans as he walks away.

“Well, fuck me,” I mutter. I’ve been played. Again.

Dex

It’s official: I’ve lost my fucking mind. After spending the night basically staring up at the ceiling, I’d decided to leave Fiona alone. Be polite. Retreat into my shell. A safe and solid plan.

One that crumbled like sun-dried turf the second I saw her sitting in the kitchen, the morning light glowing like a nimbus around her golden hair. She was so beautiful she made my heart hurt.

Sharing a cup of coffee with her, watching those lovely full lips of hers move as she made idle small talk with me was more than I could take.

I want Fiona.

Badly.

Enough to ignore certain fears and go after her. But I’m so out of my element that a tremor goes through my fingers as I run them through my hair and gather it up in a knot.

Frowning, I comb my beard and stare into the mirror. My beard is a part of me now. How everyone sees me. Hell, it’s why Fiona kissed me. And I have the urge to shave it off. Shave my hair off too. I honestly don’t even know what I’d see reflected back at me if I did.

The door opens, and Gray saunters in as if he owns the place. Which he does. But still.

“Knocking, Gray-Gray, is a valuable skill.”

“I’m too tired to knock.” He flops onto the armchair by the window and leans his head back with a groan.

“Shouldn’t you be satisfying your wife?”

“I satisfied the fuck out of her.” He drags a hand over his face. “And then she fell asleep.”

I snort, and he glares.

“Fell asleep on a wave of extreme post-coital bliss,” he assures before looking me over. “Going out, big guy?”

In truth, Gray is two inches taller than me. But he’s built for speed while I’m built for blocking, which means I carry more bulk muscle.

“I’m taking Fiona to the Japanese Garden.”

Silence follows.

“So…Fiona, huh?” Gray sounds thoughtful.

Setting my hands on the dresser, I brace for a fight. “I want her.”

More silence. I turn. He studies me with a blank look.

“Are you pissed?” I ask. I won’t blame him. Hell, I expect it.

“If you were Johnson? Or Thompson? Or Marshal? Or any of those sharks, I’d punch your throat. But you? You think I wouldn’t trust you with Fi? I’d take a bullet for you, man.”

Damn. My throat closes, and I have to clear it to talk. “You should get some sleep. You look like shit.”

He lets his head roll back on the chair. “What’s the point? Little Man will be up any second now.”

“I’m taking him with us,” I say, putting my wallet in my back pocket.

Gray makes a strangled noise. “Seriously?”

My lips twitch. “Why do you think I’m here?”

“Uh, to hang out with us?”

“That. And you sounded like you could use a break. So here I am.”

“You came to help us out?” His voice is creaky, raw.

“I told you I know babies. So let me give you a break today.”

I swear Grayson goes weepy. He blinks rapidly before taking a breath. “I love you, man. I’m one step away from kissing you right now.”

“You keep saying that, but I’ve yet to see any follow-through.”

Slowly, he shakes his head. “I love my kid. Like, seriously love him. But I confess, I’m dreaming of some sort of sleep drug for babies right about now.”

I reach for my boots. “He’ll figure the sleep thing out soon. Then you will too. Go on and get his things ready.”

Gray kind of falls-crawls out of the chair before righting. He really is dead on his feet. I feel for the guy.

He’s halfway out the door before he halts. “Dex, man…just…watch yourself with Fi.”

“You said you didn’t mind.”

“Not you.” He winces and pushes a fist against the doorframe. “She’s kind of capricious. And I’ve never seen you go after a girl, so…”

He doesn’t want me getting hurt. Well, I don’t either. But it’s a risk I’ll have to take. Besides… “I think there’s more solidity to Fi than you’re giving her credit for.”

He nods, but it’s clear he doesn’t agree. Thankfully, an irate squawk sounds downstairs. Little Leo is awake. Gray inclines his head. “You sure about this?”

I know he’s asking about more than babysitting. And I should be thinking about my sanity. But I can only think of Fiona and how her lips explored mine. Best feeling ever.

“As I am of anything.”

Chapter Four

Fiona

“I wonder what it is that you’re thinking,” Dex says from his casual slouch on the bench across from me. He’s taken me to the Japanese Tea Garden, a place so utterly beautiful and tranquil I blinked back tears as soon as we’d entered.

Now we’re sitting in the Tea House, me at the railing, idly gazing at the glass-like reflecting pool that surrounds us, and Dex with sketch pad and pencil in hand. His expression is relaxed, a smile in his hazel eyes.

I can’t help but smile back. “I was thinking you’re a brave man, Ethan Dexter.”

His chuckle is low and easy. “Now why would you say that?” He doesn’t look down at the tiny baby nestled in the carrier against his chest.

“I’m sure I don’t know,” I drawl.

I admit, when he met me in the front hall earlier, carrying Leo in his car seat, I was shocked. I love my nephew. Fiercely. But I don’t know anything about babies. I’ve never done a babysitting gig, didn’t have friends who did. So the idea of taking care of Leo is daunting.

But Dex? I know he wouldn’t have offered if he wasn’t confident he could do the job. Not many men would be willing give up an afternoon to look after a one-month-old baby. It gave me the instant warm-fuzzies.

And my ovaries damn near burst into song when Dex pulled out one of those baby swaddlers and tucked my nephew into it to carry him against his massive chest.

I wasn’t the only one. We couldn’t go more than a few steps through the garden without some woman commenting, how sweet, oh, such a lovely baby! Such a dear man—that from an octogenarian who gave Dex a sly pat on his ass, causing him to blush beet red.

Now he’s sketching me as I drink my green tea and Leo snoozes on.

“I swear, you’ve got this whole seduction thing down pat,” I tell him, fighting the urge to fidget. I hadn’t realized he was drawing me until he’d already started. I feel exposed. Naked. And slightly turned on by the way his gorgeous eyes study every inch of me.

Dex’s lips twitch, but his pencil doesn’t stop making those little scratching noises across the pad. “Seduction thing?”