Ignite (Cloverleigh Farms #6)(49)

I smiled. “We’ll see.”





Fourteen





Dex





I leaned back against the island in my kitchen, watching as Winnie formed three hamburger patties from the mixture in the bowl. “I promise I didn’t invite you over for dinner tonight just so you would make it.”

“Ha.”

“You think I have ulterior motives?”

She laughed. “I think we have already established what your motives were when you came knocking at my door.”

Coming up behind her, I locked an arm around her neck. “Hey. I just came over to borrow some paprika. It was your fault things turned sexy.”

“My fault!” She placed the last burger on a plate. “How’s that?”

“You answered the door in this little outfit.” I put my other hand on her belly. “How was I supposed to resist?”

She playfully elbowed me in the gut. “Let go of me, you brute. I’m hungry. And I’m really not in the mood to lecture you about why a woman’s clothes should not be blamed for a man’s behavior.”

“Fine.” I let go of her and held up my hands. “I’ll take the blame.”

She handed me the plate and a wood-handled metal spatula. “Good thing I enjoyed it.”

“Then I’ll take the credit too.”

She turned me around by the shoulders and gave me a shove toward the patio. “Go put those on the grill for three minutes and then flip them over.”

“That’s it?”

“Yes. I’ll be out in a sec with cheese.” She glanced at the oven timer. “The French fries will be done in a minute, and as soon as I pull them out, I’ll stick the buns in there to warm them up. Do you like lettuce and tomato on your cheeseburgers?”

“Yes. Do I have any?”

She laughed and pulled the fridge open. “No. But I do. I’m going to run back home real quick while you get those burgers on the heat.”

I went out to the patio and did what she said, carefully timing the three minutes with my phone, then turning them over. Winnie came through the sliding door a minute later and placed a slice of bright orange American cheese on each of them.

“Sorry I don’t have anything fancier,” I said. “You probably eat your burgers with Brie or something. And make fries with real potatoes instead of from a bag in the freezer section.”

“Listen, you’re talking to a girl whose favorite dessert is a Frosty.”

I smiled at her. “True.”

She lifted her hair off her neck as if she was warm, and I noticed how the sunset gave it copper-penny highlights. I recalled my hands tangled up in it, my cock sliding between her perfect pink lips, and my stomach muscles contracted. I wanted her again tonight, and it wasn’t a good idea.

Quickly, I looked out toward the pool.

Dropping her arms, she fanned her face. “Whew. It’s hot out here, isn’t it? Want something cold to drink?”

A beer would have tasted good and maybe numbed some of what I was feeling, but I had to work in the morning. “Just water, I guess.”

“Okay.” She put a hand on my shoulder before heading inside, and it took a lot more strength than I’d have liked for me not to grab her arm and pull her back to me for a kiss.

I felt like a fucking teenager.





We ate side by side at my kitchen island.

“So the girls will be here this weekend, huh?” she asked.

I nodded. “I’ll pick them up on Saturday morning, right after my shift ends.”

“That’ll be fun. Last weekend before school starts, right?”

“Yes. I take them back to their mom Monday, and they start school Tuesday.”

“What’s your plan for the weekend?”

“Plan?” I picked up my water glass and took a drink.

“Dex! You have to do something fun for the last weekend of summer!”

“We’ll have fun.” I shrugged. “I’ll take them swimming. We’ll go for ice cream.”

“That’s fine, but you need something more than that.” She thought for a second, munching on a fry. “I know! Bring them over to Cloverleigh Farms for horseback riding. My dad used to take us when we were kids and it was the best.”

I gave her a look. “Whose horse?”

“We have a few there that belong to family. My cousin Whitney has one, my cousins Sawyer and Elsa have one, and the farm itself usually keeps at least two. We do hayrides in the fall and sleigh rides in the winter.” She grew more animated as she talked. “Do they like horses?”

“They like all animals.” I took a bite of my cheeseburger, which was definitely the best one I’d ever made. Too bad the girls weren’t here for this meal. “They’re still after me about a cat.”

Winnie laughed. “Just get the cat. I told you, I’ll feed it on your work days. It’s not a big deal.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“I think it’s good for kids to have a pet,” she went on. “It teaches them responsibility and respect for living things.”

“You sound like Hallie. Just older—barely,” I teased.