“Thank you,” she said softly. An awkward silence fell as she wrapped up tightly in her coat and shivered.
“Hey, would you wanna go grab some coffee with me? To warm up?” I asked, making my move. It was now or never.
She considered it for a moment and then nodded, “Yeah, sure. Maybe they’ll have some hot chocolate for this little one.” She reached out and brushed a finger along Olivia’s cheek.
We walked over to the coffee shop around the corner, and I had to admit … even though I was lying about being a single widower dad and had no interest in marriage or kids, the sight of our reflection in the passing shop windows was a hell of a thing. We made quite the attractive little family.
I ordered two coffees and a bottle of juice and pushed Olivia over to the table where Kate was sitting. I was no stranger to beautiful women by any means, but seeing her again in the corner by the window took my breath away all over again. I struggled to control my dirty thoughts as she slid her heavy fur coat down from her shoulders, giving life to all sorts of fantasies about her undressing the rest of the way in front of me.
“Juice!” Olivia whined, snapping me to attention. I got so lost for a moment, I nearly forgot she was there.
“Oh, here. I’ve got it,” Kate offered, grabbing the bottle of juice and pouring it into Olivia’s cup.
“Thank you. You didn’t have to do that.”
“I’m sure you have enough on your hands taking care of her all the time by yourself. It’s the least I can do while I’m around to help.”
We started chatting about the usual stuff. Small talk about where we grew up and the work that we did. Before I knew it, a whole hour had passed. I wanted to keep chatting her up for as long as it took to make some headway on fulfilling some of the fantasies that had been rattling around in my brain ever since we met, but Olivia started squirming and crying in her stroller.
“Aww. Looks like this little one is tuckered out,” Kate said, rubbing Olivia’s hands and legs to try and calm her down.
“I guess it is her nap time,” I admitted resentfully.
She glanced down at her watch and replied, “I should get going too.”
Kate kept Olivia entertained while I cleaned our trash off the table and threw it away. Then we reluctantly made our way back out into the cold outside air, bundling up in our jackets as we went.
“This was nice.” Kate stopped on the corner, looking at me expectantly. “I didn’t think stopping on that park bench would lead to a coffee date.”
The word ‘date’ fired off signals in my brain … ones that told me I had some kind of shot with this chick. “Well, you know … I could drop Olivia off at the sitter’s to nap. And maybe you and I could continue this? Over a few drinks?”
She glanced at her watch again, tightening her lips that I wanted to kiss so bad it hurt. “I have to get back to work. But I would like to see you again. Maybe we can grab lunch one day this week? Here. I’ll give you my number.”
She reached out for my phone, which I handed over willingly. But inside I was thinking a lunch date was the last thing I wanted. First, coffee. Then lunch? That was way more work than I was typically used to putting into a score. Especially since lunch would probably end the same way, and leave me at the mercy of a third date, which would hopefully mean dinner. I didn’t mind putting in the effort and working for the prize, but Kate gave me the feeling that she was old fashioned … and might require more work than I was willing to sign up for. Getting too invested was how feelings got hurt … and filled my phone up with angry texts and voicemails from girls claiming I had “strung them along.”
But I waited patiently for Kate to put her number into my phone and took it back with a smile. I called hers to complete the exchange, thinking I would probably never see her again.
“It was nice to meet you, Ben.” She flashed a perfect smile that threatened to make me break all of my rules. “And good to meet you, Olivia!”
Phew. Thank god I had this giant lie of a child hanging between us to stop me from taking any chances.
I watched her walk away down the street before turning to Olivia, who was growing restless and whiny again. “Alright, don’t worry, kid. Let’s get you back to your dad where you belong.” I looked up one last time to see Kate’s perfectly rounded ass striding away from us and clicked my tongue, shaking my head. “What a damn shame. Nice try though, kiddo. Better luck next time. Or maybe … next time I’ll just keep a picture of you in my wallet and use you as bait that way.”
“Bait,” she repeated again with a laugh.
“That’s right, kid.” I pushed the stroller onward and headed back for the warmth of our car.
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Also by Lauren Wood
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