Something Real (Whiskey Men, #2)(6)

I nod as I start to move, and Ford’s hands grip my hips, holding me to him. “It was nice meeting you,” I call to her.

I look at Ford over my shoulder. “Are we going to watch the game like this?”

He doesn’t release his hold on my hips though. His cheeks are ruddy, and his hands tighten. “It’s either that or everyone’s going to see what I’ve got going on down there.”

I gasp. Is he…? Does he mean? “Uhhhh, wait so, uh…” I stutter. I can’t even form a sentence.

“Yeah. If you move, all the parents are going to see I’m hard. I mean, it’s a normal reaction.”

I squint in disbelief. “It’s a normal reaction… to a kiss?”

He shrugs, taking a deep breath. “To your kiss… yeah, I guess so.”

Speechless and feeling awkward, I shuffle my feet and accidentally rub against him. His grip tightens on me and holds me away from him a little. His groan is loud in my ear. “That’s not helping.”

I laugh up at him, and then it hits me. I just kissed my boss… and I liked it. By the bulge in his jeans, he liked it too. “So I should probably apologize. I thought I was helping the situation.”

“You did. I think Megan got the picture.”

He takes a deep breath, and I swear I hear him counting to ten. He eventually releases me and steps away. I turn to the ball game and watch. Neither Ford nor I say anything else about what just happened, which is good. I know I stepped over the line. Damn. Is he going to fire me? I’m sure kissing your boss is against the rules or something.

I cheer for Ollie when he stops the ball from going into the net. I keep focused on the game until it’s over and Ollie’s team wins five to two.

Ollie is with his friends, celebrating their win, and I am looking everywhere but at Ford. “So I better go. Tell Ollie I’m proud of him. He did awesome.”

He holds his hand out like he’s going to touch me but then lets it drop suddenly. “I’m sure he’s going to want to celebrate. Want to join us for dinner at Red’s?”

I shake my head. “I can’t. I’d love to, but I can’t. I have a date.”

“A date?” he asks. I swear he seems surprised. Is it really so unbelievable to think that a man wants to go out with me?

I nod and force a smile on my face. This is something my sister arranged. I swear she got married two days ago and she still had time to set me up. “Yep, a date. I know. Shocker, right?”

I start to walk away and wave at him over my shoulder. “I’ll see you in the morning at work.”

I turn before he can answer me. I try to get myself mentally prepared for my date, but the whole time all I can think about is that I wish I had gone to dinner with Ford and Ollie instead.





Ford





“Which book do you want to read tonight?” I ask Ollie as he jumps into his bed.

I’m standing at the bookshelf, looking at the rows of books but not seeing any of them. I can’t seem to get that kiss with Lilian out of my head. We’ve never stood as close to each other as we did today. I’ve always respected that she was an employee and kept a professional distance. But after the way she fit her body to mine and that kiss, there’s no way I’ll be able to keep my distance now. That is if she doesn’t fall in love with her date tonight. I suck in a breath to hold in my groan.

“Dad! Are you listening to me? I asked if Lilian could come and help me make my birthday cupcakes.”

I grab a book off the shelf. We’ve read it at least ten times, so I know it’s a favorite of his. I walk over to his bed and sit down on the end of it. “You do know that I can make cupcakes, right?”

He looks at me skeptically. “Really, Dad? Didn’t Granny say you burned water?”

I laugh and grab on to his ankle under the cover. “Really? That was years and years ago. I’m a good cook now. Surely I can handle some cupcakes.”

He sits up in bed. “So you’ve never made cupcakes before?”

I shrug. “Noooo, but how hard can it be? I’ll read up on it.”

He puts his hand on my arm. “Why can’t we just ask Lilian? You know she’d do it.”

I bite my lower lip. The truth is, when Granny was sick, I depended on Lilian to help with Ollie quite a bit. I made sure to give her time off at the office even though she never took it. I know Ollie has developed a bond with her, and a part of me should probably be worried about it. He’s been hurt by his own mother. Do I want to risk hurting him again? No matter what, Ollie needs to be my priority. “You know what, Ollie? Lilian has her own life. She may be busy or have something else planned.”

“Dadddd,” he says, drawing my name out long and loud. “Just ask her. I understand if she says no. But we should still ask her. She was pretty happy when I asked her to come to my party.”

“You asked her to come to your party?”

“Duh, Dad! You told me to invite my friends. She’s my friend.”

My son is way smarter than I was at his age, that’s for sure. “You’re right. What was I thinking?”

He grabs the book from my hand. “Okay, I’m going to read. Why don’t you go call Lilian and ask her?”

I look at the book that he already has opened on his lap. “You don’t want me to read with you?”