Three Little Words (Fool's Gold #12)(56)

“Sure.”

He knew he was going to regret the cocky attitude, but figured the low point of the workout had been the “piece of ass” comment.

She walked over to him and took his left arm in both her hands. Before he knew what was happening, she’d jerked him forward and then he was facing the ceiling and the floor came up very, very quickly.

He’d fallen out of a tree back when he’d been a kid. This was a lot like that, only without the broken arm. All the air rushed out of his body, and for a split second, he couldn’t draw it in.

Consuelo was on her knees at his side. “I’m sorry,” she said quickly, touching his face, then his arms. “Are you okay? That was so stupid of me. I was showing off. I shouldn’t have done it.”

Worry darkened her brown eyes. Her ponytail lightly brushed his cheek as she fussed over him. He opened his mouth and pretended to be unable to speak.

“What?” she demanded. “Are you hurt?”

He motioned her closer. “I can’t breathe,” he fake-gasped. “I think I need mouth-to-mouth.”

She sat back on her heels and shook her head. “You are such a guy.”

He sat up. “Is that a problem?”

“Not for me.”

He figured she would scramble to her feet, then pull him to his. Or laugh at him. Or walk away. Instead she leaned in and kissed him.

The touch of her mouth against his was light and brief, but the heat burned all the way down to his cock. He wanted to pull her close and let things get interesting. But they were at her place of work and she wouldn’t appreciate that.

She drew back. “I really am sorry about throwing you like that.”

“I’m not.” He grinned. “The kiss was worth it.”

“You’re easy.”

“As long as you consider that a good thing, I can live with that.” He gently touched her cheek. “Dinner? Just us?”

She glanced around and then leaned in again. This time her mouth lingered. “Dinner,” she whispered.

* * *

ISABEL PAUSED ON THE PORCH to check her phone. Still no return call from Sonia. She wondered what was going on with her friend. She’d left a message on Sonia’s Facebook page, where her friend had regular updates. But the lack of direct communication was troubling.

“Auntie Is, Auntie Is!”

Isabel grinned and dropped to her knees so Brandon, Maeve’s six-year-old, could run into her arms.

“Look at you,” she said, squeezing him as he laughed. “You’re so big.”

He hugged her back, then broke free and hurried back through the front door. “I can read, Auntie Is. I have a book.”

Isabel watched him bolt into the house, then followed. While she appreciated the happy greeting, she wondered how much of his enthusiasm came from his memories and how much was inspired by his older siblings. Isabel knew she’d had more to do with them than the younger ones. Mostly due to time and distance, but still.

Maeve waited at the front door. “You’re going to have to listen to one of his ‘Bob’ books now,” she said by way of greeting. “It’s the first level of reading. ‘Bob can walk. Bob can jump.’”

“Sounds like a bestseller.”

They hugged. Isabel patted her sister’s stomach.

“You seem to have something in there. You knew that, right?”

“Very funny.”

They settled in the family room. In addition to a huge sectional sofa, there were several chairs, a large, square coffee table with padded corners and toys everywhere.

Maeve burrowed onto a cushion and sighed. “I tried to pick up before you got here, but I’m at the tired stage of my pregnancy. In the next few weeks, I’ll get my energy back and then watch out.”

“You would know,” Isabel said, thinking Maeve had plenty of practice.

Maeve and Leonard had waited a year before getting married, just to make sure their love was the real thing. By then Leonard had graduated from college and passed the CPA exam. He got a job with the biggest accounting firm in town. Two years later, Maeve had gotten pregnant. The kids had kept on coming. Now she had four, all under the age of nine, with a fifth on the way.

“Is this the last one?” Isabel asked.

“I think so.” She smiled. “Leonard says yes, for sure. But we love having kids. We’ve talked about maybe stopping having our own, but adopting a few. Not babies. There are plenty of people who want an infant. We’re thinking maybe older kids who would benefit from a stable home and life in a town like this one.”

“Impressive,” Isabel murmured. “Now I officially feel shallow.”

Her sister’s blue eyes were concerned. “Why would you say that? You’re a successful businesswoman. That’s impressive. All I do is stay home with a bunch of kids.” She smiled. “Not that what I do isn’t important and I love it, but I haven’t ever seriously worked in the world. When Leonard and I were first married, I knew my job was to save for our house down payment. I didn’t want a career. When the youngest is in school, I may get something part-time, but I can’t imagine doing what you do.”

“Right now I’m working at Paper Moon. Which isn’t that notable.”

“But you’ll start your own business.”