She nods against me, her arms snaking around my waist. “He did so well.”
“Thank you. For bringing him to me. I’m so glad I didn’t miss that.”
“I promised you.”
I linger a little longer than I probably should, but there’s no one around to remind me to stop getting so fucking attached to this woman, so I stay, holding her in a hug for another moment. Eventually I pull away, my hand still cupping the back of her neck just to give myself permission to touch her in some way. I don’t know what else there is to say, but I also don’t want her to leave.
“Cody wants you to give him baking lessons,” is what I come up with.
“Really?”
“Yeah. You know how he is, always trying new things.”
“I’d love to teach him!” There’s so much excitement in her tone, so much eagerness on her face.
“I’ll let him know. You guys could do it at the house sometime.”
“That’d be great.” Her green eyes sparkle under the fluorescent lights of the hallway. “The only time I’ve gotten to teach people is in the kitchens I contract for but that’s all high-skill stuff. I think it’d be fun to teach someone the basics. Well, someone other than Max.” She finishes that with a soft laugh.
Miller is glowing. I mean, she’s beaming like a fucking glowstick at the prospect.
I stroke my fingers against the nape of her neck, reminding us both that I’m still touching her. My other hand comes up to cradle her jaw, my thumb brushing over the soft pillow of her lower lip as my body subtly slants over hers.
“Kai,” she whispers.
“Hmm?”
“Are you going to kiss me?”
“Thinking about it.”
“What happened to your no-more-kissing rule?”
“Wanting to break it.”
She nods, the movement causing my thumb to tug at her lower lip, pulling it down, and fuck if I don’t want to slip that into my mouth and suck on it.
“I’ve always hated that rule,” she says.
But before I decide what I’m going to do, the tunnel fills with echoing voices from my teammates headed this way from the field. Miller takes my hand that was on her lips and places a chaste kiss on the inside of my palm before dropping it to fall back at my side.
We keep our attention on each other as bodies swarm past us, headed to the clubhouse.
I get a few taps on my ass as they walk by, Miller is given a few “Hot Nanny” calls which I hate, and my brother gives me a wink over her shoulder as he takes Max into the clubhouse with him.
I scratch the back of my neck, knowing I need to go. “So . . . um, Max and I won’t be home tonight. We have family dinner.”
“Oh, with Isaiah?”
“No, with my friends, but for some reason we call it family dinner. It happens every Sunday night and I go when I’m in town.”
“Okay. Well, have fun, and I’ll see you later.” She gives my hand a quick squeeze, turning back towards the parking lot.
“Hey, Miller.” She once again stops for me, and I’m stuck here rubbing at my neck like a nervous dork. “Would you want to come with me?”
That naughty smile is back. “In what sense are you asking me to come with you?”
“Get your teenaged-boy mind out of the gutter. Would you want to come to family dinner with me?”
“Do you need help with Max?”
“No.”
I can see her tensing from here, maybe thinking my invitation means more than it should. Truly, I have no idea what it means other than I want her there.
“If it makes you feel any better,” I continue. “The only reason I want you there is so I can prove to my people that I can go a whole month without firing a nanny. It has nothing to do with me enjoying your company whatsoever.”
She bites back a smile. “And just how many of your people will be there?”
If she goes, all of them.
“Five or six. Give or take depending on if Isaiah shows. And they all assume we’re fucking so heads-up on that.”
“If it were up to me, they’d be right.”
I purposefully ignore her because I’m already battling with myself here and her constant approval isn’t helping me fight the urge.
“I’d have more fun if you were there,” I add. “Remember that fun you promised me? You know, because I’m an overworked and overtired single dad that doesn’t know how to let loose.”
“Cheap shot, Rhodes, but fine, I’ll go with you.”