“Pretty red.”
They stared at each other for a moment as the seconds ticked away on the microwave. She knew was he was doing: trying to get a rise out of her. Ruffle her feathers. Turn her on. And just because it was stupid easy for him to make her pant didn’t mean she had to give him the satisfaction of letting him know how he affected her.
He probably already knows.
Yeah, he was that confident. And that correct.
Audrey crossed her arms over her chest. “Okay, but you do know this is going to spoil her dinner, right?”
Cameron shrugged again. “So? The kid’s not going to waste away because she eats popcorn for dinner instead of a balanced meal of chicken nuggets and jelly beans.”
“I only gave her jelly beans with her dinner that one time,” Audrey pointed out.
“Hey, I’m not judging,” he told her as the microwave dinged. “I get why you do it.”
Audrey watched as he tugged the bag open, steam billowing up, and poured the buttery popcorn into the metal bowl. Piper bounced up and down, then ran out of the kitchen with her pseudo-dinner.
“I’m going to let her eat that whole thing,” Cameron said. “And you know what else?” He lowered his voice to a whisper and leaned closer. “I’m even going to let her eat it in the living room.”
Audrey ignored the way he smelled. The way he always smelled: like clean man and musky and hot.
“Cameron,” she said as he chuckled and followed Piper into the living room, “you know she’ll get it everywhere.”
“Probably,” he stated without turning around. “And I may or may not clean it up, either. Maybe I’ll even leave the little kernels and dirty bowl for the morning.”
Audrey stared at him as he retrieved his cell phone, car keys, and wallet out of his jeans and tossed them on the coffee table. Then he reached behind his head and yanked his hooded sweatshirt off. The movement caused the black T-shirt underneath to lift, revealing a slice of skin that was offset by a strip of white elastic. Yeah, Cameron Shaw was a briefs guy. She’d already known that, having barged in on him a few Saturday mornings, earning herself an eyeful of bronzed, sculpted, holy-cow-chiseled chest. He caught her staring, of course, and flashed her a grin.
A grin of triumph. Of yeah-I-caught-you-checking-me-out.
Audrey cleared her throat. “Seriously, you…” She gestured toward Piper on the living room floor, who was sharing popcorn with Pinkie Pie. “You’re not going to leave that for the morning, are you? For the love of God, clean it up tonight.”
His grin widened as he threw himself down on the couch. “Yeah, I don’t think so.” He twisted around and glanced up at her. “I think I’ll leave it out. Just knowing that it’ll keep you up tonight will make the ants worth it.”
Audrey glared at him as she took a seat on the couch next to him. “You’re evil.”
Cameron jerked his head toward Piper. “But look how happy she is.”
“She can be just as happy in a clean living room.”
Cameron switched his attention back to her, and Audrey resisted the urge to squirm. The man kicked back like he had no plans to move any time soon. His long legs spread apart, his arms resting on the back of the couch. A man at ease. Except she knew Cameron was rarely at ease. And also…
His lap looked like it would be perfect for her to crawl across and straddle.
She shifted, and Cameron’s grin widened as though he’d gotten a peek at her thoughts.
“What did you mean earlier?” she blurted out.
“You mean the thing about you being a prison warden?” he questioned.
Audrey sent him a droll look.
“The gluten-free raisins?” he tried again.
This time Audrey glared. “When you said you got why I do it.”
“Ah,” Cameron said with a nod. “That.”
He knew what she was talking about. The man was just messing with her again.
“Just that I get why you fuss over her. You feel guilty,” he stated.
Audrey immediately opened her mouth to argue, then shut it. Did she feel guilty? What would she have to feel guilty of?
“Guilty,” she repeated.
Cameron gazed at Piper on the floor as she shoved handfuls of buttery popcorn into her mouth. He grinned when half the kernels landed on the floor.
“I’m not criticizing you, Audrey,” he replied with a glance at her. “I said I understood why.”
“And what about you?” Audrey said, needing to turn the conversation away from her.
“What about me?”
“You once said that you identify with her. You understand her loss.”
Cameron was silent a moment as he watched Piper and Pinkie Pie on the living room floor. Audrey hoped it was because he was remembering his own experiences and not taking the time to formulate the right answer, what he thought she’d want to hear.
“Yeah,” he finally said. Then he looked at her. “But you already knew that.”
Yeah, she did. But she still felt like she hadn’t been given the entire story.
“And you still think you’re not right for her?” Audrey pushed.
Cameron rubbed his chin, calling attention to the dark stubble shadowing his jaw. A shiver ran down her spine as she imagined how it would feel to get a little whisker burn from the guy. Maybe some on her neck. A little on her thighs. She barely held back a sigh.
“I—” He broke off when he looked at her, and his mouth quirked. “Audrey.” When she forced herself to make eye contact with him, her breath shuddered. “You’re not thinking dirty thoughts, are you?”
She opened her mouth, then shook her head. “Don’t change the subject.”
Cameron scooted closer on the couch. “Oh, but let’s.” The rough pad of his thumb stroked the hammering pulse at the base of her neck. “Let’s talk about what’s going on right here.”
She swatted his hand away and thought about moving away from him. “Let’s
