Maybe Matt's Miracle(19)

“And you’re smart. And loyal. And you’ve bit off more than you can chew taking on three kids that aren’t even yours.”

I like that he thinks I’m smart. And loyal.

“And you’re not mine.” He gets to his feet and reaches down to take my hand. “So we had better get out of the stairwell before I do something stupid like kiss you.”

He pulls me up, and I brush off my butt, trying to figure out what to do. “You want to kiss me?” I ask.

“More than anything,” he says quickly.

I grin and look away from him. “Good.” I open the door to the stairwell and walk through it.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asks my retreating back.

“Nothing,” I toss over my shoulder. My heart feels a lot lighter than it did a few minutes ago, probably because there are about a million butterflies fluttering around in my gut. My belly flips when I meet his gaze. “I’m glad you want to kiss me, is all.” I shrug again.

“So can I?” he asks softly. He’s following me to the street and toward my car now. I beep the locks so I can open the door. I start to pull bags out and load him up.

“Can you what?” I ask.

He grins. “You know what.”

I drop my voice down to a whisper. “You might have to spell it out for me, Matt.”

“I W-A-N-T T-O K-I-S-S Y-O-U,” he spells out, laughing.

I laugh, too. “Good,” I say again. I get out the last of the bags. He’s carrying most of them, so my load is pretty light. I step up onto my tiptoes and kiss him really quickly on the cheek. “Thanks for helping with the bags. And for the pizza. And for rushing over when Seth called you. I’m sorry if he ruined your night.”

“You can make it up to me,” he says. He puckers his lips.

I can’t keep the smile from my face. “You coming up?” I ask.

He holds up the bags like he has no other choice.

“Run while you can, Mr. Reed,” I say, and I try to take a bag from him.

“I don’t think so,” he says.

My belly does that little flip again, and I can’t help but wonder where this is going.





Matt



Her cheeks are a pretty pink color, and she avoids looking at me in the elevator. I let her walk in front of me down the hallway because she has absolutely the prettiest, most perfect ass I have ever seen and I want an excuse to look at it. She’s wearing her business suit again—a pencil skirt, heels, and a pretty top.

She looks over her shoulder at me and draws her lower lip between her teeth, her face growing even rosier. I go hard immediately. If she doesn’t quit it, I’m going to have to hang out in the hall before I can go inside. I take a deep breath and stop looking at her ass. Instead, I look at the bags and bags of clothes she piled me high with. They’re dripping off my arms, and I have shoe boxes stacked in my hand.

“Did you buy the whole store?” I ask as she opens the door.

She holds up four fingers. “I bought out four stores. Little girls are expensive.” She shrugs and says, “I got some things for Seth, too. I just hope they fit. I had to guess his size.”

He’s going to love that. The kid hasn’t had anyone to take care of him in a long time. I have a feeling she could have bought him a pink fur coat and he would have taken it with pride just because she gave it to him. “I’m sure whatever you got will be fine.”

She opens the door, and I start to divest myself of bags. The heavy one filled with jeans left grooves on my wrist, and I hold it up for her to see. “See what your shopping trip did to me?” I ask playfully.

She takes my hand in hers and turns my arm over, appraising it closely. Her hands are soft, and her fingernails are manicured to perfection. She drags her forefinger across my wrist. “I’m so sorry, Matt. Look at you: you’re wounded!” She laughs loudly. It sounds so pretty coming out of her lips. It’s unfettered and not at all restrained. I f*cking love it, particularly when she tips her head back and then she gets to laughing so hard she snorts. But that just makes her laugh even louder. “What can I do to make it up to you?” she asks.

I hold my wrist up and stick out my bottom lip. “Kiss it and make it better?” I suggest.

She lifts my wrist up high and presses her lips to my skin. I’m afraid I’m going to melt into a big, old, sweaty ball of funk right there on her carpet, but as soon as her lips touch me, she blows a quick raspberry into my skin. It makes me laugh, and I grab for her, pulling her to me.

But just then, a naked child streaks out of the bathroom. It’s Mellie, and I cover my eyes as she runs by. Seth chases after her carrying a towel. He growls at her playfully, though, and she dashes behind the couch. She starts to run by me, and I reach out really quickly and grab her, holding her squirmy little naked body far away from me. Damn, but she’s slippery. She laughs and wiggles her feet, kicking wildly, and it’s all I can do to hold on to her.

“Come here, you,” Seth growls, and he wraps Mellie up in a towel. She giggles all the way down the hallway until I hear the door shut.

Sky lays her hand on my chest, brushing down it. “You’re all wet,” she says, shaking her head.

“It’s fine,” I say, brushing her worry aside. “It’s just a little water.” I rub my hands together. They’re still slippery. “And soap.” I laugh.