of pretty Paige Watkins. “I don’t know, but we’ll talk about it later.” He knelt in front of them and softened his voice. “Now, put Henrietta in the backyard, and we’ll go for a walk so you can show me which houses you gave fliers.”
“’Kay,” both girls said. They pulled and tugged at the leash until the lazy dog groaned, then lifted her bulk and waddled behind them.
Zeke searched for some way to salvage his pride. “I…uh, thanks for bringing the girls home,” he finally said. “This parenting business is harder than I thought.”
“I know,” Paige said sympathetically.
He narrowed his eyes. “You have children?” He hadn’t seen a wedding ring. Not that he was looking, but the girls said she didn’t have a husband. The big, yellow two-story seemed plenty spacious for an entire family. Did she live there alone? Or did she have a string of boyfriends or a live-in? Maybe she was divorced with kids of her own.
Paige shook her head. “No, I don’t have kids. But there’re several children in the neighborhood.”
“Really? Maybe you can give me some pointers.”
She wobbled on one foot, giving him the distinct feeling she wanted to leave. “I don’t think so.”
His ex-wife had felt the same way. A frown marred Paige’s heart-shaped face, and something about her tone bothered him, but he didn’t have time to analyze it.
The twins barreled around the corner. “Henrietta’s in the yard,” August said.
“Okay, let’s go.” Zeke pointed to the driveway. Summer and August skipped ahead. He closed the door, and he and Paige walked across the lawn to the sidewalk. When they reached her driveway, she paused, chewing her bottom lip.
“Well, it was nice to meet you, girls.”
“Aren’t you coming with us?” Summer asked.
“No, thanks,” Paige said. A wary expression streaked her slender face. “I have homework to do.”
“You go to school?” August asked.
“We’re going to kindergarten next year,” Summer said.
Paige laughed. “I’m finishing a college degree,” she answered. “And one day I’m planning to study in Europe.”
August’s face lit up. “Our mommy went there. She lives in that big town with that river running through it.”
“But she never came back,” Summer said softly.
Zeke’s heart squeezed as he remembered the day Renee had left. Both girls had cried for hours.
“I’m sorry,” Paige said gently. She gave him a forlorn look and he shrugged, trying to mask his feelings. It sounded as if Paige had high aspirations, just like his ex-wife. Well, he wouldn’t travel that route again. No matter how sexy and delectable the female, looks weren’t the most important thing. If and when he ever became involved with another woman, she’d want a family—she wouldn’t be more concerned about her career than him or his daughters. Besides, he didn’t need the complication of another female—he had his hands full with the two he had.
Paige gave him a slight wave. “Well, I’ll see you later, Zeke.”
Zeke nodded and their gazes locked, the magnetism between them instantly sparking his body to arousal. A sweet sensuality darkened the light irises of her eyes, and she caught her bottom lip with her teeth again, a gesture he wanted to remedy by touching his lips to hers. She exhaled, then folded her arms beneath her breasts, her cropped shirt accentuating her subtle curves. Then she turned and he made a futile attempt not to stare at those dynamite legs and her curved backside as she strode toward her house.
August tugged at his arm and he dragged his gaze from Paige to see a fuming, three-hundred-pound man storming toward him. To his horror, the man had one of his daughters’ fliers clutched in his beefy hands.
PAIGE STOOD ON her porch and watched as Zeke attempted to explain his daughter’s surprise to Mr. Larkin, a heavyset man who, from his loud voice and the way he kept waving his mammoth arms around, was obviously very possessive about his wife. Finally, after a few minutes of conversation, the twins joined in and the irate man turned to mush. Before they parted, she heard him asking about Zeke’s veterinary practice and agreeing to bring his bulldog to Zeke’s clinic for shots. He also promised Summer and August he’d let his dog visit Henrietta.
The munchkin girls had stolen Mr. Larkin’s heart, just as they had hers. All the more reason for her to stay away from them.
She sank onto the porch swing and rocked herself back and forth in an effort to get a grip on her emotions. The precious girls had matchmaking up their sleeves, and she didn’t intend to raise another family. Standing on Zeke’s front porch had brought back painful memories of Eric and Joey. She could still see three-year-old Joey riding his tricycle in the driveway next door, toddling along with that stuffed bear he always liked to carry, curled up on her couch, snuggled with her grandmother’s afghan.
But Eric and Joey had deserted her, and she had her own goals now. Giving up her menial office job had been the first step. Taking a job at a boutique and enrolling in college was the second. Not dating any more single dads ranked next.
She laughed as the twins attempted cartwheels on the sidewalk while Zeke frantically removed the fliers from the neighbors’ mailboxes. Some geek. Big and brawny Zeke Blalock was nothing like the man she’d pictured. He obviously cared a great deal about his daughters. She had to give him points for that. As far as rating him in the sex appeal department—he’d rank up there with Tom Cruise and Tom Selleck. A definite one hundred and ten plus.
Handsome and tall, broad shouldered and muscular—she’d barely been able to resist staring at his naked chest before he’d buttoned his shirt. His chocolate-colored eyes had melted her insides and rendered her tongue-tied. His strong chiseled profile, big rough hands and olive skin suggested he worked outside, instead of inside a clinic. And his backside was firm and muscular, especially in those tight jeans, she noted, as she shamelessly watched him bend to pet Mrs. Blue’s small gray cat.
Stop it. He’s not for you. He has a ready-made family, and you’re not mommy material. Your own mother resented the sacrifices she made to stay home and take care of you.
Renewed determination filled her and she hurried inside to finish her project. She paused when she realized she’d forgotten to tell Zeke about the vandalism and the neighborhood watch meeting. She’d been too sidetracked by his good looks. Darn, she’d put a flier in his box later.
For now, she decided to tackle her design project. But when she touched the scraps of black satin fabric she’d collected for her textile project, she moaned.
She had planned to design an evening gown with the fabric. But an unbidden image came to mind—the shimmering fabric would make a perfect bed covering, with Zeke Blalock lying on top, naked as a jaybird.
ZEKE CLEARED A spot on the oak kitchen table and plopped the cardboard pizza box on top, using his foot to gently usher Henrietta away from the table. He’d tried to explain his reaction to the mommy-wanted fliers to his daughters, but he wasn’t sure they’d understood.
“Well, daddy, if we can’t adver…”
