Flirting with Forever: A Hot Romantic Comedy(26)

Hell with it. I put the book aside and went into the kitchen. Without a word, I grabbed my daughter and pulled her in for a hug.

For a second, she was stiff, like I’d caught her by surprise. I probably had. But she relaxed and put her arms around me, hugging me back.

There was my girl.

I let her go and stepped back, acting casual, like hugging my little girl wasn’t oxygen to me.

She played it cool, getting a mug out of the cupboard. “Is Nora still coming today?”

Well, shit. I had no idea if Nora was still coming because I’d worked very hard to avoid her. I’d even kept the curtain on the front window closed when I was home so I wouldn’t catch a glimpse of her coming or going.

I shrugged. “I’m not sure. Haven’t seen her. But don’t be disappointed if she doesn’t. A family dinner is a lot to ask of someone who’s just a neighbor.”

“She’s not, though.”

“What do you mean? She lives next door. I think that’s the definition of neighbor.”

“No, she’s not just a neighbor.”

My brow furrowed. What did she mean by that? She couldn’t know what had happened between me and Nora. She hadn’t even been home that night.

“She’s a friend,” Riley continued, her tone matter-of-fact.

Right. Riley’s friend. Good. That could work. “Yeah, I know she’s your friend.”

She rolled her eyes. “She’s your friend too, Dad. Quit being weird. I know about the thing.”

My jaw hitched. How the hell did she know? I decided to play stupid. “What thing?”

“I saw you guys but it’s not a big deal.”

If I’d have been drinking something I would have spit it all over the kitchen. She’d seen us? What? How? “Ry, I think you have the wrong idea.”

“What do you mean I have the wrong idea?” Her eyes met mine but I couldn’t tell if she were alarmed or excited. “Are you guys actually together? Because I thought you were faking.”

Now I was really confused. “What are you talking about? We’re not together.”

“Yeah, I know. That’s what I mean. You guys were holding hands at the art show but it was just to get away from Mrs. Bachman. That’s totally a thing a friend would do, not someone who’s just a neighbor.”

Okay, that was making sense. I let out a long breath. She wasn’t talking about seeing me with an almost naked Nora. “I get what you’re saying. I didn’t realize you’d seen that.”

“Mrs. Bachman tries to make out with all the dads. I’d hate to be one of her kids. So embarrassing.”

“I feel sorry for her kids, too.” And the dads who were dumb enough to take her up on it.

The teapot came to a boil and Riley poured the hot water over her tea bag. “After I get dressed, I’ll go next door and make sure Nora’s still coming.”

So much for pretending she didn’t exist. “Okay, kiddo.”

“Just don’t fake hold hands with her in front of Grandma. You know what would happen. She’d be taking me shopping for a flower girl dress by next weekend.”

I laughed a little too hard, trying to cover the sudden shock. Flower girl dress? Oh, shit. “Yeah, she would.”

With a little smile, she picked up her mug and went back upstairs.

I took another deep breath. Felt like I’d dodged a bullet.

Except another one was coming for me if Riley made sure Nora was coming over tonight.

No, that was fine. I couldn’t avoid her forever. And my family was overwhelming as hell. Big, loud, and nosy. If she did brave the chaos, she’d probably stay just long enough to be polite and then get her hot ass back home.

I could handle it.

The doorbell rang and I looked at the clock. Damn it, if that was my sister, I was going to tell her to go the fuck home and come back around lunchtime like a normal person with family dinner plans. It wasn’t even nine in the morning.

I opened the door but it wasn’t either of my sisters. It was a couple of twenty-something kids—there I went again, thinking of adults as kids—wearing bright blue Party People Rentals t-shirts.

“Hey,” the first guy said. “We’re here with a deluxe pirate ship bounce house.”

“Right. You guys can bring it around back. Let me get some shoes on and I’ll meet you out there.”

Both dudes gave me a chin tip and headed for their truck. I forced myself to not look toward Nora’s house and went back inside to find my shoes.

I met them in the backyard and let them pick where to set up the inflatable monstrosity. They spread it out, hauled an extension cord to an electrical outlet and told me to just turn it on when we were ready. I thought they might have tested it first or something but they took off before I could ask.

It was my mom’s deal, so I decided not to worry about it.

I turned to go inside and almost ran right into Nora.

A very sweaty Nora.

Fuck.

Her hair was up and she was dressed in nothing but a sports bra and shorts that were an inch away from being underwear. Her tan skin glistened with a light sheen of sweat, just as if I’d spent the last hour fu—

“Hey.” She flashed me that gorgeous smile—all full lips and white teeth. “Sorry, I was out for a run and saw the party truck outside. What’s that?”